28 Aug 2009
Singgih Susilo Kartono among the trees surrounding Magno wooden radio workshop (August 23, 2009@Marco Kusumawijaya)
Singgih Susilo Kartono, the maker of Magno wooden radios, thinks we should grow together with our resources. He wants to prove it in his village, Kandangan, in Temanggung, only 8 km from the house where Police thinks Noordin Top hid. Will it materialise sustainably or become a bursting utopia? Only more elaboration and testing-out will answer that question. We discussed this issue while enjoying fresh air in his workshop on August 23, 2009.
He envisions his village to develop sustainably with production, consumption and resources growing together in the same locale. He wants to literally grow resources for his factory. He has already started growing seeds of sonokeling, mahoni, and other hardwood that he uses for his products, the famous awards winning Magno wooden radios, toys and stationery. He distributes the seeds for free to his neighbours to plant them on their own lands. One slide of his powerful powerpoint presentation shows how more trees emerge and grow bigger as his production grows as well.
With demand for his products growing (creating a current backlog of one month), it is very likely that he will have to expand his production facilities soon, although he does not wish to hurry on that. His neighbours will also enjoy the desentralised distribution of benefits soon. If things go well in the next couple of years, the village vill soon experience a densification process, having new wealth that willl materialise in the “rural” space
Singgih’s vision of production based on local resources, and a fair distribution of wealth in the locale, revives our imagination of “garden city” and other utopias in the history of urbanism. Resources and production are closely linked with relationships clearly tangible and within sight. It would certainly means very low ecological footprint. Fortunately, his “inputs” of the electrical parts in his radios also come from nearby factories in Semarang, two hours by car from Kandangan, Singgih’s base.
His products are sold so far mostly to consumers abroad. MOMA in New York just started to sell them in their stylish museum shop. Can we assume that the value he added to the woods justifies the emission of CO2 of transporting them?
Need for a plan
In anticipation of the spectre of “growth” that is lurking from behind both the demand for his products, and the needs of the village, Singgih is already thinking of creating a “masterplan” to guide the village development into the future. A serious mapping of available assets (natural and man made) is needed. A vision of how a future growth wil also grow and nurture (instead of deplete) the assets will be an intriquing exercise of intellect, creativity and technical skills of many disciplines.
16 Aug 2009
A sustained social space under a fly-over, next to a railroad, initially facilitated by Jakarta Biennale 2009 (Photo by Erik Prasetya,2009)
Orang bilang Jakarta bukan ‘kota’ tetapi kampung besar karena di Jakarta rumah-rumah berdiri di lahan masing-masing sebagian besar dengan halaman sendiri sebagaimana rumah pedesaan. Ciri-ciri hunian kota yang multi-keluarga, yang efisien dalam penggunaan lahan, tidak umum di Jakarta, begitu juga layanan dasar kota seperti jalur pejalan kaki dan taman kota, sulit ditemui.
Memang, Jakarta pada awalnya adalah kota-kota yang beraglomerasi. Batavia dengan Meester Cornelis, belakangan dengan kampung-kampung seperti Kemang dan Condet. Diantaranya dibangun hunian modern berkonsep garden city, berkepadatan rendah, satu-dua lantai, seperti di Menteng, Kebayoran Baru, Pondok Indah, Pulomas, dan lain-lain.
Padahal kepadatan (density) adalah kata kunci bagi kota. Asumsi umum mengatakan semakin padat maka semakin efisien, ini terkait mahalnya lahan dan pengadaaan layanan kota—air bersih, saluran pembuangan, jaringan listrik, dan lain-lain. Tetapi, kota adalah wujud eksistensi sosial-budaya manusia, bentuknya tidak cukup ditentukan skala ekonomi lahan dan jaringan infrastruktur.
30 Jul 2009
Oleh Armely Meiviana.
Ada ratusan kawasan permukiman yang tersedia di Jakarta dan sekitarnya, mulai dari rumah sederhana hingga rumah mewah. Semuanya menawarkan berbagai kelebihan, seperti harga murah, lokasi strategis dekat tol, bebas banjir, desain mengikuti bentuk rumah di Eropa atau AS. Belum lagi fasilitas olahraga dan rekreasi keluarga, fasilitas perkantoran, sekolah, rumah sakit serta pusat perbelanjaan yang mudah dijangkau. Belakangan pasar properti bahkan diramaikan oleh proyek hunian baru yang mengklaim dirinya berwawasan lingkungan.
Lalu apa yang kurang? Apa yang membuat sekelompok warga Jakarta yang menamakan diri Komunitas Rumah Bersama, berupaya untuk mengembangkan konsep cohousing, jenis permukiman yang didesain oleh komunitas? (more…)
14 Jul 2009
Ekologi Jakarta terancam punah. Penduduk penghuni dalam kota Jakarta berkurang, menurun setidaknya dalam 10 tahun terakhir. Keragaman berkurang, bukan saja dalam arti fungsi (terutama dengan menghilangnya hunian di tengah kota), tetapi juga dalam arti keragaman strata ekonomi. Kelemahan terletak pada tidak adanya koherensi antara kebijakan perpajakan, pembangunan perkotaan, tata ruang/kota, dan konservasi. Bahkan kawasan perumahan berkualitas tinggi (setidaknya dulu) seperti Menteng pun sedang mengalami penurunan.
(Lihat studi pada http://rujak.org/2009/07/loe-loe-gue-gue/ dan http://rujak.org/2009/07/visioning-the-future-of-jakarta-imagining-jakarta/; serta artikel di http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/21/the-plight-and-plea-menteng.html, dan http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/06/04/envisaging-a-mutually-beneficial039-kind-jakarta.html ) (more…)
06 Jul 2009
Gated prospect, by moriza
Last week’s news on Jakarta has been quite encouraging. Community initiatives such as greenlifestyle, greenmap, Indonesian Folding Bike Community, and even rujak.org received media coverage. Media were also eager to get a glimpse of the upcoming masterplan of Jakarta, which is said to be transit oriented development, and experts were enthusiastic to respond.
Among all the good news, there’s hidden a small report about a growing number of religion-based housing estate for sale in the suburbs, high in demand. And this is not just talking about the architecture style, but it goes as far as the selection of buyers and even renters. (more…)
04 Jul 2009
Andi Rahmah, Agus P. Sari, et.al., Loe Loe, Gue Gue; Hancurnya Kerekatan Sosial, Rusaknya Lingkungan Kota Jakarta, Yayasan Pelangi, Jakarta 2004.
Loe Loe, Gue Gue
