Municipality urged to be more responsive to residents' needs
Municipality urged to be more responsive to residents' needs
JAKARTA (JP): An urban expert urged the municipality Saturday
to be more open-minded in dealing with several land-use
alteration cases, including the one in Kemang, South Jakarta.
Mohammad Danisworo, head of the city's architecture team, said
the municipality must be consistent in applying the land-use
regulation, but at the same time also be ready to face changes
occurring in Jakarta.
"The municipality must be more accommodating to residents'
needs. It's time for the city to use urban design guidelines to
prevent land-use violations and to anticipate the quick pace of
change in Jakarta," said Danisworo, who is also chairman of a
special team in charge of reassessing buildings in Kemang.
"Many land-use violations and alterations have already
occurred in Jakarta -- in Menteng, Central Jakarta, and
Kebayoran, South Jakarta. The same thing is happening in Kemang,"
he told The Jakarta Post.
But Kemang had become a controversial issue because the
mushrooming of cafes would eventually disturb the area, a
residential zone with many small roads, he said.
These cases occurred because the city was facing a rapid urban
culture transformation, and that was one of the social processes
that could not be stopped, he said.
"The rise in the number of cafes in Kemang is part of that
urban culture process, where people tend to have different
lifestyles. For instance, in the past, people rarely dined out.
Nowadays, many people prefer to eat out."
Therefore, the sprouting of cafes in Kemang, in which only 15
percent of the area is allowed for commercial sites, eventually
led to land-use violations. This happened because there has been
demand for the cafes.
Another similar case is the rising number of street vendors in
the city.
"Sidewalk vendors' existence disturbs the flow of traffic. But
both street vendors and cafes are needed by the people.
"Therefore, the city must relocate them to a decent place
where such activities can grow well. It's useless to move them
without serious city planning. It will be the same with
identifying the problems but not solving them," Danisworo said.
Cafes and sidewalk vendors were part of society, he said. They
were not a disease so the municipality should not be hostile
toward their existence.
"Their appearance is the logical consequence of a growing city
like Jakarta," he said. "So I think the city's plan should be
based more on a sociological approach, without abandoning the
aspect of the human dynamic movement."
Report
"We've already submitted our team's report regarding Kemang's
land use to the governor. Then it's up to the municipality to
decide what to do with Kemang. I'm not authorized to announce it
before the governor's official statement on this matter,"
Danisworo said.
Governor Sutiyoso offered hope to businesspeople in Kemang
last month with his plan to change Kemang into a commercial zone.
"As long as the situation and conditions of Kemang are
conducive to redefining it as a commercial site and there are no
objections from the people, yes, Kemang's status may change,"
Sutiyoso said after his visit to the South Jakarta mayoralty.
The governor has ordered his officials to make a full
evaluation of the Kemang sites, before making any further
decisions.
Sutiyoso's remarks may surprise some, including his
predecessor Surjadi Soedirdja, who finished his term as governor
last month.
The controversy over Kemang sparked the issuance of
instructions March 18 that every building permit in the area --
which is dominated by cafes, restaurants, furniture shops, beauty
parlors, clinics and duty-free shops -- was to be checked.
Municipality data shows that 90 percent of Kemang's buildings
have been converted into commercial sites. Many businesses
operate with housing permits instead of commercial ones. (07)