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)