SHELTER : Temporary Living in Kampung Akuarium

SHELTER Temporary Living in Kampung Akuarium

Publication by Rujak Center for Urban Studies

Chapter 1: History

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 2: Preparation Work

Chapter 3: Construction

Chapter 4: Living Conditions and Adjustments

1.

HISTO RY

Kampung Akuarium is one of the kampung (Indonesian term for slum areas or ghettoes) located on the Northern coasts, specifically addressed at Jalan Pasar Ikan in Sub-district Penjaringan, North Jakarta. The lot in which Kampung Akuarium now stands, used to be a research institute focusing on oceanagraphy and had been managed by the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) from 1940s to 1970s.

Kampung Akuarium was founded in 1976, with only one Neighbourhood Association (RT) covering the whole area due to its low population at the time.

The majority of the residents worked as fishermen and port laborers. And as time went by, the ownership of this land shifted into the hands of local residents from the buy-sell agreement with the owners of the land.

For decades the population in Kampung Akuarium increased, until conflicts arose with the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta in 2016. According to an interview with ‘Ahok’ (the Governor of Jakarta at the time), he claimed that Kampung Akuarium was an unhabitable area and prone to spread TB disease. The provincial government also stated that the residents violated the law by building houses on an area meant for open green space. They established a revitalization program to transform this area into a tourism and maritime heritage area in Sunda Kelapa, North Jakarta, as well as build sea dikes to prevent flooding issues.

Furthermore, they planned increase policing and control of residents in Kampung Akuarium. At this time, the provincial government sent the first warning memo to the residents demanding them to dismantle their homes and evacuate as soon as possible. However, the residents held their own in the area. Later, more than 4000 individuals from the armed forces, including the Satpol PP (municipal police unit), the police, and even the army, arrived to oversee Kampung Akuarium.

(Image source: beritasatu.tv)

On April 11, 2016, the residents of Kampung Akuarium faced their worst nightmare. Under the leadership of Governor Basuki Tjahja Purnama or “Ahok”, the city government of North Jakarta and provincial government of DKI Jakarta executed a massive forced eviction on Kampung Akuarium. In a short period of time, the settlement was completely rased to the ground.

Residents fought hard against this forceful eviction. The provincial government claimed that the residents would be relocated to the rusun (social-subsidised flats) that had been provided for them. Prior to the eviction, there were approximately 387 KK (housing units) and 231 permanent buildings that had been established in the area. Thereafter, only about 113 KK remained, while others willingly moved to rusun, returned to their village, or lived in rental units elsewhere.

(Images source: medcom.id)

The primary reason why these residents refused to move to the rusun was because it was located too far away from their workplace. However, even after the eviction, these residents built their makeshift homes above the ruins of the kampung using leftover materials of their old homes.

In addition, many of these residents chose to live on their boats that were deemed far from habitable and humane.

Within two years, about 24 residents passed away.

Consequently, this eviction attracted special attention from nongovernmental organisations such as the Legal Aid Institute (Lembaga Bantuan Hukum or LBH) and Rujak Center for Urban Studies (RCUS), national and international news outlets, academic practitioners and researchers. Many of them provided aid and assistance for the residents of Kampung Akuarium, due to their dreadful and concerning living conditions.

Under the leadership of the new and current governor, Anies Baswedan, a dialogue with the residents of Kampung Akuarium was initiated. This meeting resulted to several points of agreement including establishment of shelter units for the residents of Kampung Akuarium. In fact, the provincial government has prepared the budget for this project.

“Shelter” is meant to be a temporary place of living for the residents who remained on the kampung lot and lived above the debris of their own homes that were considered far from humane. By building the shelter, residents hoped to be able to live in humane and comfortable conditions as well as achieve social justice.

(Images source: medcom.id)

SITE COMPARISON

Kampung Location

Kampung Akuarium, 2003

Kampung Location

Kampung Akuarium, 2016

(Source: GoogleEarth, accessed 22 July 2019)

Kampung Location

Kampung Akuarium, 2018

2.

