Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses

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    Community struggles for land in Jakarta
    Winayanti, Lana ( 2004)
    In Jakarta, kampung settlements have provided access to urban land and housing for a large part of the population. Some kampung settlements have been integrated and part of the city through the granting of administrative status. However, for residents in particular kampung settlements continuing to live in their kampungs has been a struggle because of the constraints imposed on them by the state. The fall of the New Order government in May 1998 marked the beginning of the reformasi era, and with new hope for better governance and democracy. Nevertheless, there seems to be a growing movement of kampung communities led by NGOs struggling for their right to the city. This dissertation is concerned with the struggles of kampun communities how they have evolved under the changing social and political changes in the reformasi era. It argues that the kampung communities' claims to lands were essential in gaining their social rights as citizens, and that the success of the outcomes depended on their ability to seize political opportunities. Through fieldwork in two kampungs, Kelurahan Kebon Kosong and Kampun Penas Tanggul, the research showed the complexities of power relations in land resulting from weak land management by the state. The distinction between legality and illegality is unclear, and depends on the social attitudes and relations between. the residents and government officials. The analysis of the findings showed the importance of the communities' claims on land and how they are related to gaining their social rights as citizens. The success of gaining claims to land depended on the empowerment of the community, which includes understanding their rights to land evolving from a locally based struggle to a network-based struggle with other kampung communities in Jakarta. The role of NGOs was crucial in the empowerment process, as well as in building strategic alliances with government officials. However, despite the change in the reformasi era that opened up opportunities for greater participation in development, the process is dependent on the response of the state, which unfortunately, is still trapped in the ways of the New Order government. These findings show the necessity of acknowledging the diversity of legality and illegality of land tenure at the kampung level, and finding alternative tenure arrangements for kampung settlements that are more feasible than individual land titles, yet could provide long-term certainty for the residents. The empowerment of kampung communities demonstrates the creation of a stronger civil society that could play a larger role in local land management. However, the major barriers have been the unaccountability of the state and the reluctance of state officials to open the door to wider participation. Without these changes, there is no doubt that any policy to improve security of tenure will fail.