East Asia & Pacific » Indonesia
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Jakarta's Medusa |
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| Jakarta: sinking, drowning and flushed.
When confronted with metropolitan problems Jakarta is single minded: Water. When discussed with the young professionals involved in the disaggregated projects that try to approach the issue it is difficult to make them look up form the micro management issues directly focused. Overwhelmed by the need to understand the complexity of the issues interacting in the unitary system that is a metropolis they rather play safe and avoid professional risk. Their personal safe approach is the failure of the metropolis. We do agree Jakarta has a major problem with water management. The metropolis is sinking due to lack of soil resistance. Rainfalls are becoming extreme due to climate change and sea-level rise threats drowning the city. But solutions are not piecemeal. Professional thinking can not be disjointed and disaggregated. That is the way donor institution technocrats think. Not decision makers. Metropolitan problems have to be approached with an integral vision, understanding how water and land-use, how green and gray infrastructures they all collaborate to a comprehensive solution that requires experience a vision and the political will to grab the bull by the horns. While this is not done, Jakarta will be sinking… in confusion. Here is some food for thought. Just to foster the right approach to Jakarta problems. |
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