Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses
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ItemThe Minangkabau House: 'Spatial Opportunities' in Rural Western Sumatra, Indonesia( 2022)This thesis applies methods from gender studies to an architectural analysis of vernacular dwellings of the Minangkabau people in rural western Sumatra, Indonesia. It asks how the social and physical characteristics of the Minangkabau house become intertwined with the continuous reshaping of the villagers’ notions of home, matrilineal kinship and social relations, and gender roles. This thesis builds on prior research on the ‘Minangkabau House’, posing a critique of essentialist, binary notions of ‘tradition’ and ‘modernity’ implicit in some studies of vernacular architecture that focus on Minangkabau dwellings. Existing interdisciplinary literature has illuminated how embodied customary or adat principles of matrilineal social relations are tangible in house form and expression. However, some of these writings have misinterpreted the significance of the relationships between the Minangkabau house and socio-spatial transformation, which this thesis seeks to redress through a study of several house types. In addressing this problem, this thesis adopts two analytical lenses: ‘spatial opportunities’, as coined by the feminist geographer Ayona Datta to denote possibilities for empowerment embedded in space, and ‘intersectionality’ as proposed by the critical race theorist Kimberle Crenshaw to comprehend social experiences specific to an individual’s particular identity. The analysis is based on eight weeks of spatial ethnographic field research conducted in a Minangkabau village. Participant observation, architectural and spatial observation, and semi-structured interviews were employed to record the physical features of the houses and their surroundings, and the villagers’ experiences of dwelling as shaped by multiple factors including the physical settings, adat norms, and their dwelling activities. This thesis argues that encounters between the customary system of values and coexisting ideologies have produced socio-spatial opportunities by making possible a multiplicity of what villagers perceive as adat and of the ways in which they put adat into practice. Dwellers transform the embodied social opportunities that are expressed in the architectural, spatial and symbolic features of the house through adaptive decision-making and considering available options for empowerment that give rise, in the process, to new material expressions of architectural form and use.
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ItemTransformation of Jalan Malioboro, Yogyakarta : the morphology and dynamics of a Javanese street( 2001)Streets are an important element of urban form and function. For their future development it is essential to understand the processes of transformation they have undergone in the past. This thesis is specifically concerned with Jalan Malioboro, the principal street of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, which has had many historic roles and has undergone many transformations since its establishment in 1756. The various plans and regulations put forward in the past for the development of this street have proved to be inadequate to manage its invaluable but fragile local character. The aim of this research project is to understand and define the prevailing processes and forces that have brought about the transformation of Jalan Malioboro's streetscape since its establishment up to the present. Two approaches were used: morphological analysis for the physical-spatial characteristics of the streetscape through graphical representations and their qualitative descriptions; and socio-cultural analysis of the functions, meanings and activities taking place on the street, also done descriptively and qualitatively. A retrospective method was applied to reveal the processes that had occurred in the past and a prospective method to analyse the current condition and envisage its prospects. The overall process of transformation shows both continuities and changes of both the morphology and functions and meanings of Jalan Malioboro. The only true continuity is that of the very original axis. Everything else was and is in constant flux depending upon the contemporary forces. Although Jalan Malioboro forms a prominent linear space that provides a vista from Kraton to Tugu as part of a cosmological axis, it has grown spontaneously and incrementally. Socioculturally, the most striking transformation has been from its royal ceremonial function to its current predominant commercial function. The processes of transformation also demonstrate the dialectic between the form and function of the spaces along Jalan Malioboro, which has produced a hybridised and lively street. Its linearity, an orderly form derived from its function as a cosmological axis, has had superimposed on it different forms and activities, thus producing an ambiguous and chaotic streetscape. There are five key forces that have brought about the transformation: (a) the religious syncretism of the Javanese culture; (b) the political subversion, (c) lack of planning control, (d) modernisation, commercialisation and commodification of space; and (e) the 1997 economic downturn. Any development efforts for Jalan Malioboro arising from an examination of its process of transformation should attempt to ensure that its cultural significance, including its complexity and the dynamism of the street environment, is maintained.
