A public awareness campaign finds some suitable parks but forgotten Jakarta, whetting local appetites for green space they can use.
When Samsuri moved into the house of the park ranger at Taman Langsat in South Jakarta Kebayoran Baru, he asked a family member to bless his new sturdy house and make peace with the ghosts he thought he could hide in the trees.
Adding a sense of sadness, the 54-year-old said, "We are homeless legions." Over the years squatters awaiting suppliers and drivers to go the transfer had descended on the size of the park a stone throw from lively Blok M, chasing that few visitors rundown green space received.
That was 12 years ago. Today Samsuri said the park is a happier place. The renovations in 2010 visitors and a public awareness campaign a month in November has courted, swelling the numbers on the four weekends, it counts. "Co-exist spirits with the people here, maybe."
"Before, it was more difficult for people to come here. They did not feel comfortable, "said Samsuri, saying that for most of the 36 years he worked in the park less than 50 people would visit a weekend, and nearly half during the week . "I want more people to come here."
For Nadine Zamira, the founder of a public relations agency, More Leaf, which is evidence that residents of Jakarta seeking an alternative to the centers shopping and trips out of town. the city government is struggling to set aside space to meet a government imposed deadline of 30 percent by 2020. Lawn If residents do not clear what they want in a park, they may be left with the same bleak spaces unsuitable for anyone but ghosts.
but the first residents need to know the parks exist.
"Nobody has really thought about that before." Explains Zamira, who at 28 is already something of a veteran environmental activist, after a stint as Miss Earth Indonesia in 2009 and television appearances. ". The communities need space for their activities"
In 2010, Zamira implemented sheets Plus - an advertising agency that focuses on sustainable development and environmental awareness. The Kemang based agency is profit driven, but he won what is thought to be the first government contract to sensitize the public to the Official List 1000 or if the city parks.
The Hidden Park campaign attracted over 2,500 followers on . as visitors snapped photos of park art works commissioned for the occasion and load them on the networking site. movie nights, when not rained out, were another shot. Most visitors said they had never visited the park before. Zamira and her band have invited 75 students from three neighboring schools to plant vegetables and crops in Taman Langsat. Only four of the eighth graders visited the garden on their own.
"It is not the head to spend part of your weekend in the park," said Zamira. "How can we bring the issue of urban planning to mean something that is more accessible public? "
Although the client Leaf Plus Hidden Park is the Department of public Works, Zamira and his company had to work their contact lists to get the necessary permissions to host the events, pointing out how to lots, parks are unusable.
"We had to go in different points. This pressure created "recalls Zamira. "Imagine the communities wanted to have an activity. It would be really difficult. "
Author and professor Nirwono Joga, Chairman of Landscape Architecture Study Group Indonesia, said that of the 960 parks that claims Jakarta Park Agency dot the city, most lack sufficient scale, cleanliness or even plants base. with Green Map Jakarta which lists used parks in the city, it lists only 15 that are worthy of a visit, including Taman Langsat.
He said he is confident that the new administration of Joko Widodo, who was elected governor in September, will put more green side and improve city parks already, pointing to cities like Oslo, Melbourne, Singapore and Vancouver possible sources of inspiration.
"The parks in Jakarta should have ecological value, and benefit the economy and social culture," says Joga.
"A good park improves the local climate, reduction the air pollution and floods, promotes good social interaction in public space, and ensures children have a safe place. "
said Zamira Sheet more hope to get another contract for the next year, when the agency aims to extend the campaign to five parks and open spaces which potentially include the banks of the Ciliwung river very polluted.
"people (in Jakarta) are intoxicated trying to be modern, "said Dila Hadju, a former school teacher and now a member of staff Leaf Plus. "They forget that being modern also requires a good quality of life."
At Taman Langsat, 12-year-old Adira Machmud takes the frying time to some of the spinach is harvested from the plot of the school. She dreams of becoming a doctor and believes that when it does the study it will return to the park.
"It is a good place to sit and relax," she said. "I usually just home on my laptop."