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f you are planning to leave Jakarta and all its urban woes, you might want to consider choosing Surakarta, Central Java, as your new home.

The historic city is the most livable city in the country, according to a recent survey, while Makassar in South Sulawesi is the least livable.

The Indonesian Association of Planners (IAP) has named Surakarta, Palembang, Balikpapan, Denpasar, Semarang, South Tangerang and Banjarmasin the country’s most livable cities, according to the 2017 Most Livable City Index survey.

IAP conducted the survey in 26 cities across the country in 2017 and found that 62.3 percent of overall respondents were satisfied with their city’s quality of living.

Surakarta scored the highest in satisfaction level at 66.9 percent, followed by Palembang at 66.6 percent, Balikpapan at 65.8 percent, Denpasar at 65.5 percent, Semarang at 65.4 percent, South Tangerang at 65.4 percent and Banjarmasin at 65.1 percent.

IAP vice secretary-general Elkana Catur H. said the seven cities in which the satisfaction levels were above the national average were diverse, from secondary cities such as Surakarta to provincial capitals such as Denpasar.

“We came to a conclusion that their citizens are satisfied with their cities, even though the cities still have a lot of challenges to overcome,” Elkana told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the cities with average satisfaction levels are Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Malang, Surabaya, Bogor, Palangkaraya, Manado and Pekalongan—some of these are within Greater Jakarta.

Elkana explained that there was a correlation between satisfaction level and the dynamic between population and carrying capacity, which explained why citizens of metropolitan areas, such as Jakarta, Bandung or Surabaya, were usually not too satisfied with their respective cities. “When a city’s carrying capacity cannot keep up with the city population, then citizens are more likely to be dissatisfied.”

He also said that, even if surveyed several times, the satisfaction level of metropolitan citizens would stay the same, because problems in metropolitan areas were complex and citizens there had higher expectations than citizens of smaller cities.

Pontianak, Depok, Mataram, Tangerang, Banda Aceh, Pekanbaru, Samarinda, Bandar Lampung, Medan and Makassar scored below the national average of 62.3 percent.

Makassar saw a significant drop in satisfaction level, from 64.79 percent in 2014 to 55.7 percent in 2017.

Makassar was among the most livable cities in the 2014 index, along with Balikpapan, Surakarta, Malang, Yogyakarta, Palembang and Bandung.

The country’s Most Livable City Index is the result of biannual surveys conducted by the IAP. Surveys have been conducted in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2017.

The survey measures the livability of cities through 29 criteria, including economic, social and cultural aspects of a city; environment; safety; public facilities; citizens’ basic needs; and citizen involvement in city planning.

The survey found that citizens tend to be most satisfied with their city’s food supply, religious facilities, education facilities, health facilities and potable water supply.

Elkana said the five top criteria fell under the category of public services, which the government was expected to provide. Meanwhile, citizens tend to be most dissatisfied with public transportation, pedestrian facilities, city safety, sewage services and information about city planning and citizen participation.

The survey involved around 100 to 200 respondents per city in proportion to the city’s size and has a confidence level of 95 percent.

To take part in an IAP survey, respondents must be a permanent resident of a surveyed city. “This is a survey of perception on how citizens see their own cities,” IAP chairman Bernardus Djonoputro said.

Elkana added that the index tried to present a simple snapshot of the public perception of cities for future policymaking. (ami)