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ItemConflicting images of kampung and kota in Jakarta( 2005)Jakarta is a complex city, a city of conflicts and a city of differences: the traditional and modern, the informal and formal, the unplanned and planned, the rich and poor, and the sacred and the worldly, often standing side by side. It presents as a complex of kampungs and, at the same time, a kota. This research responds to the question: Why do people want to continue living in kampungs despite the tensions and conflicts they experience, seemingly caused by excessive and ever-encroaching development of kit"? The question will be addressed through exploring the lived experiences of people in kampungs. It also looks at what kampung and kota are in Indonesian cities, particularly in Jakarta, through reviewing the literature and debates about kampungs (such as forms of community, social relationship and conflict) and kota (dealing with phenomena such as power and the role of government and elites in urban planning and development), and also through conducting fieldwork in Jakarta's kampungs. The thesis will expressly address ambiguities in these two terms, which complicate the discourse concerning their meanings in current Indonesia. Jakarta has, consciously or unconsciously, adopted the idea of kota-negara-separation between central government (power) and people, or between kit" and kampung. This separation has been retained through contemporary processes of modernization, even though it is no longer achieved by physical walls but rather by metaphorical walls, with the centralization of government arid the privatization of many strategic areas of kota, supported by government regulations including master plans. However kampungs, the traditional, spontaneous and diverse form of indigenous urban development in Indonesia, have grown organically and incrementally with the broader development of Jakarta over many years without planning guidance or regulations, building codes or centralized, coordinated provision of services. Kampungs traditionally practise the concept of mutual self-help, known as rukun (social harmony) and gotong royong (mutual self-help). However, the ideas of rukun and gotong royong have gradually become less prominent and are even being lost from the everyday life of people in kampungs, and it increasingly seems that these old forms of cooperative living could be swamped by social conflicts occurring between one kampung and another, and between kampungs and kota - by the apparent pressures of modern life in Jakarta. This research also examines the relationship and separation between kota and kampung resulting from different and conflicting images or concepts that arise in many aspects of urban lives-social, cultural, economic and political. Kota appears as a formal, regulated, exclusive and modern space and place, while kampung appears as informal, unregulated, inclusive and traditional. The political and economic power of kota over kampung has often resulted in social conflicts in Jakarta between kota and kampungs, government and people, formal and informal settlements, and even between one kampung and another. One of the most striking effects is the sharpness of the boundaries between kampungs and kota, which suggest dichotomies such as informal versus formal, unplanned versus planned, unregulated versus regulated, traditional versus modern, local versus global, inclusive versus exclusive, and communal versus urban. This research explores not only the differences or even conflicts between kampung and kota, but also the interdependency between them. It is essential to take account of the differences and conflicts and, of course, the symbiotic links between kampungs and kota in Jakarta's city planning, design and development. Governments, elites, urban planners and designers cannot ignore kampungs as they have in past: it is a two-way street, and kota in the long run cannot develop without recognizing the contribution, strengths and needs of knmpungs.
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ItemCommunity struggles for land in Jakarta( 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.
