Weaving Prosperity from City Hall

A developed city is not one filled with skyscrapers or wide roads, but rather one capable of ensuring that economic growth goes hand in hand with reduced poverty, shrinking inequality, and expanding opportunities for all.

Surabaya (ANTARA) - Not all cities combat poverty in the same way. Some choose to increase social assistance budgets, others focus on attracting investment, while others build infrastructure in the hope that economic growth will trickle down to all layers of society.

However, the greatest challenge arises when these various programmes operate in isolation without being interconnected.

Amidst the complexity of these issues, the city of Surabaya, East Java, is attempting to offer a different approach. The city no longer views poverty alleviation as the task of a single department or merely a social sector concern. Instead, all regional apparatuses are directed towards a single shared goal: reducing the number of poor residents through integrated policies.

This idea was presented by the Mayor of Surabaya, Eri Cahymadi, before the 2026 Regional Development Award (PPD) Assessment Team from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) at the Surabaya Mayor’s Meeting Room on Monday (6/7/2026).

The presentation did not merely showcase a series of development achievements, but demonstrated how a city is striving to change bureaucratic mindsets.

This shift in perspective is crucial because poverty is not a single-issue problem. Low income, unemployment, limited education, poor health quality, and economic inequality are all interconnected, forming a cycle that is difficult to break if each issue is handled separately.

It is in this context that Surabaya’s integrated development strategy becomes noteworthy.

Surabaya’s approach begins with a simple yet high-impact change: ensuring that every rupiah of the government budget contributes to poverty reduction.

For years, infrastructure development in many regions has often been measured by the length of roads built, the number of completed drainage systems, or the volume of physical projects implemented. While these indicators are important, they do not necessarily relate directly to improving community welfare.

Surabaya is attempting to link these two objectives. Projects for road construction, paving, and environmental infrastructure do not only produce public facilities but also serve as instruments for job creation through labour-intensive programmes.

This policy has even been extended to the material supply chain. The city government encourages the purchase of paving from labour-intensive factories managed by low-income communities, ensuring that economic benefits do not stop at project workers but also flow to small business owners.

This model aligns with the concept of inclusive development currently being implemented in many countries. Infrastructure serves not only as a physical asset but also as a tool for income distribution.