P R E PA R AT I O N WORK

■

Basic guidelines (for residents’ design)

■

Design proposals by residents and accompanying architects

■

Response from government of residents’ design

■

Design proposals by the government

■

Residents’ response to government’s design

■

Point of Agreement – Total Number of Units and Final (Built) Design

DESIGN PROPOSAL

(Residents + Accompanying Architects) ROOF:

ROOF STRUCTURE:

Wave roof that can be made from cement-fiber products or other similar materials. Must be installed as strong as specified for each product so products will not be easily damaged by the strong winds and rain that often occurs in Kampung Akuarium

The roof truss will be made from wood or light steel that will be built by the residents themselves, which allows them to easily maintain or fix their units. Wood and other materials will be gathered from shops near the kampung site.

Each shelter block will be composed from multiple wooden-stilt houses, and the lower level is planned to be managed and maintained by the residents themselves.

The ceiling will be made from plywood or gypsum, to form air space between the roof and room interiors. This air will flow inside and hope to reduce the heat radiation from the roof directly inside.

Each block will also be composed of 4 shelter units (size: 3x7 m2) with one bedroom, one multipurpose room, and one bathroom. Each unit is meant to contain for 4-6 individuals.

UNIT COMPOSITION:

Bathrooms (size: 1x2 m2) will have 1 squat toilet and 1 faucet.

Terrace will be used as a communal interactive space that will be utilized as study space and playground for children and youths The foundation follows the land contour that has not been leveled.

And the depth of the foundation will be adjusted to the soil condition in the field.

STEP 1

Preparing the land and digging foundation, followed with building up the columns and the washroom units (size: 1x2 m2).

Septic tanks will be communal, with a system where 4 washroom units will share one Instalasi Pengelolaan Air Limbah or IPAL (wastewater treatment plants).

This IPAL will continue to be used by the residents of Kampung Akuarium even after the reconstruction plan for the kampung is completed. The location of the communal IPAL will

also be an open space and traffic circulation lane of the kampung.

STEP 2

Constructing the block structure and roof easel.

Materials include wood or light steel or hollow metals, as is usually done by experts in the construction of residents in Kampung Akuarium.

This will also facilitate construction and maintenance while residents live in this temporary shelter.

STEP 3

Making room dividers and building cover, which are necessary for the completing of one unit, accoding to the basic design. Adding extra room dividers (if necessary) would be the choice and responsibility of each unit owner.

All materials for the dividers and building cover must be easy to dismantle and assemble again so that residents can use it in the future.

STEP 4

In the basic design, there are two sets of a door and window in front and back of the unit, one bathroom door, and one bedroom door.

Once completed, residents can move and fill the existing space with furniture or other elements according to their own tastes and abilities.

Front-Side Perspective

Side View Perspective Back-Side Perspective

SITE PLAN 1 building block will have: 4 shelter units, 4 washrooms & 1 IPAL Distance between buildings = 7 m

dikes

and

Distance between building blocks = +/- 3 m for better circulation and evacuation purposes 128 shelter units @ (3x7 m2) with terrace 128 washroom units @ (1x2 m2) and IPAL

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE After the first design proposal was completed, it was then submitted to the DKI Jakarta Government. The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government accepts the design made by the residents and accompanying architects. However, it was rejected because the government had limited budget to build the shelter. The materials used for this proposed design were deemed to be too expensive for temporary shelter. The government believed these expensive materials were unnecessary since the shelter would only be up for two years. Furthermore, since the shelter project will be financed by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), it must follow the CSR’s own budget.

DESIGN PROPOSAL (Government)

After the initial design was rejected, the government drew up their own shelter design. This version was presented to the residents of Kampung Akuarium on the 20th of December 2018.

