Kota 'greenmappers' capture people

Kota 'greenmappers' capture people

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Care to get a glimpse of some of the city's most unique
professions?

Many of them can found in Kota, West Jakarta. Take a stroll
along the Kali Besar river and you will discover bicycle taxi
drivers, a nomadic fortune teller and floating river scavengers
all of which are to be found in the Jakarta Kota Green Map.

Without disregarding the historical character of the area
founded during the Dutch colonial era, the Green Map makers have
discovered there is much more to the area than earlier thought.

"The map making experience taught us that the beautiful old
buildings are just a background for the people living in and
around them," said David Hutama, a volunteer for the community
ecological charting project, Green Map.

A group of more than 20 volunteers, ranging from college
students and architects, to local religious activists, surveyed a
chosen area to map local physical and social features.

After a six-month survey and a year delay in the making of the
Jakarta Kota Green Map, the volunteers came out with concise
information on 134 sites that one can find in the area, including
the story of the people living there.

"In our surveys we discover that the revitalization of the
area should focus more on the people instead of reminiscing about
history through the buildings," said David.

In the printed version of the map, however, one would mostly
find information on the buildings, such as their architectural
style and history.

But, talking to the Green Map makers proved to be more
interesting as they are able to share the unique features that
they found during their survey, as documented through a series of
photographs displayed at the CP Biennale 2005.

"By switching our perspective from looking at Kota as a mere
heritage area, we noticed the small treasures there, such as the
daily afternoon communal cat bath at Fatahillah square or a
certain typography found on stickers on the back of trucks, bajaj
and motorcycles," explained map maker Gita Hastarika.

David added that the highlight of the project was the
volunteers' own involvement in experiencing the human face of the
city rather than the outcome itself. "We can see more interesting
things on foot than from our vehicles," he said.

Initiated in 1995 in the United States, the Green Map System
aims at helping local residents discover ways to get involved in
urban ecology and to raise their environmental awareness.

In Indonesia, initiator Marco Kusumawijaya started the first
green map in the Kemang area in South Jakarta in February 2002
for local environmental bulletin Aikon!. The Kemang Green Map was
then revised to include the Kebayoran Baru area and open spaces
in Jakarta, a year later.

An extension of the project in the capital covered the Menteng
heritage area and the result was published in October 2003. Other
Green Map published projects were made on Jeron Beteng area in
Yogyakarta and Bukittinggi in West Sumatra.

Green map projects are currently underway in Bandung in West
Java, Borobudur in Central Java and Bali.

Jakarta Kota Green Map will be launched at the following
events:

* Sept.7 at the CP Open Biennale 2005, Museum Bank Indonesia, Jl.
Pintu Besar Utara 3, Kota, West Jakarta

* Sept. 18 at the Batavia Art Festival, Jakarta Historical Museum
Fatahillah, Kota, West Jakarta

* Sept. 22 at the Indonesian Heritage Conservation Congress,
Sapta Pesona Building, Indosat, Central Jakarta

* Sept. 28 at the Taman Prasasti Book Launching, Jl. Tanah Abang
1, Central Jakarta

A green map making workshop for high school students in line
with the CP Open Biennale 2005 will be held on Sept. 10 and Sept.
11.