Revitalization of Jakarta: Turning Problem into Opportunity
Jakarta is actually growing in addition to also changing rapidly. The capital city is actually running out of space, public infrastructure is actually being tested to its limits, in addition to also environmental conditions are worsening. This particular seems an uphill battle. Almost daily the newspapers report about Jakarta’s notorious traffic jams, severely polluted rivers in addition to also canals, in addition to also frequent floods in which inundate the streets in addition to also bring traffic to a grinding halt. although the tides are about to turn, in addition to also the revitalization of Jakarta may be within reach. This particular all is actually a matter of perception.
By addressing the problems in a wider context brand-new solutions have been found, in addition to also by focusing on brand-new opportunities once the problems have been solved, stakeholders are ready to translate their shared visions into joint actions. Like the synchronization of different instruments in a philharmonic orchestra is actually based on a composition, the joint actions for the revitalization of Jakarta needs to be guided by an integrated concept in which serves as a common framework for the individual players.
Rapid Growth
Jakarta is actually located on the northern coast of the Island of Java in a delta of 13 rivers which discharge into Jakarta Bay. The city is actually growing fast, in addition to also changing even faster. The urban population has rapidly increased via about two million in 1945 to over 9,7 million in 2010. Due to lack of space urban sprawl has spilled over the municipal boundaries into the adjacent suburbs resulting in one of Asia’s largest urban agglomerations of over 30 million, also referred to as Jadebotabekpunjur, in addition to also urban growth is actually likely to continue inside the foreseeable future.
Changing Streetscape
Modern office towers, luxury shopping malls in addition to also high-rise apartment blocks pop up throughout the city, dwarfing the one in addition to also two-story structures inside the traditional kampung areas in addition to also historic neighbourhoods. Flyovers, tunnels in addition to also double-deck highways attempt to stay one step ahead of the everincreasing fleet of cars in addition to also motorcycles. The international seaport of Tanjung Priok in addition to also the international airport of Soekaro Hatta are modernizing in addition to also expanding their capacities to keep pace with the growing volumes of import in addition to also export goods, in addition to also numbers of passengers.
Testing the Limits
As the wheels of the buzzing economy turn into higher gears, the limits of urban growth are being tested, as evident via Jakarta’s notorious traffic jams in which clog the city’s road network, the severely polluted rivers in addition to also canals in which flow through the city in addition to also discharge their water into Jakarta Bay, the deteriorated living conditions in many densely populated kampung areas, in addition to also the floods in which inundate the streets. There is actually a bigger in addition to also potentially fatal problem looming: Jakarta is actually sinking.
Land Subsidence
Frequent Flooding
As a consequence of land subsidence, the coastal zone of Jakarta is actually simultaneously exposed to flooding via the sea, rivers in addition to also rainfall. If land sinks below sea level seawater can flow in during high tides, while the outlets of rivers in addition to also canals can no longer freely discharge their water into the sea. In in which case seawater will inundate the land behind the sea dikes, river water will flood the riverbanks, in addition to also streets will be flooded by local rainfall due to insufficient drainage in addition to also retention capacity. In recent years floods have occurred more frequently, affecting more locations in addition to also larger areas, in addition to also lasting longer. Without effective intervention, a quarter of Jakarta may become permanently inundated within the next 15 to 20 years, not only affecting the four million people who live in addition to also work there, although also vital infrastructure including the seaport of Tanjung Priok, the airport of Soekarno Hatta, power plants located on the coast line, toll roads, industrial zones, residential areas in addition to also business districts, in addition to also the historic inner city of Batavia. Year after year the flooding of northern Jakarta causes numerous casualties as people drown or are affected by diseases, staggering financial losses due to physical damage in addition to also loss of property in addition to also income, in addition to also major economic disruption as traffic comes to a grinding halt.
Moving the Capital
Until recently flood prevention measures have mainly responded to the flooding problems without anticipating the potentially catastrophic effects of land subsidence in which will cause brand-new sea dikes on the coastline to sink together with the land on which they are built, as long as land subsidence due to deep groundwater abstraction continues. The situation may even worsen, since brand-new sea dikes, which are intended to prevent flooding via the sea, might also close off the river in addition to also canal outlets. As an inevitable consequence, the coastal zone might become inundated by severely polluted river water in which has nowhere else to go. To prevent massive inundation, a retention pond of 100 to 150 km2 might need to be built via where water might need to be pumped out into the sea, which might be impossible inside the densely built-up coastal zone without massive resettlement. With no technical solution in sight, serious discussions began about moving the capital to a safer location.
