Kemang set to have city's first 'green map'

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta has become notorious for its poor city planning. The City Planning Agency, with many excuses, has been violating its own urban plan, causing much skepticism among residents.

The most recent example was the announcement last December of the Jakarta Administration's plan to establish a dumping site in the Marunda area, North Jakarta, following a dispute with the Bekasi mayoralty over the Bantar Gebang dump, the current destination for the city's garbage.

Of course, Marunda residents were upset by the announcement and soon after staged a rally opposing the administration's plan. Their anger is understandable, as in the 1980s the agency itself designated the Marunda area as a residential neighborhood.

Unfortunately, as had happened before, the administration decided to change its earlier policy on Marunda without even bothering to consult with residents.

Public participation is not yet a factor in the administration's management of the city.

One way of improving public participation in city planning, and reducing the administration's current dominant role, is to apply the "green map" system.

Green mapping is a system that encourages local residents to make a map of their own neighborhood in order to identify, promote and link environmental and social resources within a city.

The green map system was first established in the United States in 1994, and has now been adopted by 156 cities around the world.

A green map differs from more traditional map-making techniques, in the sense that it is put together by ordinary residents and comes complete with their description of important sites in the local neighborhood.

Residents are expected to identify different kinds of sites in their area using a set of icons. The system enables residents to debate the criteria and priorities that should be applied in deciding which sites to include in the map.

"Residents could apply a green map as an advocacy tool in urban planning," he told The Jakarta Post, after a discussion on the system on Friday evening.

Information contained in a green map could help the administration broaden its views on city planning.

The system would impose an obligation on the administration not to change the city plan without a reasonable explanation, as local residents would have a "counter plan". In the future, the administration must also include public participation in its city planning mechanisms.

In Indonesia, the system was initiated by Marco Kusumawijaya and aikon! foundation two weeks ago. They plan to launch it publicly in early February.

Currently, Marco and aikon! are still mapping the Kemang area in South Jakarta, the first place in the city to undergo the green map method.

"We chose Kemang as it is currently at a critical stage. We want to reveal that Kemang has more potential than just business," Marco said.

According to Marco, the administration has been planning to convert Kemang into a tourism area, even though the agency had earlier classified it as a residential zone. It used to be a village inhabited by Betawi people (native Jakartans).

Since the 1990s, the face of Kemang has been transformed. Galleries and nightspots have been mushrooming.

"The administration must consider Kemang's environment before changing the area into a tourism spot," Marco said, adding that not many people were aware that biawak (monitor lizards) lived in some of the rivers in Kemang, which is now better known as a cafe lover's paradise.