11.0 Rasuna Epicentrum, Jakarta - a Genuine Move Towards Urbanization!

Over the last 20 years as I have watched Jakarta transform, I have always yearned for it to grow into a truly Urban City with streets clearly defined by building and designed for pedestrians so walking from one building to the other can be an enjoyable experience. The pedestrian friendly environment, the development of mixed use together with a good public transport system I felt would turn Jakarta into a truly wonderful city. In my last blog, I wrote about my experience of the Busway and how it can be a Catalyst for urbanization of Jakarta. It still needs lots of improvements, but there is great potential.  

10.0 Jakarta Busway a Catalyst for Urbanization

In my many travels to Jakarta since 2004 when the Busway first went into operations, I have heard mostly complaints from people I met primarily Senior Managers who commute by private car and most often with a driver. The most immediate reaction was the complaining of taking one whole lane away for only buses when traffic was already so congested.

Over the years occasionally I have tried it a few time, and must say that generally it works, but still there are many related problems and issues that needs to be worked out before it can be truly a well integrated mass transit system.

9.0 Tourism Development as Environmental Protection

The age old question does Tourism Development protect or harm the natural environment?  Of course the answer is yes and no.  It is dependent on a number of factors such as the specifics of the ecosystem involved, the type of tourism, the carrying capacity of the ecosystem based on the type of tourism and the actual planning, design and execution of the tourism.

One example I can sight that was planned, designed and executed successfully to manage this sensitive ecosystem is the Bintan Resorts Mangrove Discovery Tour which was subsequently awarded a PATA Gold Award in 2003.

8.0 My Favorite Urban Space – Piazza del Campo, Siena

Of all the places that I have visited, the one urban space that is forever etched in my memory as the most beautiful and my favorite place is Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy.



Piazza del Campo, Siena Italy

7.0 Economic and Physical Scale Comparision

In the process of physical planning, scale comparision is a common tool to help visualize how big a space is or the length of a road.  Reference points are based on known factors.  Depending on the scale of the object to be compared, I like to use cars, football fields and walking roads or developments my audience will know in making comparisions.  Rarely do you find scale comparisions that convert from economic scale to physical scale, but this recent one of the US debt I found was very eye opening and worth having a look.  Enjoy. Link to US debt visualized.

Jiwa Studio

Singapore, October 2011

WWW.Wix.com/JiwaStudio/JiwaWeb

6.0 Urban vs Suburban why I appreciate Urban so much!

Having grown up in the most pronounced suburbia in the world, I chose to live the last 20 years in some of the most urban and dense locations in Asia. All my friends and family back in L.A. always ask me what’s it like living in a “City”?

5.0 Waterways a “Thread” of Development

As an advocate of Urbanism, features that provide continuity and tie together the urban fabric like a thick thread ties together the individual pieces of a quilt blanket always impresses me. An example that has been evolving over a number of years is the linear connector that goes from the Queenstown area of Singapore down the Singapore River and about 7.5km to Marina Bay.  

4.0 Regulations need to cover both Maximum and Minimum at least sometimes.

After publishing my Blog 2.0 - Residential Parking Requirements Near Subway Stations, I was surprised and in fact delighted to find and article in the 13 October 2011 issue of Today News Paper in Singapore titled Reversing into old trouble? The article covered the Singapore URA’s regulation to set the car parking ratio at 1 car per 425m2 of commercial GFA as opposed to the earlier ratio of 2 cars per 425m2 of GFA for a centrally located new development. This site is just off Raffles Place a short walk from the Raffles Place MRT station and clearly a location where you would expect and want the greater population of users to come by MRT or Taxi.

3.0 The “Granny Unit” transformed in Condominiums

It has been said that old time tested building typologies never die, they just evolve.  The case should be true about the old fashion Granny Units.  I remember my grandmother’s house in Hawaii was built with a main house and a small Granny Unit next door.  In this case my Granny owned the whole complex and didn’t even live in the Granny Unit.  There was always a tenant there, usually a single person but mostly someone I never would see, I guess my grandmother knew someone was there at least when the rent came in every month.  Over time this became a long lost and forgotten typology, not sure why? Could it be zoning regulations that restricted them or was it housing became the job of developers and they just felt more profitable not building them or worse was it, no one wanted Granny to living next to them anymore!?

2.0 Residential Parking Requirements Near Subway Stations

Any city in the world with top class public mass transportation such as Singapore must be commended and clearly the residents and user enjoy a higher quality of life whether they actually use the public transport or not. Of course if you use it, then you have direct benefits, if you don’t and end up driving, you benefit indirectly from the reduced traffic and competition for parking. 

1.2 Urban Planning, Lifestyle, Natural Resources and the Environment - Part 2 of 2

Looking at the diagram above of the current world order, the cycle we are in now is an addiction driven by an Extravagant Lifestyle that shapes the Urban Planning to be self-centered on personal private space as the only concern which is achievable because we can afford to exploit the available natural resources and most importantly there is no one making us pay to offset or repair the environmental impact cost! This ultimately can only be done if there is international regulation that everyone follows which is virtually impossible! End result is this lifestyle will only change when resource depletion and competition because of the growing demand will force prices to skyrocket. What shall we do, just wait? No, as professionals leading development we must make efforts towards change and continue to propose the direction that will put us on track for both a sustainable lifestyle and hence model of Urban Planning.

1.1 Urban Planning, Lifestyle, Natural Resources and the Environment - Part 1 of 2

As much as we know about the impacts of the Greenhouse Effect to the earth and the direction the environment is heading the world population particularly in the developed countries continue to drag its feet at taking aggressive concrete action. This seems to be a result of the ingrained Capitalist view of life, “Money Talks and Bullshit Walks”. Having grown up in suburban America and living the last 20 years in Asia and watching countries like China and Indonesia develop physically and mentally along the same path as suburban America, I can only have nightmares regularly of where the world environment is heading!

Coming Soon

• Integrated Master Planning for Destination Development (10 part series)
• Kalibata City, Jakarta
• Tebet Community, Jakarta (Jan 2012)
• Iskandar Development, Malaysia (Jan 2012)
• Lessons of Rome - (8 part series over 2 weeks starting 30 Jan 2012)
• Urban Planning, Lifestyle, Natural Resources and the Environment ( 2 parts)
• Residential Parking Requirements Near Subway Stations
• The “Granny Unit” in Condominium Developments
• Place of Public Transportation
• Development Time Schedules
• Taxes and Common Areas Charges
• Parks for Flood Control in Tropical Climates
• Infrastructure Cost
• Beach Resorts in Asia
• Toursim and Heritage Conservation
• Tourism and Environmental Conservation
• Development Guidelines Absloute or Objective?
• Local Communites in New Developments
• Shopping Malls Hats On or Hats Off?
• Jakarta's Busway an Economical Alternative for Asian Mass Transportation
• Jakarta's Road to Urbanization
• Jakarta's Kota awaiting Urban Renewal (March 2012)
• An Architects Pilgrimage to Ronchamp (March 2012)

Ratings List
• Top 10 Resort Destinations
• Top 10 Urban Entertainment Centers
• Top 10 Integrated Urban Living Locations
• Top 10 City Parks
• Top 10 Urban Spaces
• Top 10 Water Spaces