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ItemThe Role of urban transport policy in achieving sustainable development in Jakarta, Indonesia( 2004)Jakarta's transport system has moved away from sustainability over the past fifty years. Traffic accidents and air pollution have become serious problems, and growing congestion has resulted in increasing travel times. The present study was aimed at establishing how to reverse this trend and to uncover factors which may have been instrumental in the failure over recent decades to address this situation, and which may be corrected through better planning and policy. To do this, previous urban transport studies commissioned to deal with these problems were critically reviewed to establish which of their recommendations had been adopted and what were the actual outcomes. A survey of the existing transport system was also undertaken, involving government officers, academics, members of transport associations and member of Non-Government Organisations involved in urban transport. A further survey was done to establish the views of these stake-holders on why the policies adopted had not solved the problems. The study suggests that Jakarta has passed through three periods: a walking period, a transport modernisation period and a motorisation period. In the first two periods Jakarta appeared to have maintained a harmonious relationship between its high density, mixed-use urban form, ideally suited to non-motorised transport modes and to public transport. Even in the motorisation period, high density, mixed-use development has mostly followed major road corridors and remains well-suited to much higher use of public transport and non-motorised modes than currently exists. However, in this period, rapidly rising motor vehicle ownership and use began to come into conflict with the city's pre-automobile form. Road infrastructure could not be built fast enough to keep pace with traffic growth, despite almost exclusive commitment of available resources to road construction and improvement. High capacity public-transport systems, including rail and bus-ways, failed to materialise to help curb the motorisation process and to provide much needed relief on the roads. It was established that to make real progress in solving the transport problems two constraints would have to be dealt with: the present almost exclusive reliance on the traditional urban transport planning process used in all previous studies, and the institutional fragmentation in transport policy and implementation. Based on these findings, this study suggests a series of approaches to help deal with Jakarta's transport problems. In line with the global trend towards sustainability as an organising principle for urban policy development, these policies are offered within a framework of developing a more sustainable transport system in Jakarta. The policies suggested cover giving priority to facilitation of walking and cycling, development of public-transport infrastructure and transit-oriented, mixed land use, and a strong focus on management of transport demand. None of these will be achieved without institutional reform of Jakarta's transport decision-making structure.
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ItemDecentralization and spatial planning in Indonesia( 2003)Because of Indonesia's geography and history, centralisation and decentralisation policies have always played a dominant role in government policies. During President Soeharto's New Order regime, there was a blind faith that only the central government was capable of controlling the distribution of resources among the regions. However, this created an authoritarian attitude that led to the abuse of power and to acute corruption, collusion and nepotism (KEN), and to erratic and unsustainable land development. These problems eventually led to economic and political collapse and the resignation of President Soeharto. The new Habibie government could not resist a strong demand from the regions to have wider autonomy, which led to the issuance of new decentralisation laws in 1999 under the euphoria of demokmsi and reformasi. These laws aimed to devolve certain powers to the regions, including powers over land-use planning and development, and to boost their economic performance by making more fiscal resources available. The laws, which effectively came into force in January 2001 during the Abdurrahman Wahid government, resulted in controversies that have led to proposals for their amendment by the current Megawati government. This thesis investigates the implications of these various changes in decentralisation policy on spatial/land-use planning in Indonesia during the New Order era, the period of reform that immediately followed the fall of Soeharto, and the current era. While many aspects of spatial/land-use planning have been differently affected over this period of great change, nevertheless the present focus is on the phenomenon of chaotic and allegedly unsustainable land development to which the term desakota is commonly attached. The focus will further be on this process in the case of the Soreang corridor, Tatar Bandung, West Java. The rapid changes to the laws have had some unfavourable consequences. First, with their newly established powers, the rich regions have tended to embark on grandiose projects without considering the real needs and feasibilities of their regions, while the poor regions have attempted to boost their local tax base through the imposition of novel and destabilising local taxes and charges. Second, decentralisation of power has contributed to the emergence of 'decentralised' corruption. Third, the debate on whether the new decentralisation laws should be amended has focused more on the transfer of power rather than improved delivery of public services and empowerment of civil society. All these issues have been manifested on the ground in a more uncontrolled spatial and land-use structure - of which desakota is one manifestation-than in the previous era. The most important finding of this study is that spatial/land-use planning in Indonesia is the outcome of political decisions made by a combination of elite politicians and businessmen, strongly undermined by an acute KEN attitude, which has been embedded in the whole system of governance, as well as in society at large. This phenomenon developed, during the New Order centralisation era and still holds in the current decentralisation era. After a long history of centralistic and authoritarian government, it would be naive to think that a transformation towards democracy and reform could be achieved by simply issuing new laws. However, if all elements of Indonesian society, particularly the government, can learn from what has happened, the current proposal to amend the new laws could be a start towards a better system of governance for Indonesia in the future, with more systematic and sustainable development of Indonesia's resources, including its land resources. It is concluded that there is a need to amend these laws to give a clear delineation of authority not only between provinces and districts, but also between districts and villages. This process should not be separated from the empowerment of local communities in the villages to improve their political participation in the decision-making process, because they are the ones who will be affected by all decisions made on the ground. It should be recognised that KEN will not be overcome quickly, since it is now intricately interwoven with political and economic conditions in Indonesia. Increased transparency and the involvement of civil society in decision-making processes will provide a good start towards the effort to eradicate this attitude as well as in exercising demokrnsi and reformasi in Indonesia.
