Transit Oriented Development (TOD) may be the answer for Jakarta with its limited available land and for residents who struggle to find affordable housing that has access to public transportation, an expert has said.

Senior urban designer of Planning & Development Workshop (PDW) Architects Putrikinasih Santoso said TOD at transportation hubs could offer more liveable and affordable places to live in the city.

“TOD promotes inclusivity. It brings people back to the city and minimizes commuting. This eventually will lead to sustainable living with a lower carbon footprint,” she said in a discussion session at the 55th International Society of City and Regional Planners World Planning Congress in Jakarta recently.

The Jakarta administration, however, should work really hard to get support from numerous stakeholders such as transportation service providers, developers and particularly the people who live within the radius of the TOD, she added.

Putri said that based on a study conducted by PDW, the city needed to take a different approach to TOD in accordance with the specific characteristic of an area.

“TOD promotes inclusivity. It brings people back to the city and minimizes commuting. This eventually will lead to sustainable living with a lower carbon footprint.”

She mentioned as examples plans to build TODs near the MRT Jakarta stations of Dukuh Atas, Blok M, Cipete and Fatmawati in South Jakarta.

“In Dukuh Atas, the buildings around it are varied, ranging from high-rise buildings to urban villages. The land price is extremely high and there is very little land available,” she said.

“Cipete Station is surrounded by a modest neighborhood with a lot of shop-houses. The area still has the potential to be developed further because we found some underutilized spaces. But, we will have to deal with more stakeholders,” she added.

Putri then explained that Blok M Station was located near a matured neighborhood with some heritage remnants or sites, while Fatmawati, which is expected to be a future central business district, is dominated by landed housing.

She also noted several points that the city administration, with the support of the private sector, had to make sure of in order to develop TODs.

She believed that spreading housing areas to further out places in satellite cities would not be a sustainable measure if the city was aiming for better urban planning.

“It doesn’t mean we are trying to further crowd already packed areas [in the capital]. Instead, we want to improve the existing area, optimizing the space and making it more liveable,” Putri said.

She mentioned the term “land rolling” as a strategy to optimize land. Through land rolling, the city can use any available space in an area, build vertical housing, move some residents in the neighborhood to the building and have some more open space to be developed.

“That way we can open more spaces and maximize them for TOD purposes,” she said.

Earlier in June, MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar said the company was set to commence a TOD development near its Lebak Bulus Station.

“There will be transit plaza which functions as a spot where motorists and motorcyclists can drop off or pick up their passengers,” he said as reported on the company’s official website jakartamrt.co.id.

“The location is exactly in front of Poins Square, where MRT Jakarta’s office used to stand. We will build a 200-meter pedestrian bridge that is equipped with elevators to connect the shopping mall with Lebak Bulus station,” he added.

TOD facilities are expected to be built at almost all MRT stations.

A TOD is currently under development in Dukuh Atas in, the construction of which kicked off in May.

Dukuh Atas has been set as a major transportation hub in the capital, currently serving four public transportation modes. Within a radius of less than 1 kilometer, there are Dukuh Atas MRT station, Dukuh Atas Transjakarta bus stop, Sudirman commuter line station and BNI City airport train Railink station. In the future, it will also connect with LRT Jakarta and LRT Jabodebek.

He also previously reiterated that TODs would help alleviate traffic congestion and at the same time reduce air pollution.

The more pedestrian-friendly the city is, William said, the more people will be willing to leave their vehicles at home and commute using public transportation.

“As we’re starting the construction of the MRT’s second phase, we will also be developing facilities that ease connectivity between public transportation modes including building TODs,” he said as quoted by tempo.co.

The company has signed a partnership with the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy to conduct a study into the integration of public transportation means and the connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists along the MRT corridor.

The existing MRT line stretches 16 km from Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to Bundaran HI traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

The second phase will be 8.3 km long from Bundaran HI to Kota in West Jakarta. There will be seven stations namely Sarinah, Monas, Harmoni, Sawah Besar, Mangga Besar, Glodok and Kota.