The presentation and discussion were also attended by representatives from the Public Works Ministry, the city’s spatial planning agency, and the city’s toll road operator, PT CMNP.

The event was held on the UN-designated World Habitat Day, which falls on the first Monday of the month, and saw design proposals from residents of neighborhood unit (RW) 12 for the 500-meter-long stretch beneath the overpass near their homes.

“This is the first time [the residents] have communicated their wishes [about city planning] with the stakeholders,” said Haryanti Koostanto, from the US-based NGO Mercy Corps, which facilitated the planning and presenting process.

The need to make something useful from the space beneath overpasses is an urgent one, said Sofyan Jaya from the Development of Community Under Elevated Road Group (KMPKT).

“Several problems plague the space beneath elevated toll roads, including their being used as garbage dumps and becoming crime-prone areas,” he said.

“The worst was on Aug. 7, 2007, when a massive fire broke out under the Jembatan Tiga toll road gate.”

That inferno gutted hundreds of makeshift homes in the slum that had developed beneath the overpass, and caused severe damage to the toll road above.

The fire also forced authorities to temporarily close the road.

The government has since 1998 allowed residents to use the space beneath the toll road, amid a lack of affordable following the economic crisis.

In January this year, the Mercy Corps and KMPKT helped RW-12 residents draw up 65 designs that were then reviewed, analyzed and finally developed into two maps with differing emphases, which, Haryanti said, would be combined into one map.

During the presentation, several Penjaringan residents voiced their demands on how to make use of the space below the overpass.

“We want a reading area because the kids in our neighborhood are getting involved in things that could lead to gambling,” said resident Robi Cahyadi.

Another resident, Turah, a housewife, said she wanted a space where her children could play.

“I live in a cramped house with no yard, so my kids play in the street, which is dangerous,” she said.
“We need a decent space for them to play in.”

North Jakarta Mayor Bambang Sugiyono said in his opening speech he wanted the space beneath the overpass to be improved in terms of appearance and use.

“The KMPKT should work with the CMNP, Mercy Corps and the government to beautify the space,” he said.

Spatial planning agency head M. Suhardyoko said the residents could forward their ideas and designs to the governor to get funding.

“The governor will then forward it to the agency for the assessment process,” he said.

“If approved [by the governor], the proposal and the funds will be discussed at meetings about construction projects.”

Officials gave a variety of responses to the residents’ ideas.

Suhardyoko said the agency would not oppose the ideas as long as they did not involve constructing a building in the area. (dis)

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