Start on April,
posting chriscityplan blog will move to discussion board on "cityplan group"

while publish post will put on

http://chriscityview.blogspot.com/  (English) and
http://kotaindonesiaku.blogspot.com/ (Indonesia)

                                 Urban Trees

        (Join the movement “Plant 1 million trees on your neighborhood” - launched by our first lady, Ibu Ani SBY”)

If  you are  traveling  from one city to others, you will notice the different between one city and others.  With the unique of  welcoming entrance  or street with green  boulevard in the middle of  it, you will  impress. You  will feel the difference and notice which city is manageable or unmanageable.

Recently, not many cities have a boulevard with good quality of street and trees along side the road. In our country, some old cities have boulevard, such as Malang and Bogor. Nowadays, not all new cities have boulevard. Some boulevards are built by developer and maintained by communities. On the other hand, trees along road have removed because road need widen.

Which area on your city has boulevard like this picture? What do you feel if you walk through? (Picture taken from Saudi Arabia)

Trees are an important element of the city. Are there any places where you live without trees? Without trees, cities looks like a desert that you want to leave as soon as possible. Based on brochure “Urban Trees” from United States Department of Agriculture Southern Region, there are some benefits of trees:
1. Trees add beauty our city and improve personal health.  Creating a relaxation and well-being.
2. Trees reduce air pollution, through absorb CO2 and other dangerous gases and, in turn, replenish the atmosphere with oxygen.

There are seven major pollutants and their primary sources:
       POLLUTANT                             MAJOR SOURCES
i     carbon dioxide                     burning oil, coal, natural gas for energy,decay and burning of tropical forests

ii    sulfur dioxide                       burning coal to generate electricity
iii   hydrogen fluoride and          aluminum and phosphate fertilizer production, oil refineries, silicon tetra floride and steel manufacturing
iv  Ozone                                   Chemical reactions of sunlight on automobile exhaust gases.
                                                 Ozone is a major pollutant in smog
v    Methane                               burning fossil fuels, livestock waste, landfills, and rice production
vi  nitrous oxides                       burning fossil fuels and automobile exhausts
vii Chlorofluorocarbon               air conditioners, refrigerators, industrial foam
   
        (“Benefit of Urban Trees”, United States Department of Agriculture Southern Region, page 6)

Trees in the country like Indonesia actually are easy to plant.  Water is abundant, soil are fertile. It is very different with desert country like Saudi Arabia. Trees in several cities are very well maintained. My tour guide in my pilgrimage journey mentioned that if you destroy the trees whether not on purpose, such as an accident, you must pay an expensive penalty (dam) even higher than the price of used car.

So, why do not we plant trees in our small garden, our community area, our neighborhood and our road. You can see the benefit.
   Do you have a dream that all road in your city looks like this?  (Picture taken from Saudi Arabia)

(http://chrispoerwanto.blogspot.com,

http://kotaindonesiaku.blogspot.com)

                                             TOURISM PLANNING

                                        (Visit Indonesia Year 2008)

If you travel from one city to other city, from one country to other country, you will notice the difference. Please think what attraction that make you come to the  new city? 

Tourism consider as a system. It is market - supply match. There are major components of supply such as attractions, services, transportation, information, promotion. While market based on people who relatively similar service needs, so it needs segmentation.(Clare A. Gunn: Tourism Planning, 1994)

At the pilgrimages travel, religious motivation that make people travel to Saudi Arabia. Before we go to that place, there are criteria and guide for people. People who come to that place, not only prepare on physically but also mentally. All preparation make the people and situation at  Pilgrimages City in order, eventhough they gathering in the limited place with many people.

So, if your city want to attract people, please make a clear guidance what the rule of your city. It will make your city still clean, safe, beauty and neatly. Be prepare and make sure all the system running well.

Urban Identity

        Landmark : A Visible Reference Point
        (Arc de Triomphe ala Kediri Regency - Simpang Lima Gumul)

 My journey during Ied Mubarrak holiday
2007
What do you tell to your
friends if they want come to your hometown or a tourist destination on certain
city or country? You will mention about the point as reference (landmark) how
to go to other places on that city or a place that necessary to see.

When we talk about identity of the city, we refer to Lynch (1960)
that mention on his book “Image of the City”. Lynch (1960) identifies five kinds of
elements that give identity to a city: landmarks, paths, districts, edges, and
nodes. One of them, landmarks are visible reference points. For instance:Monas Tower is landmark of  Jakarta  or Tangkuban Perahu Mountain is landmark of Bandung. Signs also can be a landmark, such as sign location of a restaurant such as Mc Donalds or a street sign in the toll road. So landmark can be large or smaller objects.

Landmark sometimes very distinguish, you can memorize it. The area
surrounding landmark is developed and maintained very well by local government.
Those areas become a tourist destination, and managed by local government caused
to attract people. Local government which doesn’t care the identity of the city,
those area or the cities didn’t have an identity. So, we can forgot those areas,
eventhough we has visited to those cities.

We can link those landmarks to the culture of the people, the
history of the city or the legend that live on that city. Local government
which built a tower as a landmark without a deep research and didn’t consider
the identity or culture of the people, possibly build a strange building which was not supported by surrounding
environment.

Some managers or leaders of the city who has a strong leadership
and a strong aim can maintain and keep their spirit or obsession to achieve
what they want. For example who can imagine a new town in  Dubai coastal area as good as we can see today.
They can change dessert areas become a new town like a town in the cities in the Europe and  USA which supported by luxury services and infrastructures.

Landmark: Arc de Triomphe ala Kediri Regency -

                 Simpang Lima Gumul

                          THE ROLE OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL TRANSFERS

In the previous post, I mentioned how to enrich the quality of your city, case study - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (the city in the growing country or
developing country). If we explore cities in developed country, they were not
only has a good quality on environment but also on wealth. They can build a
good infrastructure and public services.