SHELTER UNITS

Building Size

3 x 8 m2

Unit Size

3 x 6 m2

Unit Height

3m

Materials: Structure and roof truss

Light Steel

Walls

Plywood

Doors

Plywood

Windows

Nako Glass

Roof

Iron Sheets

Floor

Exposed concrete

COMMUNAL WASHROOMS

Building Size

1 x 2,5 m2

Building Height

3m

Materials:

Structure and roof truss

Light Steel

Walls

Plywood

Doors

Plywood

Roof

Iron Sheets

Floor

Exposed concrete

Others:

Water Tank

4 units per block

Pump

1 unit per block

Squat toilet

1 unit

Faucet

1 unit

Bucket + Water-scoop

1 unit

Area Land Clearing Block A: 52 units Block B: 48 units Block C: 24 units Communal Washrooms: 16 units Access Road (width: ± 7 m)

SITE PLAN

RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT’S DESIGN On December 20, 2018 the government presented their design proposal to the residents of Kampung Akuarium through the Housing Office FGD process. The next day, the design was accepted by the residents. Judging from the design and presentation proposals submitted by the government, residents responded. Therefore, a meeting was held with residents of the Kampung Akuarium on December 24, 2018 with the agenda to gather opinions and inputs from the residents regarding the government’s design, which are meant to be more technical. Considering the issues of safety, comfort, cleanliness, health, the following are inputs from the residents of Kampung Akuarium:

■ The mass of the building cannot be extended like how it is now. The position and number of shelter units should be divided into groups – a maximum of 4 group shelter buildings (see concept drawings), with an alleyway that is 3 meters wide at minimum.

■ Residents ask for an increase in the number of communal washrooms and for them to be close as possible to the residents’ units.

■ Minimum unit size: 3x7 m2 ■ Buildings would be attached to the ground with plaster ■ Roof material: Not iron sheets, because they cannot withstand strong winds in the North. Recommended: fiber cement ■ Outer wall material: GRC ■ Inner wall material: gypsum as boundary between units ■ Roof truss material: wood or light steel ■ The distance between the new sheet pile wall to the shelter = at least 5 meters

POINT OF AGREEMENT (Total # of Units)

In the process of determining the number of shelter units to be built, residents planned to propose 160 units, which was calculated from residents who remain in Kampung Akuarium and those who have moved to rental properties outside. However, for some reason, requests with this amount were denied.

And so, the residents independently rerecorded the number of residents who still only remained in tents and bedeng (shacks) around the former site of Kampung Akuarium. Likewise, the lurah (head of village) and camat (district administration) along with their staffs recollected data on the residents.

Residents with a Jakarta Kantu Tanda Penduduk or KTP (ID cards) and those who remained to live above the ruins of the kampung were prioritized to get a shelter.

After data was collected, there are around 103 households recorded, but the ability of those who finance the construction of shelters would only to provide for 90 households. However, until the construction process was carried out the number of shelter units to be built had not yet been agreed upon.

SITEPLAN SHETER as built

POINT OF AGREEMENT (Final Design + Adjustments)

Not buit

In technical terms, the process of to determine the design that was built for Kampung Akuarium shelter there needed to be a compromise between the design by the residents with the accompanying architects and the government of Jakarta.

After meeting with residents of Kampung Akuarium, the government planned to build some shelter blocks. Beginning with Block A, about six units were built [see siteplan drawing: “as built”]. Shortly after, another meeting was held to determine the number of shelter units was still running, until the residents again gave their input regarding the already-built shelter units in Block A. The input

included room size changes, moving the communal washrooms near Hexagon Market to be farther from the main road, and the addition of transparent wave roof material along the central corridor of the shelter in each block, to improve lighting in the shelter.

Finally, after bargaining the design proposal between the residents / assisting architects and the government, finally the construction of the Kampung Akuarium shelter was built following the government's proposed design while also including some suggestions or input from the residents [see site plan drawing: “now”].

