Implementation of new city planning 'must be delayed'

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration must delay implementation of its ongoing spatial plan, while observing the importance of involving the public in the decision making process and to making them aware of the abundance of urban problems in the capital, observers said on Tuesday.

Marco Kusumawijaya, an expert on city spatial planning, said current spatial planning was disoriented as it didn't touch the majority's interests.

"The city administration is planning to build subway tracks that will connect Fatmawati area in South Jakarta to the downtown Kota area on the border of Central Jakarta and West Jakarta.

"But, who will benefit from the project? Certainly not the majority of workers, who live in the eastern and western parts of the capital," Marco said while addressing a seminar on city spatial planning.

"The budget should, therefore, be used for the construction of low-cost housing for workers," he added.

The old spatial plan of Jakarta, initially designed for the 1985-2005 period, has been replaced by a new one named Jakarta 2010, which was enacted in June 1999. The current spatial plan is valid for the 1995-2010 period.

Danang Priatmodjo, a lecturer at Tarumanagara University's School of Architecture, said similarly that the administration had failed to involve people in the decision making process.

"The city administration cannot just convert ground floors of offices along the city's thoroughfares Jl. M.H. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman into pedestrian pathways.

"The administration must obtain approval from the building's owners and consider security arrangements for the buildings as pedestrian tracks are accessible to all people," Danang said.

Slamet, a pedicab driver and activist of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), said the administration didn't pay much attention to the poor community in the capital.

"The city administration only promotes high-rise buildings for the international community, but ignores development plans for poor residents, like me," he said.

Head of the City Planning Agency Ahmaddin Ahmad defended the new spatial plan claiming it has been designed to comply with guidelines issued by the ministry of home affairs and regional autonomy.

"One of the priorities of the current spatial plan is the waterfront city development in the city's northern coastal area, which was not covered in the previous plan," said Ahmaddin.

Marco, however, questioned the importance of the waterfront city project, citing various violations on land permits issued by the city administration.

"The reclamation projects of coastal areas in North Jakarta, aimed at building housing complexes, have damaged the mangrove forest and ecosystems in the area," he said.

When asked about the planning of green space in the capital, Ahmaddin said the city administration has planned to develop at least 9,544 hectares of green space by 2010, which is about 13.9 percent of the total area in the capital.

But, Danang said that most green spaces had been converted to, among others things, gas stations and commercial areas.

"All these criticism and suggestions will be included in the evaluation of the city spatial plan in 2004. I hope residents, together with city administration officials, can formulate new ideas to monitor city development," Ahmaddin said. (07)