The dilemma of development : a study of the relationship between the community of Condet and supralocal institutions in Jakarta

Abstract

In the southeast of Jakarta, flanked by the Jakarta-Bogor main road and the Ciliwung river, there lies a kampung settlement, or local community, which is unique in a modern capital city. This kampung is called Condet; and here for generations the indigenous people of Jakarta, the Betawi, have cultivated salak (salacca edulis) and dukuh (lansium domeslium) - two kinds of fruit that are normally found only in the remote countryside and forest areas, but which are grown here in gardens and yards. In 1972, under the Community Development Scheme (Pembangunan Masyarakat Desa), the Jakarta Administration constructed a new asphalted road connecting the kampung with the city. This development immediately accelerated the process of urbanization in terms of the outward movement of the city residents to Condet and a consequent change in the pattern of land use from fruit growing to housing. When the Jakarta authorities realized the situation in 1915, they took steps to preserve the fruit gardens and the traditional culture of the Betawi in Condet for their distinctive character and to prevent the indigenous people from being proletarianized by land purchasers and speculators from the city. But they were too late and the attempt, which was formalized in the Condet Cultural Preservation Scheme (Proyek Cagar Budaya Condet), turned out to be ineffective, developing very differently in practice from the way it was planned. Instead of impeding the effects of urbanization on the kampung, it attracted more city residents to Condet and more land speculators to invest their money in the area . The declaration of the Condet Cultural Preservation Scheme made Condet renowned in Jakarta as a "green area", a setting in which most city residents would aspire to live. Again, one of the programmes of the Condet Cultural Preservation Scheme was the extension of transportation facilities, which resulted in making Condet more accessible to city commuters. Show more