Cities after What We’ve Done

What do we know about cities? Or what do you think about city? Many things we have done in the city. We use a cars, motorcylces, we go around in food places, and then we go to the supermarket. Let’s ask our self, where is our responsibilities for it? When you go to supermarket and buy things, do you ever think how much waste you made?

According to Jakarta Cleanliness Department, the trash bulk must be contained was up to 6.000 ton/day.

On the other hand, city growth must include accessibility for anything easier, like foods and transportation. But the government yet to facilitate public policy to support our needed in the city, such us public transportation. As an impact, traffic jam and pollution could be a massive threat to human health. We didn’t have a better choice except to face it everyday.

I have seen Jakarta and Makassar. Now I’m living in Yogyakarta. There are significant differences in these cities, like in waste management aspect. I think Jakarta and Makassar have a same complex problem about waste management, but not in Yogyakarta.

In Yogyakarta I know Kartamantul, a regional cooperation scheme between three different regions: Sleman, Bantul and Yogyakarta. This scheme focuses in public service and infrastructure management, formed in six aspects: waste management, transportation, drainage, road, water and disposals.

Other major cities in Indonesia like Makassar and Jakarta do not include a cooperation as an important part to solve their problems. Cities are looked only administrative regions with their functions, no more than that. This opinion is underlined by Elizabeth Wilson opinions saying “many cities we have worts of all worlds: danger without pleasure, safety without stimulation, consumerism without choice, monumentality without diversity (Wilson, 1991,p.9 in Knox and Pinch, 2000,p.2006).

Now, we are talking about green city, sustainable city and smart city. The next question is how far we understand about it? Is it not rather when using a commodity substitution? Like urban farming or recycle the bottle or using a bamboo or wood for building construction. Although it is not always sustainable, it is not sustainable when the company ileggally swiped the forest. Not only wood or bamboo,in energy sectors there are sustainable energy concepts.

In fact the threat of it precisely not sustainable. For example, reading e-book from notebook, tablet, and laptop as a reason to cut down trees. But actually electronic waste have more dangerous impact for the environment. There are so many concepts, designs and notions to make better cities, but the important thing is we must think rationally and do not link green city, smart city to special businesses.