A Street-led Approach to an Improved Communal Fabric

Poornima Bargotra

In most kampungs, the street is a channel of movement, a communication space, a place of social and commercial encounters, and most of all, the only public space available. It has a symbolic value, holding an importance as a ceremonial space in the neighbourhood. They tend to be multifunctional and multi-layered instead of clearly zoned areas of uses and types, further resonating the vibrancy of these shared streets.

The chosen site is located in Kedaung Kali Angke, a neighbourhood situated in the North West part of the dense city of Jakarta, Indonesia. With an area of 3.1ha and about 250 households, it comprises of diverse housing and road typologies. Through the adoption of multiple strategies, the aim of this project is to leverage the dynamic nature of the streets as natural conduits of the kampung, and reinvigorate the overall neighbourhood and kampung fabric through a “bang for the buck” approach. It is to look at streets as not just a physical entity for mobility and connectivity, but also as the familiar public realm where social, cultural and economic activities thrive efficiently.

The first strategy is to redefine the streets by looking at how the residents tend to use the space. It is done by studying the current human activities and chalking out possible scenarios for new layers of active programming accordingly – by the use of various placemaking tools focusing on recreational, educational, economic and cultural necessities. These tools are designed with keeping the existing essence of multi-functionality in mind. This overall approach will also act as “social equalisers” which will bring households together, and further enable and provide space for activities while maintaining the integrity of the existing socio-economic conditions.

The second strategy is to re-imagine new road typologies by proposing effective changes to the existing that can be prioritised according to the level of intervention and improvement, thus determining the cost factor. A mix of various approaches- comprising of road widening, tactical redefinition of road directionality and typology are set out to enhance the streetscape in terms of a planning standpoint. Road and green infrastructure tools are used – for example, introducing rain gardens, vegetated swales and permeable paving strategically.

The third strategy is to formalise certain parts of the streets to create designated activity zones by studying the present typology of building uses, their locations and conditions. This approach will ensure that the parts of the streets selected for improvement are actually the ones that are likely to generate the highest impact on the optimisation of the land use - where the residents benefit not just socially, but also economically by now allowing space for commercial activities.

By carrying out the above strategies and the various tools - the design envisions a street led approach to an improved communal fabric, while also trying to achieve the most impact out of the least invasive and costly interventions. The proposal can also become a possible model that can be adaptable to other similar sites.