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How We Can Do Better: Bettering Indonesia’s public spaces
"How we can do better" is a new column that takes an insider's look at various industries and the ways they could improve. In this installment, we delve into the importance of urban planning for public spaces for communities.
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City life: Public space is not just a matter of space, it can also affect people’s mental health. (Unplash/Afif Kusuma) (Unsplash/Afif Kusuma)
"How we can do better" is a new column that takes an insider's look at various industries and the ways they could improve. In this installment, we delve into the importance of urban planning for public spaces for communities.
The concrete jungle of Indonesia’s vehicle-centric big cities means that there remains very little room for public spaces meant to be traversed by foot. The ones that do exist are rarely welcoming, let alone inclusive — instead brimming solely with aesthetic gimmicks that rarely encourage physical activities.
In areas supposedly suited for pedestrians across Indonesia, tactile paving to help the visually impaired remains unequally distributed. Others are filled with “hostile architecture”, in which buildings seem purposely designed to restrict the physical activities of certain people — particularly the elderly, the poor and homeless.
Inclusive, effective pedestrian spaces are still a long way from becoming a reality in Indonesia.
As Kompas reports, Ikatan Ahli Perencanaan (IAP) released a survey called Most Livable City Index (MLCI) in 2017, and the result showed that only 10 percent of pedestrian paths in Jakarta are "walkable”, with Jl. Sudirman and Thamrin among the list. That is why spaces like the Dukuh Atas area in South Jakarta, which has bred a new subculture of fashionable teens and been dubbed “Citayam Fashion Week”, have become popular recently.
The emergence of the Citayam phenomenon signifies that Indonesia needs to redefine the public space available for communities.
Irgi Susanto is an influencer from Citayam who often hangs around at the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) to create content along with his friends and do some online endorsements. Irgi describes the area as strategic and comfortable to walk around. Adding that a site with similar features does not exist near his home.
