Pada tahap konsepsi proyek, kita berkenalan dengan istilah Studi kelayakan (Feasibility Study/FS). Dokumen Studi Kelayakan merupakan dokumen yang memberi panduan perencanaan proyek dan mencakup aspek-aspek, antara lain:
1. Perencanaan bisnis
2. Penentuan spek teknis
3. Kajian aspek-aspek yuridis
4. Dampak lingkungan
Tujuan utama dokumen FS adalah memberikan rekomendasi terhadap masing-masing aspek yang digunakan sebagai bahan pertimbangan kelayakan proyek.
Agar lebih jelas, kita akan membahas sebuah studi kasus dokumen FS milik sebuah rumah sakit daerah di Surabaya, yang berencana mengembangkan fasilitas baru untuk memperbaiki Level of Service (LoS) mereka. Studi kelayakan yang dilakukan merupakan pra-business plan sehingga merupakan panduan perencanaan bisnis bagi pihak yang terlibat dalam persiapan pembangunan fasilitas baru tersebut. Lingkup materi yang tertuang dalam laporan akhir FS mencakup dasar pemikiran, kajian, dan rekomendasi sebagai berikut:
1. Bab pertama memberikan wawasan terhadap dasar pemikiran yang dipakai dalam studi dengan menguraikan latar belakang, tujuan studi, lingkup dan keluaran studi. Dalam bab inilah kerangka studi diperkenalkan.
2. Pembahasan studi aspek ekonomi dan pasar mengikuti bab pembukaan dengan memberikan rekomendasi akhir berupa pangsa pasar dan kapasitas fasilitas baru yang akan dibangun. Masukan ini memberikan gambaran tingkat pelayanan dan kapasitas yang berpengaruh besar terhadap perhitungan pendapatan instalasi baru tersebut.
3. Dalam bab ke-tiga ini, pembahasan bergeser kepada spesifikasi yuridis organisatoris. Di samping kajian mengenai landasan hukum pembangunan instalasi baru, bab ini juga memberikan rekomendasi akhir mengenai organisasi, jenis dan jumlah SDM, serta pola kerjasama dan pengelolaannya.
4. Kajian dan rekomendasi spesifikasi teknis merupakan pokok bahasan dalam bab ini. Dengan mengetahui program kebutuhan dan persyaratan ruang, lokasi, dan pra-rancangan bangunan, perhitungan biaya investasi awal dapat dilakukan. Perhitungan investasi awal mencakup: biaya bangunan, serta peralatan medis dan non-medis.
5. Bab ini merupakan studi lingkungan yang memberikan kajian dan rekomendasi dampak dan penanganan lingkungan, serta rekomendasi teknologi lingkungan yang dapat memberi masukan untuk pengelolaan lingkungan rumah sakit.
6. Berikutnya adalah pembahasan tentang studi aspek keuangan yang mencakup kajian investasi, pendapatan dan untung/rugi pembangunan fasilitas baru oleh manajemen rumah sakit berdasarkan rekomendasi berbagai aspek pada bab-bab sebelumnya. Bab ini akan menjadi dasar penyusunan rencana bisnis.
7. Bab terakhir ini berisikan rekomendasi perencanaan bisnis yang mencakup biaya investasi, tahapan pembangunan, mekanisme pembiayaan serta pengelolaannya.

Kandungan dokumen FS dapat berbeda tergantung tujuan penyusunan dan jenis proyeknya.

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Picking up where we left off from the last post (An Intro to Management), we will discuss what a project is all about this time.

Hariagung (2003) defined projects as “suatu tugas yang terarah ke suatu sasaran yang harus diselesaikan dalam kurun waktu tertentu dengan menggunakan tenaga manusia terbatas dengan menggunakan alat-alat terbatas pula dan sedemikian rumit dan barunya sehingga diperlukan suatu jenis pimpinan dan bentuk kerjasama yang berlainan dari yang biasa dilakukan.” (more or less: “a complex and relatively new task to complete an objective using limited manpower and tools, thus requiring a special kind of leadership and coordination”)

Husen (2009) refers to projects as “gabungan dari sumber-sumber daya (manusia, material, peralatan, dan modal/biaya) yang dihimpun dalam sebuah wadah organisasi sementara untuk mencapai tujuan/sasaran.” (a composition of resources (manpower, materials, tools, and funds/costs) within a temporary coordinating institution to achieve a goal)

