TheJakartaPost
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Challenges in implementing TOD in Jakarta
Designing and constructing transit networks independently from TOD would be a major lost opportunity. The location of TOD should influence the transit routes and vice versa.
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Heavy equipment tears down buildings at former Blora Market in Central Jakarta on Jan. 25, to make way for a transit oriented development (TOD) in the area. (kompas.com/David Oliver Purba)
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ransit Oriented Development (TOD) has become a hot topic in Jakarta with plans by KAI, mass rapid transit (MRT) and light rail transit (LRT) to launch TOD around some of their stations and transport hubs with new announcements almost weekly on specific initiatives.
Like most of the world’s cities Jakarta developed at a faster pace than its infrastructure and transportation. This approach can cause serious problems and is a major drag on the economy. The precise impact on the economy will vary by country and its status of development; poorer countries benefit most from infrastructure development. Estimates vary widely but there is a consensus that poor infrastructure and transportation depresses GDP growth by at least to 1 percent a year as well as providing a poorer quality of life for residents.
In Jakarta we see evidence of this almost every day with traffic congestion increasing people’s daily commute. High property prices in more central locations force many people to live long distances from their places of employment.
The development of the transit network by state railway company KAI, MRT and LRT provides an opportunity to simultaneously develop TOD in selected areas of Jakarta. Retrofitting transit and TOD into a developed city such as Jakarta is more expensive and disruptive than would have been the case had it been built with the city.
The government and city leaders know this but they also understand the wider social and economic benefits that TOD inspired regeneration can deliver.
Designing and constructing transit networks independently from TOD would be a major lost opportunity. The location of TOD should influence the transit routes and vice versa. Examples of disconnected implementation can be seen all around the world; one of the most recent is in Dubai.
Jakarta needs to learn from those cities that have implemented integrated transit with TOD. With three transit systems in Jakarta, the need for an integrated approach is even greater. Every transit station is not an automatic choice for a TOD. Each location needs to be assessed in terms of its opportunities and constraints and the development of TOD needs to be prioritized and phased over time.
