Residents wary of plan to convert Blok M

Residents wary of plan to convert Blok M

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The planned conversion of one of the oldest residential areas in
the city -- Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta near Blok M -- into a
mixed commercial/residential area has met resistance from the
residents who prefer to keep it as it is or make it exclusively
residential.

Monica Hana, who has lived on Jl. Erlangga, not far from the
shopping center, since she was a toddler, surmised that the
conversion would change the structure of the area.

"Kebayoran Baru was the first area (in Jakarta) with spatial
planning and was designed as a complex with parks," she told The
Jakarta Post on Friday.

"The conversion would mean even more traffic and congestion.
Public buses trying to avoid the congestion of the main streets
usually cut through the housing complexes with their thick black
smoke," she said.

The present situation is already different from when she grew
up. "Children used to be able to play in the streets, but now
their freedom is very limited," said the 35-year-old woman.

The Jakarta administration has announced its plan for a major
makeover of the chaotic area around Blok M in a bid to curb the
ever-increasing number of businesses that have encroached upon
the surrounding residential areas.

A gubernatorial decree will be issued for the Kebayoran Baru
district plan. However, there is not yet clear information about
which areas will be designated for business only.

Madhur Shorey, a resident of Jl. Tirtayasa, does not approve
of the plan. "There'll be a lot more traffic as clients will be
coming and going all the time," said the expatriate from India,
who has been living there for the past seven years.

"It (the conversion) will destroy the beauty, peace and
convenience. Residential areas should be separated from
commercial areas."

Many houses were converted into offices, beauty salons,
clinics and other enterprises when the monetary crisis hit the
country in mid-1997. The administration turned a blind eye to it
to allow entrepreneurs to reduce costs and save their businesses.

However, the practice has continued at a quick pace right up
to the present.

"Many residents have complained about these businesses, as
some stay open until late in the evening," said Monica, who is
also the neighborhood unit chief.

Madhur suggested that the administration charge higher taxes
on houses used as business premises.

Kebayoran Baru, which covers an area of around 730 hectares,
used to be a teak forest. Its name was derived from the
Indonesian word for a kind of teak tree, bayur (Pterospermum
javanicum).

The district was developed in the 1950s to accommodate the
growing need for housing. In the plan, the city administration
cleared land to make 80,000 houses along with schools,
cemeteries, three churches, four movie theaters and four mosques.