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Collective housing offers a ray of light for Jakarta slum problems
Several slum kampungs in northern Jakarta have adopted a collective housing model and would like the government to know of their success.
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A resident carries out her daily activities in a slum area in Kapuk Teko, West Jakarta, in this file photo. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
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everal slum kampungs in northern Jakarta have adopted a collective-housing model and would like the government to know of their success.
Representatives from the kampungs Lodan, Tongkol, Kerapu, Marlina and Akuarium showed that in communities where residents actively participate in remodeling their communal-living space, they can tackle the different challenges they face.
They made their case on Monday during a tour arranged by Rujak Center for Urban Studies that the collective-housing model should be the solution for Jakarta’s slum problems, instead of the forced-relocation method that city administration has employed time and again.
“The government is of the opinion that reforming the slums is an impossible task with forced relocation to rusun [low-cost apartments] being the only solution,” said Kampung Marlina resident Eni.
“We want to show to the government that we, the residents of those slums, are capable of reforming our homes.”
With overhanging second floors completely covering the narrow alley below, Kampung Marlina was a victim of unchecked urbanization.
But as several house remodels have been completed, bright spots have begun to show in the Marlina alley that, according to Eni, has not seen a ray of sunshine in years.