Nurhayati came up with a couple of definitions in her 2010 volume: “suatu usaha/aktivitas yang kompleks, tidak rutin, dibatasi oleh waktu, anggaran, sumber daya, dan spesifikasi kinerja yang dirancang untuk memenuhi kebutuhan konsumen.” (a complex, irregular activity limited by constraints in time, funds, resources, and performance, designed to meet costumer requirements) and “suatu upaya atau aktivitas yang diorganisasikan untuk mencapai tujuan, sasaran dan harapan-harapan penting dengan menggunakan anggaran dana serta sumber daya yang tersedia, yang harus diselesaikan dalam jangka waktu tertentu.” (an organized activity to achieve important goals using available resources within a certain amount of time)

From what the three authors have said, we can safely conclude that a project is a complex activity, planned/designed in such a way to achieve certain goals within a limited amount of time, resources, and specified performance.

Project Characteristics

1. A project has a goal;
2. A project has a beginning and an end;
3. Involves various departments from various professional backgrounds;
4. An irregular activity;
5. Specific in time, costs/funding, and performance/specifications

Although there are thousands of kinds of projects, we can sort them into two categories: physical (manufacture, construction, etc.), and non-physical projects (managerial services, research and development, event organizing, etc.)

Next, we put the two words (“management” and “project”) together, and discuss about “Project Management”

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What is the first thing that crosses your mind when you hear “Project Management“? My early introduction to the term “Project Management” was during the beginning of my studies at the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) Surabaya. That time all I had in mind were an array of tools that have something to do with construction work; schedules, materials, status reports, etc. As time goes by, I discovered that project management is actually more than just a set of instruments; it is the application of skills, knowledge, instruments, and methods to achieve what stakeholders expect from a project.

In the posts to follow, we will explore project management further, starting with a brief introduction to management, getting to know what projects are all about, followed by an introduction to project management and its elements, its implementation, and its role in urban planning and development. I will also try to provide some case studies to enrich the series.

Let’s begin! The term “Project Management” comprises of two words, “Project” and “Management” so, perhaps it would be best to kick-start the series with an understanding of what those two words are, and what they mean when they are put together.

Management: in the words of Mary Parker Follet (1868-1933), “management is the art of getting things done through people” thus, management involves a person or a group of people to plan, arrange, and carry-out activities targeted toward a designated objective. Management is also perceived as a humane activity; to facilitate the production of positive results from a system.

Peter Drucker (1909-2005) states that management is the coordination of activities within an organization/enterprise that is oriented towards certain policies and objectives, with the following tasks: marketing and innovation.

Management consists of inter-connected functions and processes. Among these processes are: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.

Management can also be described as someone, or a group of people that manage something; the board of directors and managers that wield the power and responsibility to make important decisions within an organization/enterprise. Management sizes vary from a single officer in a firm, to thousands of managers in a multi-national corporation. It can also be discussed functionally to regularly measure quantity; to measure and organization’s performance, adjusting plans, or as the action(s) taken to achieve a goal.

The Functions of Management: Henri Fayol describes the seven functions of management as follows:

1. Planning : planning can be viewed from different perspectives; organizational and psychological. In an organizational manner, planning is the process of compiling a plan. Psychologically speaking, however, planning is an act of visualizing steps to be taken to achieve an objective. From whichever point of view, the end product is the same: a vision of a realistic objective;
2. Organizing : defined as an act of arranging elements according to a set of rules/more, or to position items in a logical manner so that they can be easily found (indexing);
3. Leading : one’s ability to influence others socially, to gain support and aid to achieve a goal/complete a task;
4. Coordinating : various people with various motivations and backgrounds within an organization; coordination is required to harmonize each and every element/individual so that they can work together to achieve a single goal;
5. Controlling : performance monitoring at an alloted time. Performance is determined according to a set of standards within a project to ensure positive development and satisfactory performance;
6. Staffing : often referred to as “recruitment”, putting the right man in the right place;
7. Motivating : encourage target-oriented behavior.

Coming up next: An Introduction to Projects!

Related Articles

• The Top Ten Benefits of Project Management (brighthub.com)
• Project Management Explained in Brief (business-project-management.suite101.com)
• Project Management Case Studies by Terry Hall (slideshare.net)
• Top Ten Management on Controlling: An Overview of The Function of Management That Ties It All Together (bizcovering.com)

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Graffiti exists where human civilization exists. It is almost impossible to find a human settlement without graffiti. They can be found everywhere, almost on any surface throughout the urban sphere, even on surfaces that exceeds the capacity of the human logic. Some people consider graffiti as decorative elements in the urban space. Others relate graffiti to public disorder and vandalism. Therefore perceive graffiti as a sign of lowering community life qualities.Before we continue any further, it would be best if we knew the meaning of the term ‘graffiti’. The term originated from the Italian wordgraffito (singular form) which means scratch because back in ancient times one could only scratch a solid surface/wall to send out a public message.