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ItemThe implications of urban land policy towards housing development in Indonesia : Surabaya as a case study( 2002)There have been predictions that urban populations will increase dramatically around the globe, especially in developing countries. Cities become sources of progress, and urban productivity is crucial to national development. In developing countries, especially in Asia, cities often double in size and population within a decade. Despite being engines of socio-economic development, most Asian cities are, unfortunately, also sources of poverty and centres of environmental deterioration. As a consequence of the above facts, land inevitably becomes an important factor, and usually the most critical problem, in urban development. In Indonesian cities the development of land is managed through a system of permits, the first of which is the so-called location permit. The objective of this permit is to ensure that the intended investment is in line with the socio-economic policy of the government. It also gives the holder the right to invest in the property and leads to the right to buy land, wholly or partially, from whoever owns it. In practice, the permit confers a 'monopoly to purchase', and accordingly the permit holder can put pressure on the landowners by offering a very low price for the land that might be impossible for them to accept. In most cases, the permit holders can control the best part of the urban land, while low-income people are pushed to fringe areas. Access to urban land for housing activities by low-income people can thereby be restricted. At the same time the system appears to lead to fragmented, inefficient development and environmental degradation. The objective of this research is to explore alternatives for a land permit system that will be better suited for urban housing development in Indonesia. A case study approach was chosen, and Surabaya was selected as a case study city. There were four types of respondents for this research, namely government officials, staff of Real Estate Indonesia, housing developers and landowners. The research was done through the following steps. First, a desk study was carried out to gain sufficient information about the location permit process. This was used to prepare questionnaires for interview purposes and to identify potential respondents. Second, interviews were done with government officials connected with the location permit system, and with members of the Real Estate Indonesia association. By comparing these interviews, respondents from among the housing developers were selected and interviewed. In selecting the developers, the exact case study areas could be specified and the previous landowners could also be identified. The next interviews were carried out with the previous landowners as respondents. The interview results were then tabulated and analysed, and conclusions were extracted from this analysis. From the analysis it was found that the location permit system itself is not the whole problem. It is closely related to other problems, such as inconsistency in law enforcement, poor management, incompleteness or lack of regulations, ill-paid civil servants, and/or collusion and nepotism. If accountability and transparency were maintained while relevant laws were properly enforced, many of the above problems could be overcome. However, it is clear that the location permit system is so open to abuse that it would be sensible to explore alternatives that would achieve the desired ends without suffering the problems.
