Urban, Regional Planning Not Just About Building Infrastructure: President Jokowi
President Jokowi (17/04/2021) (Photo by: Presidential Secretariat’s Press Media and Information Bureau).
Planning is neither just building buildings nor just building skyscrapers; rather, it is building an environment, according to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
“Planning is building an environment. Planning is building a place of life that can positively affect public health, social interaction, cultural roots, economic efficiency, and life comfort. So that all significantly affect citizens’ happiness and creativity,” the President said a the 50th Anniversary of the Indonesian Association of Urban and Regional Planners (IAP) held online.
According to the President, the challenges in making plans will be more complex amid the rapid change, upward trend of urbanization, and also complex public needs.
Planning, he added, must also take into account culture, history, community economic structure, and other various aspects, while stressing that planning should not alienate the community in their own villages, should not cause traffic congestion, and should not make living costs higher and unhealthier.
The Head of State also underscored that the most fundamental aspect of smart city is smart design and is supported by digital devices that can improve community comfort, while expressing hopes that the coverage areas can be widen, from smart cities to smart provinces, from smart provinces to the national level of smart Indonesia.
Furthermore, President Jokowi pointed out that Indonesia must learn from other countries and must have its own characteristic in making urban or regional planning.
Therefore, the President ordered that every planning must be mature, one of which is a planning on building a city that is more inclusive and open to all community, including by designing safe and comfortable streets for pedestrians and roads for cyclists and motorists, non-exclusive shopping centers; offices and residents that are not too far away; and the city that secures the river and makes its community to love the rivers.
The President also expressed belief that the urban and regional planning that is well-designed will significantly contribute to the quality of life of the community, the environment, as well as economic, social, and cultural activities, and also the image of Indonesia in the international community.
“Let us transform cities in Indonesia into smart cities that begin with a smart design. Let us make provinces in Indonesia into smart provinces that also begin with a smart design. Let us design the new capital in East Kalimantan into a city and region that has a smart design, which can become the pioneer city in the world. Lastly, let us together make Indonesia a smart Indonesia,” the President said. (FID/UN) (AP/EP)