 
The
cities can be developed both by private and by government. The new towns or
cities, such as Bumi Serpong Damai, Bintaro Jaya, Karawaci, Kota Wisata, and
Kota Parahiyangan, were developed by private. Private usually already knew that
government had a policy to build road (toll road or other infrastructures) in prospective
areas or the infrastructures in those areas developed by government were already
existed. Nevertheless, there is no formula that guarantees private response quickly
to build an area. There are some aspects that must be considered before they
take an action, such as: market, location, design, financing scheme,
entrepreneurship, and timeframe.

In the context of
government, ability of local governments to develop their region can be seen
from their fiscal capacity.  Each local
government in Indonesia  has different fiscal capacity (table 1). Under prevailing law of decentralization in 2004, e.g revision of Law No. 22 of 1999 become Law No. 32 of 2004 on local government and law No. 25 of 1999 become Law No. 33 of 2004
on fiscal transfer, local governments had greater autonomy and right of balancing
funds from central government. 

Most of budget to
build infrastructure comes from intergovernmental transfer (revenue sharing,
general and specific purpose grant). Fiscal transfer e.g. general purpose grant
(DAU), mostly used either for payment of the local civil servant or for managing
the development.

The system of intergovernmental transfers in  Indonesia comprises three basic types of schemes: revenue sharing, a general purpose
grant (DAU), and grants for specific purposes (DAK). The transfer system has
seven main objectives:

i).  Address
vertical fiscal imbalances between levels of government (revenue sharing, DAU);

ii) Equalize regional government
fiscal capacities to deliver services (DAU);

iii) Encourage regional
expenditure on national development priorities (DAK);

iv) Promote the attainment of
minimum infrastructure standards (DAK);

v) Compensate for benefit/cost
spill over in priority areas (DAK);

vi) Stimulate regional commitment
(DAK); and

vii) Stimulate revenue
mobilization (revenue sharing, DAU, DAK).

 
Revenue Sharing: there are three types of revenue sharing mechanisms, one for property
based taxes (PBB and BPHTB), one for natural resource revenues (forestry,
mining, fisheries, oil, and gas) and one for the personal income tax. The
revenue sharing schemes are intended to respond regional aspirations for increasing
access and control revenues, assisted in the stimulation of increased regional
revenue mobilization and address vertical imbalances (table 2).

A general purpose grant (DAU) is intended to respond regional aspiration for a greater access and control
over revenues. The DAU also addresses problems related to vertical imbalances
and in intended to equalize fiscal capacities across regions.

A specific-Purpose Transfers
(DAK) is intended to help funding need which cannot be
estimated in a DAU formula and to assist with funding of expenditures which
related to the national priorities. Now, there are 6 priorities e.g. education,
health, infrastructure (road, irrigation, pipe water), agriculture, fishing and
marines, government infrastructure, and environment.

The ability of local governments in manage fund transfer  on their annual budget is important. Even though
they have a big fiscal capacity, it does not guarantee their budget will invest optimally in infrastructure, micro scale
enterprise, community development, education and health. Currently, the
obstacles be faced are delayed on legalisation of APBD (regional annual budget),
the late to start the project and the low disbursement of some project. Those
obstacles made the momentum of development gone. In this context, time is
really important for a success development or a good work plan.

Summary

 HOW TO ENRICH THE QUALITY OF YOUR
CITY

                    Case: Urban Quality Management in  Kuala Lumpur

One of the cities that I
observed during my course is Kuala Lumpur. As the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur city managers face grave challenges in managing the metropolis.  

ISSUES OF URBAN QUALITY
IN  KUALA LUMPUR REGION

Urbanization in Malaysia is
nevertheless, very rapid growth. KL is the focus of employment opportunities
and as a result, rural-urban migration is fueling the growth of KL. The negative impact of urbanization: poor living
conditions associated with squatter settlements; under supply of waste disposal
facilities and portable water; air pollution and high lead levels in exhausts
are already generating health hazards in KL; and water pollution.

 CURRENT STANDARDS

 Some standard to measure
the urban quality are (a) Malaysia Urban Quality Life Index (MUQLI); (b)
Quality of Life; (c) Water Quality (Sewerage Management); (d) Air Quality.

 (a) MUQLI

Malaysia defines a measurement call MUQLI (Malaysia Urban Quality Life Index). Some
basic area of the MUQLI are working life, housing, transport &
communication, health, education, social participation, income &
distribution, culture & leisure, family life, environment and public
safety.

 (b)Quality of Life

Selected indicators of
quality of life are life expectancy (in years), infant mortality rate/1000,
population/doctor ratio, literacy rate (%), telephones/1000 population,
utilities such as pipe water (% of population) and electricity (% of
households).

 Selected
Indicator of Qualitty Life [1]) table 1

 (c)Water Quality

To monitor the quality
of water, the government of Malaysia set up a standard based on  the Interim River Water Quality. To control the
level of pollution in the waterways, 2 effluent standards: (i) Standard A – for
upstream of water catchments; (ii) Standard B – for downstream of water
catchments. Effluent standards set as Absolute Standards. In design, an Average
Standards much lower than the limits as on the table 2.

(d) Air Quality

5 (five) major
pollutants measured such as particulate matters (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2),
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Ozone (O3). The ambient of air
quality show on the table 3.

Some actions have been taken also to solve some of the challenges, such
as establishment of regulations aimed at maintaining green areas, expanded and
preservation of water resources in Wetland Areas, development of low cost
housing, building new towns to balance development such as Putra Jaya township,
development of e-government such as in Subang Jaya and strengthened partnership
between the government and private sector in Shah Alam City (Selangor
Development Corporation).