Jajakarta - Tools and strategies to increase the density of Jakarta’s inner-city kampungs

Abstract

This project is part of a groupproject called Jajakarta, a manifesto to double the population density of Jakarta. Jabodetabek, the urban agglomeration consisting of DKI Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, is the second fastest growing megacity on the planet (Robinson, 2011). Current projections show that Jabodetabek’s population will reach 38 million people in 2030 (Jakarta municipality, 2014). However, this growth will take place in a city that is facing major problems; all these issues are deeply interconnected and are seriously jeopardizing the city’s livability. (Kusno, 2010; Robinson, 2011; Silver, 2007). We believe these problems should be tackled with a radical reconsideration of Jakarta’s urban fabric. We propose the double the amount of inhabitants, going from Jakarta to Jajakarta. In 2030 Jakarta will have expended so much due to migration and population growth, and in this process overtaken many adjacent cities, that it will be called Jabodetabekasepususesuci (Jakarta municipality, 2014). An unpronounceable name for a megacity that has become so addictive to growth that it will become uncontrollable. The municipality will be left incapable in effectively managing the dramatically enlarged city. Stopping the urban sprawl will mean that the city center, known as DKI Jakarta, should increase its density; both in its inhabitants as in floor space, in order to be able to house the majority of the expected growth for all income classes. This change will require a new kind of urban fabric, in which the kampung is intensified. The re-envisioned Kampungs will have to house more people then ever while maintaining its diverse income groups. Doubling the population density will offer the opportunity to tackle some of Jakarta’s major issues while reimaging the core fabric of the city which is in grave need help. Jakarta is not the only city that faces these kinds of issues. Other cities in Indonesia such as Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya and Bandung are all facing similar issues due to massive migration from the countryside to the cities. The strategies on an architectural and infrastructural scale are therefor not site specific, but could be implemented within various all of Indonesia’s kampungs and other south east Asian cities. The studio research is divided into scales ranging from XL (the entire city) to XXS (details). XL and L (Kebon Kacang, an kampung area of 2km in Jakarta) have been researched and designed by the group. The individual research focuses on 1 of 4 generic situation found within the L scale site (Kebon Kacang), which can be found throughout Jakarta. These are the M scales and are: the innercity-kampung, the kampung kota border, the riverfront and the economic and production centre. My project (from the M to XXS scale) focuses on how to increase the centre of the kampungs, also known as inner-city-kampungs and mainly looks at strategies for mid-low to high-income housing and infrastructure. This specific area is the oldest part of the kampong and is an original Batawi kampung. The current density of this area is 30.000 people per 1 km2. The goal of Jajakarta is to double this to 60.000 inhabitants per 1 km2. Kampungs are self-built by their inhabitants, and have, until the KIP program, never seen any involvement of the government. The forms of housing starts off with a simple shed, and become more and more solid and extended when people have made enough money to turn this into a brick house. This makes the kampong a very resilient urban fabric, but there is a limit tot its growth. With a density of 60.000 people per km2, the average building height would be 4 floors. This is far beyond the reach of the kampung inhabitants to build with the available building material and budgets them selves. My project aims to bridge the gap between the people’s possibility’s and the required volume as stated in the goals of Jajakarta. The project provides a set of policy’s, infrastructures and typologies, from both the kampong and the Kota sight, in the form of a new kampung improvement program: the Kampong Densification Program”. Sources Jakarta Municipality, Jakarta Provincial. (2014). RTRW Jakarta 2010 -2030. Kusno, A. (2010). The Appearances of Memory: Mnemonic Practices of Architecture and Urban Form in Indonesia: Duke University Press. Robinson, I.M. (2011). Mega Urban Regions of Southeast Asia: UBC Press. Rolnik, Raquel. (2013). United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing Official Mission to the Republic of Indonesia Preliminary findings Media Statement. Sihombing, A. (2004). The transformation of Kampungkota; symbiosys between kampung and kota, a case study from Jakarta. Department of Architecture, University of Indonesia. Sihombing, A. (2010). Conflicting Images of Kampung and Kota in Jakarta: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. Silver, C. (2007). Planning the Megacity: Jakarta in the Twentieth Century: Taylor & Francis.