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City planning in need of fixes, but residents told to wait
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Make tracks: People pass by the construction site of a double-track railway in Manggarai, South Jakarta, on Wednesday. (JP/PJ Leo)
R
ecent flooding in Kemang, an affluent area in South Jakarta, has renewed calls for the administration to overhaul the city’s spatial plan.
The floods were seen as a consequence of rapid development for residential and commercial purposes in the hilly area that had been designed for green space and water catchment ground.
The Jakarta administration has claimed that the flooding was caused by overdevelopment along the Krukut riverbank, resulting in insufficient green space for water absorption.
The officials then decided to conduct environmental inspection to assess whether developers and owners had violated their construction permits by constructing riverside property. Aside from that, to mitigate flooding, the administration has been dredging the Krukut River before it moves to further measures, which is to widen and sheet pile the river.
However, the measures, better known as “river normalization”, is not enough, says Nirwono Joga, an urbanist from Trisakti University, as it would only mitigate flooding in the short term.
“If the administration and South Jakarta residents want to be free from flooding in the long-term, they should be able to restore green space in the municipality. They have to include green space allotment in the city’s 2030 spatial plan,” said Nirwono, who was an adviser in the drafting of the city’s 2010 to 2030 spatial plan.
Kemang and its surrounding area had been formerly designated for residences with low coefficient and water absorption spaces, Nirwono said. The plans were stipulated in the city’s 1985 to 2005 general spatial plan, as well as its 2000 to 2010 spatial plan.
According to regulations, 40
percent of land in Kemang and its surrounding area is designated for two-story homes. The remaining space is designated as green space, Nirwono explained. Commercial areas are not allowed.
However, after the administration issued Bylaw No. 1/2014 on spatial planning and zoning, most of Kemang was marked as residential areas with limited growth control, permitting the development of 50 percent of its space for commercial purposes with stipulations.
“Green spaces have been reduced,” said Nirwono. “Hence, it is suggested that Kemang residents and those in other flood-prone areas participate in revising the 2010 to 2030 spatial plan to save their houses from flooding in the future.”
In the draft revision, he said, they can urge the administration to make more space for water absorption to reduce flooding.
The city administration is reviewing its 2010 to 2030 spatial plan amid the development of national strategic projects such as the light rail transit (LRT), MRT and a giant sea wall, also called the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD). Those projects were not included in spatial plans prior to 2010.
The administration says it encourages residents to take part in drafting the revision by delivering their suggestions through the city’s social media accounts.
Residents are welcome to provide suggestions for spatial plan revisions in other areas, including flood-prone areas, as it is also preparing for another spatial plan revision in 2019, said Jakarta’s assistant to the governor for spatial planning and environment, Oswar Muadzin Mungkasa.
“We will gather all suggestions, but this year we are prioritizing suggestions for areas affected by national projects. The others will be processed when we carry out another review in 2019,” said Oswar.