SITEPLAN SHETER now

3.

CONSTRUCTION

§ § § §

System Timeline Composition Feedback and Adaptations

SYSTEM The shelter was built “block-by-block”; and while construction was in progress, the residents lived in tents provided by the government.

■ To illustrate, construction began in Block A, and the residents who lived near the site of Block A would be moved into the tents.

■ Then, once Block A was completed, the residents would move into their individual units.

■ This continued for the remaining shelter blocks, Block B and C.

(Image Source: medcom.id)

TIMELINE LOADING MATERIALS

LANDLEVELING

FOUNDATION + STRUCTURE

ROOF

COMPLETED UNITS

MANAGEMENT OF UTILITIES

WALLS

MATERIALS AND LAND-LEVELING Materials arrived late December of 2017, although construction did not start until January 2018 because they were still waiting on the labor force The residents also played a role at this time by working together to level the land prior to the actual construction

COMPOSITION A. Structure: Light Steel Beams

C A B

B. Walls: Plywood C. Roof: Light Steel Sheets D. Foundation: Cement and Concrete

D (Image Source: kumparanNews)

PROPOSALS Because of the “block-by-block” system, Block A was built as an example of how the rest of the shelter blocks would turn out. At this time, residents still gave their feedback and proposals of change based on the already built shelter (Block A).

Consequently, some revisions to the final design (from the prep work) were made before the other blocks (B and C) were built.

A. Change the bedroom size from 2x2 m2 to 3x2 m2

2x2

B U I LT S I T E

3x2

PROPOSED CHANGE

B. Relocating the communal washroom in Block A (most southern part, near the Hexagon Building) to be farther inward and be less exposed to the main road (Jl. Pasar Ikan) B U I LT S I T E

PROPOSED CHANGE

Atap gelombang transparan

C. Adding transparent wave roof (“atap gelombang transparan”) along the centre corridor of each shelter block to increase lighting in the area.

UTILITIES Access to Drinking Water

■ Water is sourced from the Jaya Drinking Water Company (“Perusahaan Air Minum Jaya” or PAM Jaya).

■ It is stored in large water tanks near the washrooms and usually refilled twice a week through an underground pipe system provided by PAM Jaya.

– This system was established after the shelter blocks were built, which was around April 2018.

(Source: Interview with Ibu Musdalifah)

Communal Washrooms ■

Residents are responsible for the safety and sanitation of their own washrooms

■

Each washroom door has two locks: one is for the residents themselves to keep out others from entering their washrooms, and the other is for the plumber in case repairment is needed

■

Residents store water for bathing and washing purposes in their own barrels

3 Communal Washrooms

16 Units*

*each unit is for 2 households

(Image Source: PLN)

Electricity: The source for electricity in Kampung Akuarium Is provided by the Public Electricity Provider Station (“Stasiun Penyediaan Listrik Umum” or SPLU) that could be accessed by the residents with a “token” system; one token provides power for up to 6 households.

Waste Disposal: Garbage thrown away by the residents are stored in garbage bins that are spread around the shelter blocks. It is then collected in a cart, then carried and thrown away by the workers from the waste disposal area.

COMPLETED UNITS ■ Translation: “Shelter in Kampung Akuarium Completed, Anies [current Governor of Jakarta] Will Hold a Celebration” on April 2018

(Source: okenews, 12 April 2018)

FEEDBACK & ADAPTATIONS [during monsoon season] Residents cleaning the puddles after the rain

Tampias (rainwater droplets) –only a canopy as wide as ±80 cm, which is not proportional to the height of the shelter and cannot fully block the water droplets during heavy and windy rain; the lower side of the plywood walls were already covered by a waterproof layer, but the water still leaked inside the unit

■

■

Impact(s): The plywood materials was moldy and quickly weathered Adaptation(s): – – –

Adding the canopy width using tarpaulin Installing bamboo curtains on the terrace Building a vertical garden in front of the shelter

