Cornell University
College of Architecture, Art and Planning
Department of City and Regional Planning
CRP 5076, International Development Planning Workshop
Water, Shelter and Community-Based Planning in Solo, Indonesia
Spring 2015
Description: Cornell students in Surakarta, Indonesia; Pepe River; PKK women’s community based
planning meeting.
Instructor:
Office:
E-mail:
Telephone:
Victoria A. Beard
200 W. Sibley Hall
vab57@cornell.edu
607.255-5385
Class meetings:
Discussion sessions:
Meeting location:
Office hours:
Thursdays, 1:25 to 4:25
Tuesdays, 2:30 to 3:20
Sibley 115
Tuesdays 3:30-4:30
Workshop Description
The purpose of the workshop is to expose students to the complexity as well as the
nuances of planning with poor communities in the global South. The workshop focuses
on planning for communities located along the Pepe River in Surakarta (Solo), Indonesia.
Issues of primary concern are access to reliable potable water, sanitation services, secure
shelter and poverty. There are three main deliverables for the course: (1) an exhibition in
West Sibley that combines spatial data, visual images and narrative and development of a
website; (2) a series of memos outlining key findings for the Pepe River communities, the
non-governmental sector and the local government; and (3) an Advocacy Planning
Handbook for Indonesian activist planners working with riverbank communities. These
deliverables will be based on analysis of secondary data and primary data collected in
Solo, Indonesia.
Context
Indonesia is at a crossroads in terms of its national development. After decades of
economic growth and poverty reduction, in 1998, Indonesia experienced a sustained
economic crisis. During this period the country implemented significant political reform
(known as reformasi). It also implemented radical decentralization policies that moved
the locus of revenue distribution decisions away from the central government to the
municipal level. Since 2007 Indonesia has again experienced a period of impressive
economic growth (averaging over 6 percent per year). However, in 2013 the economy
showed signs of weakness; first with a fall of the stock market and then a slipping of the
value of the rupiah and rising inflation rates.
Solo is a particularly interesting city to conduct the workshop because it has recently
undergone a noteworthy planning process led by the former mayor Joko Widodo
(Jokowi). The former mayor is well known for successfully relocating squatters away
from the Bengawan River, engaging street vendors in a relocation process, supporting
traditional markets and his overall clean, transparent and participatory style of
governance. After winning the Best Mayor award in 2011, Jokowi became governor of
Jakarta, and in August 2014 he was elected President of Indonesia.
Jokowi’s decision to relocate squatters away from the Bengawan River flies in the face of
what is considered “best practices” in urban planning—improving housing and basic
services with minimal relocation and disruption of existing social networks, or what is
commonly referred to in situ upgrading. Signicantly, Jokowi moved entire neighborhoods
together to open land, gave them land tenure (hak milik) and money to construct modest,
single-family homes. The current mayor of Solo seeks to revitalizing the Pepe River. The
settlement pattern along the Pepe River is different than the Bengawan River. While the
Pepe River experiences less seasonal flooding, households have mixed land tenure status
and location in the city’s dense urban center makes finding a comparable open space for
relocation of large groups of poor households nearly impossible.
Collaboration Relationships and Partners
The workshop seeks to develop collaborative relationships among classmates and with
the workshop’s Indonesian stakeholders and main NGO partner. There are three
significant sets of stakeholders involved in planning along the Pepe River: the
communities along the river; Yayasan Kota Kita and other non-governmental actors; and
Solo’s municipal government, specifically those departments that are engaged in aspects
of planning and work on planning related issues (i.e., Kelurahan offices, Bappeda, PU).
An important part of the workshop is ongoing dialogue via email and Skype with our
main partner, Yaysasan Kota Kita. Their input is critical as we develop the workshop’s
main deliverables.
Learning Objectives
•
•
•
•
A deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexities, politics and
nuances involved in planning with poor communities in the global South.
Develop the sensitivity and humility necessary to work effectively across cultural,
historical and political settings.