Form of visual communication, usually illegal, involving the unauthorized marking of public space by an individual or group. Technically the term applies to designs scratched through a layer of paint or plaster, but its meaning has been extended to other markings. Graffiti is widely considered a form of antisocial behavior performed in order to gain attention or simply for thrills. But it also can be understood as an expressive art form. Derived from the Italian word graffio (“scratch”), graffiti (“incised inscriptions,” plural but often used as singular) has a long history. It has been found in ancient Roman ruins, in the remains of the Mayan city ofTikal in Central America, on rocks in Spain dating to the 16th century, and in medieval English churches. During the 20th century, graffiti in the U.S. and Europe was closely associated with gangs. Graffiti was particularly prominent in major urban centers throughout the world; common targets were subways, billboards, and walls. In the 1990s there emerged a new form of graffiti, known as “tagging,” which entailed the repeated use of a single symbol or series of symbols to mark territory

–Brittanica Concise Encyclopaedia

This article will discuss about the origins of graffiti, its issues, and how public authorities should deal with them. Further more this essay will question the possibility of legalizing graffiti as a public form of art. In an interview done in 1998 by Ken Dray, Coordinator of the New South Wales Graffiti Solutions Program with Mathew Peet, a graffiti artist, rap musician, and youth worker, a discussion was held on the many aspects of graffiti culture and strategies to address to the issue. The author quotes a few words describing Peet’s perspective on graffiti:

“…I definitely think that graffiti is a voice in a way – it’s like the purest form of ‘unedited’ expression. There is no censorship. Basically you can express yourself whatever way you want. The way graffiti expresses itself, the thing that everyone sees is tags, because that’s just someone writing their name, but in a way that’s a statement. In a way that is saying “Here I am”. But it’s also a shy way of expressing yourself. You are not actually showing yourself and saying “I’m out there” but you’re leaving a mark that says you were there.“

The quoted words describe graffiti as an act of insecurity, where the artist does not have to show up publicly to express their existence. Unlike other forms of art (e.g. painting, sculpting, etc.), the artist’s tag / work can be found anywhere throughout the city and may acclaim to a certain degreenof fame but the image of the artist themselves is inconceivable to the greater public outside the graffiti crew.

A journal by Saul Bolivar published in 1997 called ‘“Bombing” L.A.: Graffiti Culture and the Contest for Visual Space’ mentions graffiti as a result of the density of the urban space. As the urban space shrinks due to the extreme race for claims upon it, people somehow adapt to the situation by looking for, and creating new forms of space, adding to the density of urban space in a different way. Saul Bolivar addresses this phenomenon as visual density.

So, is graffiti just an act of vandalism or social disorder? Or is it an act of shy-ness? Or is it the result of the never ending competition of claims to the urban space?

Graffiti: a Brief History

Ancient Forms of Graffiti

As stated earlier, graffiti exists where human settlement exists. The earliest forms of graffiti were the cave paintings by cave dwellers from the prehistoric times. Modern style graffiti, according to Wikipedia, can be traced back to ancient Greece, in the city of Ephesus which is now modern-day Turkey and appears to advertise prostitution.

The Romans carved their graffiti in monuments, and walls. There are also samples of graffiti preserved under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius in the city of Pompeii, offering description of everyday life on the ancient streets of Pompeii. Everyday Latin, insults, love declarations, up to political consigns.

Examples of graffiti are not only found in Greece and Rome, there were also examples from the Mayan site of Tikal in Guatemala. The French also made graffiti by carving their names on monuments during the Napoleon campaign in the 1790s.

Modern Graffiti

Political activists used graffiti as a quick and easy way to make a statement without too much risk to the writer. Gang graffiti began to arise during the beginning of graffiti’s foundation, using graffiti to mark territory. Modern graffiti culture began towards the end of the 1960s in Philadelphia. The centre of graffiti innovation moved from Philade

lphia to New York City in the 1970s. 1966-1971 saw the invention of newer and much more creative writing techniques by the graffiti pioneers.

During the period between 1966-1989 graffiti history had its prominent years where the act evolved in underground subways and on the cars themselves. Although pre-dating the hip-hop culture by almost a decade and being a culture on its own, modern graffiti (20^th century graffiti) is depicted through Hollywood movies as an element of the hip-hop culture alongside hip-hop’s DJ, MC, and break dancing.