Canopy is too slim to fully block rainwater Adaptation by residents using tarps to extend the canopy

Low elevation in Block B result to higher puddles

Water leaks: holes were created from the torching the bolts onto the roof; they was patched before by JAKON but there were still some leftover holes and the residents were not sure how to cover them

■

Impact(s): Water leaking into the units

■

Adaptation(s): Providing buckets or rags to contain/absorb the rainwater

Flooding inside a resident’s unit

Elevation: the units in Block B seemed too low and inadequate, and the asphalt surface made it hard to absorb the rainwater Rags absorbing water leaks inside a resident’s unit

■

Impact(s): puddles were created inside the units

■

Adaptation: Residents surrounding the block

planned

to

build

gutter

4.

LIVING CONDITIONS AND ADJUSTMENTS

■ Unit Division Process ■ Room Modifications ■ Green Areas + Open Space ■ Testimonies

UNIT DIVISION PROCESS After the shelter was finalized, there was a process initiated by the residents themselves in choosing their individual units. Ibu Yani described the process to be done mainly through the “residents’ own psychology state”, meaning that they were self-aware as to where they wanted to live.

Another resident, Ibu Kartini, stated that the residents also discussed beforehand to determine which unit would be theirs. She claimed, “the residents who used to live facing the ocean, chose the units close to the sea walls. The ones who lived closer to the center, now live near the open field.”

Moreover, Ibu Yani also explained that when conflicts arose (which was very rare) there would be gathering that would result in compromise between the residents themselves.

ROOM MODIFICATIONS

Inside of their individual units, residents modified and improvised their living space by building dividers to split their bedroom into two, or separate their in-unit kitchen apart from their living room. There are also some cases where they build an extra room above their unit, as well as an attached wooden staircase.

GREEN AREAS AND OPEN SPACES In addition to modifying their individual units, the residents of Kampung Akuarium found ways to beautify their living environment at the shelter.

(Image Source: AntaraNEWS)

■ The plan to make Kampung Akuarium greener was initiated at the workshop during the 1st International Field School in 2018.

■ Residents now grow their own plants including fruits and vegetables that they harvest every 2-3 months.

TESTIMONIES

Ibu Kartini (“Mama Angel”) “…our shelter is now covered. [Living in shelter] is definitely better compared to living in ruins or bedeng (shacks). [The roofs] are made from aluminum foil which make our units cooler, of course it gets hot sometimes since the area is more spread out and the field in the middle makes the area even hotter at times. When it rains [if ever], the units at the lower level would be flooded since the ways to absorb the water is limited. People usually only complain about the heat, but other than that it is way more comfortable now than before.”

Ibu Ika

“It’s pretty nice because the neighbours are side-by-side, the children can play, and the front yard is pretty spacious. My neighbours now, used to live far away from me. My house is located at the Block C, near the ocean. [Regarding the placement] our unit was one of the last ones built, so recently, I’ve been standing near the sea dikes, so I can feel the nice ocean breeze.”

Ibu Yani “...[the shelter] was clearly neater, more organized and most importantly, more humane. But it is more than that, what we search for is recognition from the government by building this shelter, activitating our identities, and establishing RT (“Rukun Tetangga” or Neighbourhood Association). [Regarding the structure] this is only plywood, the same material we used with other scraps to build our bedeng in the past. The difference now is that we [were able to] plan out the shelter, we have governmentsponsored programs in the shelter, establishment of RT, access to health services, etc. These are the higher goals reached by the construction of the shelter.”

Written by Putri Salamah and Nadya Syazsa Translation by Nadya Syazsa

A publication by Rujak Center for Urban Studies

REFERENCES ■ All data and information derived directly from interviews with local residents of Kampung Akuarium as well as compilation of sources from Rujak Center for Urban Studies (RCUS).

■ Sources for images and photographs are also originally taken by personnel of RCUS, unless indicated in each image.