Government not ready for increased urbanization

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government will not be capable of facing increased urbanization in the future if it continues to ignore the urgency of coping with current urban problems, an environmentalist from the University of Indonesia said on Thursday.

Bianpoen said that the government had failed to implement the principles of sustainable development in its urban planning and in the development of rural areas.

He explained that many people from rural areas preferred living the hard way in the slum areas of cities as scavengers or even petty thieves to living in their villages as the cities provided greater opportunities for improving their lives.

"It is estimated that by the year 2010 more than half the population of Java will be living in urban areas. Like it or not, the government has to face the problem of increased urbanization with all the excesses it entails," he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Workshop on Sustainable Urban Planning and Environmental Management.

The workshop, which will end on Friday, is organized by University of Indonesia, Hanns Seidel Foundation, and the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).

"As most villagers are peasants, not landowners, there is nothing else to do in the village to earn a living. That's why they decide to move to the big cities," Bianpoen explained.

He said it was time for the government to do everything necessary to provide more job opportunities for rural people.

However, he added that the government had to first amend its approach to sustainable urban planning so as to reduce the urban problems we faced nowadays, such as brawling, poor hygiene and sanitation, water and air pollution, and poor infrastructure.

He blamed these conditions on the government's lack of understanding of the principles involved in sustainable development, which did not revolve solely around economic growth, and the sacrificing of the environment and natural resources.

"The concept is also about justice and equity for the people. The fruits of development are only being enjoyed by a small number of people, those who have power and the members of the various elites. The poor are considered outcasts in urban planning," he said.

Bianpoen pointed to the recent forcible demolitions of slum areas and the rounding up of sidewalk traders in Jakarta as examples of the decision makers' insensitivity towards the people, especially the poor who were not recognized in urban planning blueprints.

"The administration doesn't want to hear the reason why the people live along the riverbanks or why they are poor. Demolishing slum areas and replacing them with nice apartments doesn't solve the essence of the problem," he said.

He suggested that the administration should list all urban problems, then pick the three most pressing ones and try to resolve them.

"Take social problems such as brawling, lynchings, and poverty. All these are caused by injustice. If they are solved, the rest can come easily so that we can get on the right track toward sustainable urban planning," he added.

"The government is not short of brilliant decision makers, but what we need is decision makers with morality who can see that existing urban planning only leads to social degradation," Bianpoen remarked.

On Thursday, participants in the workshop visited the Kalibaru seaport and Cilincing beach in North Jakarta to compare the management of urban areas and the environment. They were not, however, given the chance to talk with locals.