City’s Future = Slums?
Word by word suffocated my lungs and so they hung there, limped and numbed. The scattered houses down bellow are a jungle of undeniable truths of how living squatters in Indonesia’s biggest city, Jakarta is conditioned. I am sure if you open the car window you would smell the bad odor rousing from down there. Haphazard developments of housing on unattended or under disputes of ownership lands are what had happened to form these squatters.
In contrast of the glamour cityscape, behind skyscrapers, beyond hope these funguses of development live and grow. They do not belong to no one, these slums we may call; belong to us as citizens of the world. They appear not only in Indonesia, but also in other cities and other countries; disguised in different names, favellas of Rio, shikumen settlements of Shanghai, kampung of Indonesian cities, and many others.
This phenomenon is discussed thoroughly in Mike Davis’ Planet of Slums. There seem to be a laisez faire of mental by governments of these countries to let them grow. Unfortunately, there is not much can be done to improve their conditions due to many top bottom decisions that lack of attentions. Many of improvements program are misled and used not according to the inhabitants’ needs. Not to mention the mean strategy some of the capitalists are using when they want the land for a certain development.
So, is there a way out of this? Of course there is, if we would all sit together and listen! The need of these people can be assessed by a simple act of observing. May be they who sit up there do not need this, but we as planner do. Steps are more effective taken from bottom up approaches.
Use the inhabitants’ communal spirit. Most informal settlements everywhere around the globe have strong ties with their neighborhood.
Improvements can start with small things. Cleanliness of the settlements is a god start. Give these settlers the understanding of a healthier environment by keeping clean their living spaces.
Grow the feeling of common ownerships. Participatory planning in slum areas would be proven effective, because the inhabitants are also involved in the process. We need to let them know first of all, that this is for the common sake of everyone.
The United Nations in their reports mentioned that more than one billion people now live in the slums of the cities of the South. This is our chance to help creating betterment for citizens of tomorrow. So, step up to it, my fellow planners and architects!
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...
that’s a nice concept ahead, yes agree that slum area should not to be demolished, but, arranged….
yea i like this concept to generate the development from the bottom line, nice!
to be or not to be,thats the question…..
usually slums also places that have high vulnerability to natural and social hazard. the architects should view this condition as challenge to propose a built environment that responsive to the hazard
Recent article said abt ‘rusunami’, affordable vertical residential which is provided to replace those kind of slum in big cities area around Indonesia. although I havent got much time to observe it, but I guess for ‘temporary’ solution, that’s the best we could do though we wouldnt know how long its gona b adequate for those increasing commuters???
@adam, that is very correct, that’s why an architect is needed to help improving this settlement
@shinta, this rusunami solution is not really a good solution. imagine if along everywhere towers are built and demands are still increasing. what we need to focus more is how to empower other regions to develop in the level of bigger cities.
I’d like to ask about improvements of slums. I’m not sure about this, especially in our big cities. why? because many slums in Java are built on illegal land or river banks which is not supposed to be built as homes afterall. imagine if we build comfortable places on these places, in the future there will be more people who come to the “improved slums”. About rusunami, I think it’s better than improved slum because we can find a good land that is not vulnerable to natural hazard. But still, the government should not just build the cities but also the rural areas to decrease the urbanization
@Adam: Well.. we need to put trust for something we don’t see right now. These are potentials of the grass root society. But, of course if the structure is less vulnerable many will rethink of staying in this rejuvenated area.
Let me first quote: “Grow the feeling of common ownerships. Participatory planning in slum areas would be proven effective, because the inhabitants are also involved in the process. We need to let them know first of all, that this is for the common sake of everyone.” it is indeed true that when citizens are involved in every decision making process they will develop ownership towards every decision taken.
@Adam: the fact that our squatters occupy riverbanks in my opinion raises a challenge for us architects and planners to think way out of the box. I guess they have their reasons to occupy the riverbanks, and if relocation won’t work, then we should educate them about the hazards that they would bring upon themselves should they mistreat the riverbank in which they occupy. We should also sanitize our rivers and canals to provide a healthier environment for them. There’s this place in Denmark where the water was so polluted from the shipping activities that took place there. The government then decided to clean the place up and sanitized the water to make it fit for recreation. This is no cheap stuff I’m sure, and it’s certainly not an overnight job, but I’m sure if every element of society is involved then this can also happen to our rivers and canals. Thus providing a healthier environment for the squatters (provided also that they be educated in hygiene, etc.) and for the city as a whole.
Leave your response!
Categories
Control Panel
Tags
3dmax 798 art district architect architect journey architecture architecture behaviour autocad beijing bonn busway canals citizen's place city Code River color community competition congestion construction coreldraw design drawing tutorial drawing tutorial fengshui frank gehry graffiti great wall china Hangzhou High Tech highway indonesia kampung Kenzo Tange landscape le corbusier maestro marketplace paris park permukiman perumahan photography shanghai urban design urban space veniceRecent Posts
Most Commented
Most Viewed