Jakarta housing health hazard, expert says
ISTANBUL, Turkey (JP): An expert warned that crowded houses in Jakarta are unhealthy.
Jes Clauson-Kaas, an environmental engineer from the Copenhagen-based COWI consulting firm, said over the weekend that a study in Kali Anyar clearly demonstrates the negative health impact of crowding.
Crowding also has negative social and psychological affects, which can lead to stress. The most negative aspect of crowding, as reported by the community, is insufficient rest and sleep, he said.
He concluded "there is no doubt that crowding leads people being closer to one another which again leads to transmission of airborne diseases."
Clauson-Kaas, a consultant of the UN Conference on Human Settlements, presented his results at discussion on environment and health, which paralleled the UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat) II.
The study was conducted in cooperation with Dr. Charles Surjadi, a medical doctor at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta.
About 25,000 people live in 3,924 houses occupying the 31.8- hectares of Kali Anyar. A density of 786 people per hectare.
According to the city administration, population density in Jakarta is 130 people per hectare.
High population densities, high building densities, a lack of indoor and outdoor living space, and poor quality of housing and facilities, are problematic aspects of living in Kali Anyar, Clauson-Kaas said.
Poor ventilation was highlighted as the cause of humidity indoors. High building density contributes to a poor house environments because sunlight cannot enter houses. There is also poor sanitation in the area, which affect the people's health.
Children are especially at risk because they must play in small corridors lined by open sewers due to the lack of safe playgrounds and house space.
People could live in relatively crowded conditions if respiratory diseases and measles were controlled. Hygiene education is vital to improving cleanliness and ventilation, and reducing smoke and fumes from cooking fuels, he said.
Building materials play an important role in reducing humidity inside a house.
Clauson-Kaas said families often live in one room because they rent out their other rooms to generate income.
Many migrant laborers in Jakarta share a room with up to 20 people to minimize accommodation costs.
"Each mattress space is rented for eight hours a day and thus occupied by two people within the day," he said.
He said huge differences in the perception of environmental risks between agencies and the community have plagued all remedies.
"A failure to understand the rationality of urban dwellers, their needs and priorities has often led to well intended but unsuccessful interventions," he said.
He called for thorough understanding of the cultural dimensions of risk perception and the way it feeds into people's behavior, motives, their priorities and their willingness to address environmental risks. (sim)