Develop the communication skills necessary to engage project partners, including,
but not limited to: local government, NGOs, and community members.
Build effective working relationships across cultures, disciplinary perspectives
and professional orientations.
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•
•
Interpret and use effectively different types of data, including: interviews, direct
observation, project documents, administrative records, maps, scholarly research,
datasets, popular media and visual information.
Enhance students’ research, writing, presentation, critical thinking and problem
solving skills.
Class Format and Expectations
Workshops are unique educational experiences because they are dynamic, and the work
will continue to evolve as we gain a deeper understanding of the context and the issues
throughout the semester. Please come to class prepared to work. The quality of your
learning experience will depend on the level of effort you bring to the course. I will strive
to create an open, communicative, creative and respectful work environment.
At times you will work independently, at other times you will work collaboratively on
discrete tasks. You will be individually responsible for specific deliverables, writing
specific sections of the documents as well as writing some sections collaboratively. As
part of the learning process and in order to ensure the highest quality final product, you
will be asked to peer review each other’s work.
Typically, 4-credit workshops meet for 4 hours per week. Because of the time difference
with Indonesia, you are expected to meet weekly outside of our regularly scheduled 3hour Thursday class meeting to facilitate small group work and Skype meetings with our
Indonesian partners and stakeholders.
Please bring your laptop and other needed tools and materials to every class meeting. It is
important that you maintain up-to-date backups of all electronic work and supporting
materials (e.g., maps, photos, videos, notes, drafts, and scanned documents). Because of
the active learning involved in a workshop, regular attendance is mandatory.
Description of Deliverables
The primary deliverables for the workshop are as follows: (1) exhibit in W. Sibley and
workshop website, (2) a series of stakeholder memos, and (3) the Advocacy Planning
Handbook. These deliverables are designed to meet the needs of a number of
stakeholders.
•
The development of W. Sibley exhibit and workshop website are important
communication tools to share our work with CRP and the broader Cornell
community. These avenues of communication are essential for sustainability of
the workshop.
•
The memos are designed to provide feedback to communities, NGOs and the
local government we have worked with in Indonesia over the past 2 years. The
memos will focus on our key findings about water, shelter and community-based
planning, and the final version will be translated into Indonesian.
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•
The Advocacy Planning Handbook will be created in close collaboration with
Yayasan Kota Kita and will serve as a reference for activist planners working
with poor, riverbank communities in Indonesia.
The deliverables will come from a rigorous analysis of interviews, case studies, visual
information, maps and administrative data collected as part of the workshop over the past
two years. The form of the deliverables will be based on ongoing consultation with
stakeholders, so expectations will evolve throughout the semester. The dynamic nature of
this work can make some students feel uncomfortable, but this is not an unusual situation
in professional planning practice. Students should be prepared to receive critical feedback
from diverse sources and revise their work throughout the semester.
Deadlines
The following is a series of deadlines for each of the deliverables. These deadlines are
designed to maximize input from the instructor, relevant stakeholders and our Indonesian
partner.
Deliverables
West Sibley exhibition
Workshop website
Memo: Community
Memo: NGO
Memo: Local government
Advocacy Planning Handbook
Review 1st
Drafts
March 19
March 19
March 12
March 19
March 26
April 9
Review
Progress
March 5
February 19
February 26
March 5
March 12
March 19
Deliver draft
to client
March 26
April 16
April 16
April 16
April 16
April 16
Send final
version to client
***
May 6
May 6
May 6
May 6
May 6
Adherence to deadlines is critical for balancing the workload throughout the semester.
All deadlines refer to the beginning of the Thursday class meeting on the designated due
date. After the beginning of class, late assignments will be marked down half a grade for
each day the assignment is late.
Evaluation and Grades
Your grade is based on three areas of evaluation: (1) participation in class; (2)
performance on interim assignments; and (3) performance on the final deliverables.
