Home Affairs Minister: A Good City Has Design, Not Uncontrolled Growth

JAKARTA - The Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian, has reminded of the importance of planned and sustainable urban management amid the increasing flow of urbanisation. According to him, if city development is not well-designed, the long-term effects can be very burdensome, from high living costs to a decline in the quality of life for the community. “A good city is one that has design. Not a city that grows unchecked,” Tito stated during the Working Meeting of the Regional Commissariat (Komwil) I of the All-Indonesia City Government Association in Banda Aceh City on Monday (20/4/2026), quoted from a press release. He mentioned that uncontrolled urbanisation phenomena will trigger various problems such as slum areas, increased criminality, and high living cost pressures in cities. Therefore, Tito emphasised that city growth must remain productive, inclusive, and improve the quality of life for the community. “If not managed well, they will become victims. Insufficient education, unable to compete, eventually they might enter into crime,” said Tito. In addition, he assessed that cities in Indonesia are still not pedestrian-friendly and lack open green spaces, even though such measures have been proven to improve the quality of life for the community. The Minister of Home Affairs exemplified practices in other countries like Singapore, which has successfully reduced healthcare costs through the development of green spaces and good public facilities. He then reaffirmed that local governments must be able to control city growth so that it does not become a source of new problems.