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.