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ItemHousing and neighbourhood change : a study of attitudes and behaviour of middle-class householders in Yogyakarta, Indonesia( 1998)An improvement in public housing development in Indonesia in recent time has coincided with national development towards modernisation. Modernisation occurs in all aspects of Indonesia's everyday life, including improved education. The context for the changing role of women - in part as a result of improving education - as well as for new trends in house and neighbourhood design, is first the rapid economic modernisation pursued in Indonesian society in recent decades, and second a seemingly related cultural westernisation. The design of both house and local neighbourhood accordingly faces dilemmas relating to new economic imperatives, cultural tensions, and tensions in values relating to gender differences and the role of women. Additionally, there are changes in the context of the family and its roles and tasks, as economic modernisation interacts with the pressure of safeguarding traditional values and cultural differences. The aim of this study is to examine the question whether, in the face of economic modernisation and cultural westernisation, the persistence of traditional values and local culture is manifest in present dilemmas concerning the planning and use of the house and its neighbourhood. This question will be explored within the specific context of middle-class housing. In pursuing this aim we turn to the theory of modernisation advanced by Jurgen Habermas, and then to Nancy Fraser's critique of this theory on the grounds that it ignores issues of gender. Yogyakarta is selected as a case study, and the intention is to obtain information on behaviour and attitudes of educated middle-class people residing in the study area. Households are selected from recently developed neighbourhoods characterised by KPR-BTN housing which is typically purchased by the educated middle-class. Households interviews are employed, with a focus on examining the relations between different aspects of attitudes and behaviour. Data are obtained from 67 households, in four neighbourhoods of Yogyakarta. It is an exploratory case study where the intention is not to obtain generalisable results, nor to rigorously test hypotheses, but rather to explore the relationships between phenomena. This is achieved by reducing a mass of different variables measuring attitudes and behaviour down to a simpler set of "summary" measures, employing multivariate statistical techniques - mainly factor analysis. The analyses are accordingly more directed towards description and explanation than towards generalisation to the broader population, or towards prediction. Stated briefly, it is found that for the surveyed group there is a strong correspondence between men's and women's attitudes to issues of work, home, children and culture. There is however also a fair degree of independence between these attitudes on the one hand, and on the other hand the levels of satisfaction with aspects of the dwelling, and levels of satisfaction with aspects of neighbourhood. These findings suggest that there is an interplay of three sets of processes: (1) the persistence of local culture, most notably in the orientation to family, in ideas of respect and deference, and in a conservatism in gender relations and attitudes; (2) there is the excitement of rapid economic growth; (3) there is of course also a negative side to economic growth and "progress", as older values and culture are eroded by new, global influences. While it is not possible to extrapolate from this group to Yogyakarta society generally, nevertheless the complexities of the responses tell us a great amount about the interweaving of attitudes and behaviour affecting use of the house and neighbourhood. Furthermore, it is necessary to reinterpret Habermas's theory of modernisation for a non-western society.
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ItemThe Javanese mosque: a regional interpretation of form and mystical concepts( 1996)The expression of mystical concepts in the architecture of Muslim communities in Indonesia is the subject of this dissertation. The oldest tradition of Islamic building in the region is found on the island of Java. Mysticism in this study is defined as the relationship between members of the ummat and Allah expressed through efforts to establish a spiritual union, and in this case, making use of the long traditions of artistic and architectural expression beginning with Animism and continuing through the great period of the Hindu-Buddhist royal cults. Formal continuities through megalithic remains and the great temples (candi flowed into the mosque building programs of political and spiritual leaders within what is defined by the historian, M.C Ricklefs, as the modern period of Indonesian history. Fifteen Javanese mosques from the fifteenth to the eightenth century have been identified. They form the central focus of this study which elucidates the adaptation of older forms and the incorporation of iconographical elements from rich local traditions of sculptural and architectural expression. Major variations are observed and analyzed in relation to geographical regions and historical periods. Although these building complexes are less monumental in their physical fabric than many other traditions of religious architecture, even within Islam, the powerful continuities in the spiritual life of Java have resulted in strikingly persistent iconographic expression. Manifestations of the strength of cultural traditions within Javanese communities are pursued through study and the analysis of one of its most important forms, the shadow puppet theatre (wayang kulit) which has spanned centuries of political and social change. The rich twentieth century scholarship of Indonesian and foreign interpreters of these periods of cultural interaction have been brought to bear in this study, but important local interpretations have also been carefully considered. A profound syncretism is revealed through this comparative analysis, drawing particular insights from developments and change in the organization of the mosque form during these three centuries. The introduction of mystical doctrines within Islamic practice from the earliest periods is shown to have been interpreted with great originality in many aspects of built form and detail. Javanese beliefs which have persisted long before and after the advent of Islam, view this world as a temporary living place in which it is possible to make preparation for life in the eternal realm. Thus, the passing of time is regarded symbolically as a spiritual journey through a variety of spaces which contain guides towards, what the Javanese people of all faiths believe to be, The Right Path.