Course Grade
Area of evaluation
Percentage of course grade
30%
30%
40%
Participation
Interim or draft assignments
Final deliverables
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Because part of your grade is based on participation, you cannot receive full credit for
classes you miss.
Readings and Supporting Materials
I have posted many of the readings on Blackboard (http://blackboard.cornell.edu/).
You will discover new readings and relevant materials as the semester progresses. Below
is a list of suggested readings. I realize a list like this can be overwhelming. As a result, I
prefer to meet with you throughout the semester to guide your reading and help you make
strategic choices.
Anderson, B. (1990). Language and power: Exploring political cultures in Indonesia.
Jakarta: Equinox Publishing.
Beard, V. A. (1999). Navigating and creating spaces: An Indonesian community’s
struggle for land tenure. Plurimondi, 1(2), 127-145.
Beard, V. A. (2003). Learning radical planning: The power of collective action. Planning
Theory, 2(1), 13-35.
Beard, V. A. (2007). Household contributions to community development in Indonesia.
World Development, 35(4), 607-625.
Beard, V. A., & Cartmill, R. S. (2007). Gender, collective action and participatory
development in Indonesia. International Development Planning Review, 29(2),
176-213.
Bowen, J. R. (1986). On the political construction of tradition: Gotong Royong in
Indonesia. The Journal of Asian Studies, 45(3), 545-561.
Cockett, R. (2013, November 18). Jokowi’s the man: A new president, representing a
new generation, could reinvigorate Indonesia. The Economist, The World in 2014.
Dasgupta, A., & Beard, V. A. (2007). Community driven development, collective action
and elite capture in Indonesia. Development and Change, 38(2), 229-249.
Firm Foundation: Participatory urban design in urban poor riverbank communities of
Banjarmasin, 2012. Website: http://www.solokotakita.org/firmfoundation/
Geertz, C. (1962). The rotating credit association: A “Middle Rung” in development.
Economic Development and Cultural Change, 10(3), 241-263.
Guinness, P. (1986). Harmony and hierarchy in a Javanese kampung. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
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Guinness, P. (2009). Kampung, Islam and state in urban Java. Honolulu: University of
Hawaii Press.
Hellwig, T., & Tagliacozzo, E. (Eds.). (2009). The Indonesia reader: History, culture,
politics. Durham: Duke University Press.
Majeed, R. (2012). Defusing a volatile city, igniting reforms: Joko Widodo and
Surakarta, Indonesia, 2005-2011. Innovations for Successful Societies. Princeton:
Princeton University.
Mangunwijaya, Y. B. (1991). Durga/Umayi: A novel. Seattle: University of Washington
Press.
Shay, A., Haggerty, M., & Kennedy, S. (2013). Social design field guide: A handbook
from experiences in participatory design in Indonesia. Hong Kong: Firm
Foundation.
Siegel, J. (1993). Solo in the new order: Language and hierarchy in an Indonesian city.
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Solo Kota Kita: Public access to neighborhood Information to support participatory
budgeting in Solo, 2010-2013. Website: http://solokotakita.org/en/
Solo Kota Kita. (2010, November 28). Introduction to Kota Solo and its urban systems.
Solo Kota Kita. (2012, January 15). City and community profile: Solo, Central Java,
Indonesia.
Sullivan, J. (1992). Local government and community in Java: An urban case-study.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Taylor, J. (2013). When non-climate urban policies contribute to building urban
resilience to climate change: lessons learned from Indonesian cities. Asian Cities
Climate Resilience Working Paper Series 1:2013. London, International Institute
for Environment and Development (IIED).
Toer, P. A. (1982). This Earth of mankind (Buru quartet). Australia: Penguin Books.
United Nations Human Settlements Program. (2011, December). City vision profile: Solo,
Central Java. Jakarta: UN-Habitat Indonesia Office.
Vollmer, D. & Grêt-Regamey, A. (2013). Rivers as municipal infrastructure: Demand for
environmental services in informal settlements along an Indonesian river. Global
Environmental Change, 23(6), 1542-1555.
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