“Today we gather here to ask all of us to discuss and give suggestions on the Jakarta Spatial Planning 2030. Without waiting for an invitation. Invited or not invited.”
That was how Marco Kusumawijaya from urban community rujak.org opened a press gathering
Thursday.
He said the Spatial Planning 2030, already in the hands of the city council for deliberation, has high stakes for millions of Jakartans.
“This meeting is not a press conference but a request to the media and the public to get involved and ask others to be involved in discussing and give greater say.”
The City’s Regional Planning Body (Bappeda) has produced drafts of Spatial Planning 2030, a bylaw that should get passed by the City Council this year, because it contains a masterplan for Jakarta from 2010 to 2030.
The latest draft from Bappeda’s newly established rtrwjakarta2030.com is a 163-page document with more than 300 articles.
The draft contains the vision of Jakarta as “A service city that is comfortable, prosperous and
sustainable”.
A group of citizens, concerned about metropolitan aspects such as environment and architecturale, gathered since late December after they obtained the draft of the spatial planning bylaw.
The group later formed the Citizens Coalition for Jakarta 2030.
“It is a spontaneous movement. We even did not know each other before. But we gather here and call for greater participation from the public because we care for Jakarta,” said Nana Firman, who is concerned about the environment.
Marco said the only source of the plan the coalition had was the new Bappeda website, established in December.
“The way the city administration manages public participation is sad. The only channel for participation is that website, while only 10 to 15 percent of Indonesians enjoy access to the Internet.
“Why does this city, which has the most rich people, the most educated, and the most skilled, not reflect the quality of its residents?”
The coalition divided the group into four, each supplying comments on housing, environment, infrastructure and economy, social and culture.
All agreed that at a glance the spatial planning draft posed no immediate problems. But upon scrutiny, they found many faults ranging from ambiguity to discriminating policies.
Sri Palupi from the Institute for Ecosoc Rights said that the plan had progressed from previous ones as the new one acknowledged the informal sector. However, when she read further, she was not convinced.
“I don’t find an article that guarantees space for informal sector. The bylaw on traditional markets is better, saying that there should be 20 percent for informal sector on every modern shopping center.”
Marco said many articles in the plan were ambiguous. For example, on waste management the plan mentioned composting at community level, which was good, he said.
“But it also mentioned incinerators, which is bad for the environment.”
Marco said the plan seemed to have everything, both good and bad policies.
“These limited analysis we sincerely offer as a tool, as a teaser for the public,” he said.
“We hope all Jakartans are called to give suggestions.”
To see the draft and give comments:
http://www.rtrwjakarta2030.com
http://koalisijakarta2030.wordpress.com/