Triple-A Solution
For the purpose of understanding the flooding problems in a broader context, searching for strategic solutions, in addition to also mobilizing the concerned stakeholders, the so-called Triple-A concept was applied. This particular comprising an Atlas, an Agenda in addition to also Aturan-main (Rules of the game), prepared with the participation of multi-stakeholder task forces as ‘players’, supported by an expert team inside the role of ‘coach’. The multi-stakeholder task forces include government institutions at municipal, regional in addition to also national level responsible for management in addition to also planning of the national capital, private developers in addition to also business investors having a vested interest in coastal development, in addition to also civil society organizations representing concerned urban communities in addition to also special interest groups. The Triple-A documents, which are public domain, have been made available as printed documents in addition to also in digital format.
Problems in addition to also Opportunities
The Atlas systematically bundles information about flooding itself in addition to also preventive measures, although also identifies the underlying causes of flooding, in addition to also describes how insufficient piped water supply has prompted people to pump up deep ground water, which in turn has caused land subsidence, in addition to also how uncontrolled discharge of human in addition to also industrial waste have severely polluted the water of rivers in addition to also canals in which cross the city in addition to also discharge in Jakarta Bay. Viewed in a broader context This particular all adds up logically: If the pollution of rivers in addition to also canals could be reversed, there might be enough clean water to substitute the excessive groundwater abstraction by piped water supply. If ground water abstraction could be halted, the land in addition to also the dikes in which are built on This particular might no longer sink. Instead of building brand-new dikes in addition to also water retention on land where space is actually scarce, they could also be built offshore in Jakarta Bay. As the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place, a brand-new picture emerged of an integrated development concept.
Integrated Development Concept
• Technical solutions in which are effective in flood prevention (system of parallel offshore sea dikes which can be built in stages, in addition to also much better river dikes along the downstream river banks, offshore retention ponds between the sea dikes to collect water via the rivers, in addition to also pumping stations to keep the water level inside the retention ponds lower than the river outlets);
• Additional measures to make the technical solutions sustainable (piped water supply to substitute groundwater abstraction using the newly created offshore retention ponds as fresh water sources, sewerage in addition to also sanitation systems covering the entire city to prevent pollution of rivers in addition to also canals in which discharge their water inside the offshore retention ponds, resettlement or relocation in case space is actually needed for sea dike in addition to also riverbank improvement);
• Private investment opportunities to make the overall scheme financially feasible based on cross-subsidies in addition to also public – private partnership (land reclamation along the coast, toll roads in addition to also railways on top of the offshore sea dikes, in addition to also expansion of the harbour of Tanjung Priok with deep sea port facilities).
The integrated concept will not only protect northern Jakarta against flooding, although will also solve its drinking water shortage, reduce river pollution in addition to also improve the traffic circulation throughout the city, turning Jakarta into a more attractive place to live, visit, work in addition to also invest. Following a general consensus on the integrated development concept for the revitalization of Jakarta, the time has come for concrete action based on a concerted multistakeholder endeavour.
Multi-source Funding
The Aturan-main (Rules of the game) lay out the mechanisms for planning, investment in addition to also implementation of the integrated concept involving the stakeholders in every step of the process. Infrastructure related to sea in addition to also river dikes, retention ponds, pumping stations, water supply in addition to also sewerage systems generally depend on public funding. On the some other hand, land reclamation, toll roads in addition to also deep seaport development can be considered as profitable investment opportunities for private developers. If combined, the overall scheme might be financially feasible, provided in which the project is actually implemented as an integrated concept, in addition to also in which multi-source funding is actually orchestrated based on sound public-private partnership arrangements.
The Triple-A documents in which summarize the concept for the revitalization of Jakarta can be found via Google under JCDS Atlas, JCDS Agenda Strategy in addition to also JCDS Aturan Main.
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Revitalization of Jakarta: Turning Problem into Opportunity
Revitalization of Jakarta: Turning Problem into Opportunity