Problems abound as Jakarta goes through globalization process
Problems abound as Jakarta goes through globalization process
By Dewi Anggraeni
MELBOURNE, Australia (JP): Global economic growth, as we
learned in November's "Cities and the new Global Economy"
conference here, has given birth to new global cities. And one of
these is Jakarta.
Jakarta has been able to attract trans-national capital and
investment, and provide certain necessary services crucial to the
operation of the global economy, such as port facilities,
telecommunication networks and labor, as well as consumer
markets.
In terms of the property market in the Asia-Pacific region, it
is ranked, together with Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, as in the
rapid development stage.
The lofty status of a global city must somehow have a giddying
effect on its citizens. San Francisco, London, Paris and
Melbourne are only a phone call away. Some Jakartans even have
business connections in those cities. And imported goods are only
a shopping trip away; the list goes on. Not only is Jakarta the
hub of manufacturing and financial activities, it is also the
main player in the process of integrating the Indonesian domestic
economy into the international market.
However, every silver lining has a cloud attached to it. Most
of these cities in the Asia-Pacific region, have grown so fast in
the last decade that the existing infrastructure, abetted by the
newly developed additions, has difficulty meeting the increasing
demands.
As cities grow in importance, the quality of life of the
population drops. Ecological disasters such as contamination of
water, air pollution, traffic congestion and a swelling homeless
population, are the direct results of inadequate infrastructure.
Related problems like a high unemployment rate, family
breakdowns and crimes are not far behind. As property prices
invariably skyrocket, more and more people will be pushed further
away from the city center, causing sharp division in terms of
wealth and social class.
Knowing that all those problems are not peculiar to Jakarta
may be some consolation. Nonetheless they need to be tackled fast
before they fester and become permanent fixtures of the city.
In the year 2010, the population of the greater Jakarta area
(Jabotabek) is predicted to reach 30 million, compared to 17.1
million at present. The urgent need of urban physical
restructuring and better management of the environment will have
to be confronted. While commercial space problems are being
rectified by the rapid development of office buildings and better
designed shopping complexes and commercial centers, affordable
housing for the general population is still scarce.
And quality of life cannot be separated from management of the
environment. A densely populated city like Jakarta, with high-
rise buildings, as well as its packed clusters of dwelling
places, is a safety and security nightmare.
There is an urgent need for efficient and effective
fire fighting management. It seems also that the need to access
renewable energy for electricity is still not fully met. Yet it
is paramount, considering that there is a shortage of essential
items like clean water for domestic, as well as industrial use.
We need energy for processing and cleansing water and for its
reticulation into houses and other buildings, as well as for
treatment of industrial and domestic wastes. We also need energy
for the increasing use of advanced technology, on which we are
becoming more dependent every day. With the increasing urgency to
keep pollution as low as possible, the energy used must be clean
and fairly hazard free. Solar and geothermal energy stand at the
top of the preference list.
Coinciding with the conference, the Australian government has
just published the Report by the Urban Design Task Force
appointed by Prime Minister Paul Keating. Good urban design,
according to this report, among others, should demonstrate design
excellence in urban development and architecture; distribute
benefits; respond to local features and needs; be relevant to the
contemporary world; leave open the possibility for continuing
adaptation and change and forge connections with the past.
A tall order indeed. While none of the global cities featured
in the conference fully meet the above criteria, some, like Lyons
and Munich in the northern hemisphere and Melbourne and Sydney in
the southern hemisphere, seem closer than many, to meeting them.
In terms of Jakarta, to move closer to meeting those criteria,
a strong political will is essential, because of the complexity
of the restructuring process. While involving private enterprise
may be a useful means, the initial design and the on-going task
of control, presumably in the hands of the authorities, are most
crucial.
The challenges are not strictly confined to managing and
governing the capital city. Metropolitan Jakarta will not only
attract unskilled workers, but also the best experts and skilled
people. The concentration of the best human resources in Jakarta
may be an advantage in terms of the workings of trans-national
businesses.
However, it may also leave the lesser towns lagging in
economic development for lack of good human resources and the
technical know-how that goes with it. The high fluidity of
movement of skilled human resources among the global cities will
also contribute to the trend that all these cities will appear
and feel increasingly alike. The difference will not be between
countries, but between the cities and the rural areas of the same
country.
While the authorities in Jakarta put their heads together,
poring over maps, computer screens and figures, the `global city
hoppers' a new name for commercial tourists, can be expected to
keep pouring in.
Dewi Anggraeni is a journalist and writer based in
Melbourne.