In the 1970s graffiti was made synonymous with the world of anti-establishment punk rock with bands such as Black Flag and Crass.

The Pioneering Era

Graffiti faced a surge in style and popularity during 1971-1974 in New York City, where an artist began to gain popularity outside the graffiti society. During this time artists began to move from the city streets to the subways. The first seeds of competition came into being as artists tried to do as many tags and bombs (large pieces of graffiti) as possible. Since there were so many graffiti artists at this period, tags began to take their distinctive calligraphic appearance to distinguish between artists. New techniques developed during this period, thicker outlines, polka dots, cross hatches, etc. leading to high demands in paint. Mainstream society noticed this boom and 1972 saw the founding of United Graffiti Artists (UGA) by Hugo Martinez with the aim to present graffiti in an art gallery setting.

Graffiti’s peak as an art form was during 1975-1977. Heavy ‘bombing’ occurred due to economic restraints on New York City, rendering the city helpless to combat the art form through graffiti removal programs or transit m

aintenance. Pieces that used to cover the height of the subway cars evolved into whole cars. A new style emerged that was more complex than ordinary tags, but less intricate than a piece. This new style is known as ‘throw up’, altering the standards set in the 1970s and leading to the desire of artists to expand and change.

During the end of the 1970s and entering the early 1980s the Metro Transit Authority (MTA) began to build better fences around train yards and was into total eradication of graffiti. Many artists called it quits since their work was continuously scrubbed off. However, the established art world began to be more receptive to the graffiti culture and for many outside New York City it was the first time being exposed to the art form.

The streets became more dangerous due to the crack (cocaine) epidemic in the 1980s, causing a huge decline in writing. Other factors that support the decline were restrictions on paint sale and display, and penalties for writers were made more severe. Writers at that period became very territorial for good writing spots, and strength in numbers and unity became increasingly important. Writers who chose to go alone were often beaten and robbed of their supplies.

Die Hard Era

Between the years 1985-1989 the writers’ only hope for writing was subway cars heading for the scrap yard. The MTA had won their war on graffiti and the culture had taken a step back. The number of writers declined rapidly, along with the number of violence associated with graffiti crews.

Clean Train Movement Era

The era was marked by the movement of the majority of graffiti artists from subway cars to street galleries. Many debated whether graffiti should be considered as an actual art form. In the early 1980s, artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat displayed their works in art galleries and ran their own studios.

Commercialization came with the popularity and legitimization of graffiti. Large companies like IBM launched advertising campaigns which involved writers. Along with the rise of graffiti’s popularity, video games began depicting the graffiti culture, in a positive aspect.

Graffiti Styles

Tag: the most basic writing of an artist can either be done by spray paint or marker. When graffiti is referred to vandalism, “tagging” is the most common example given since the main highlight of tagging is the style of penmanship and it lacks of artistic form.

Throw-up: simple pieces using only a few colors, comprising of only a few letters and often incorporate exclamation marks, sacrificing aesthetics for speed. A throw-up can either be done using either spray paint or marker.

Fill-in or Piece: more elaborate compared to throw-ups, incorporating block or bubble-letters, using three or more colors. Pieces are more time consuming, therefore increasing the risk of writers getting caught by the authority.

Wild style or wicked style: a more complex piece where the letters are usually interlocking making them hard to read by the non-graffiti society as the letters merges into one another in an undecipherable manner.

Blockbuster: fill-in that covers an entire wall, usually with the purpose of covering up other artist’s tag.

Get-up: a quick attempt to cover up another artist’s work using a sticker. This action is normally considered lazy by most artists, but others consider the five-ten minutes spent preparing the sticker is not worthy of the title lazy.

Each graffiti piece shows different styles: it shows the culture of the artist’s country of origin which plays a great role in shaping the artist’s personal style.

Graffiti and The City

The Function of Graffiti

Nun. By the Pen, and the (Record) which (men) write,-

Al-Qur’an, 068.001 (Al-Qalam [The Pen])

He who taught (the use of) pen, taught man that which he knew not,-

Al-Qur’an, 096.004-005 (Al-Alaq [The Clot, Read])

From the two verses found in The Holy Qur’an, in relation to this issue, we can say through ancient graffiti, we can obtain information on everyday life in the ancient cities around the world, and through modern day graffiti

(with spray paint acting as the pen) one can catch a glimpse of other’s point of view, and if treated as signs of culture, graffiti serves as an instrument of cultural record. The future society may be able to learn about the level of cultural advancement in our time through graffiti.

The Wikipedia states that graffiti is often related to the subculture rebelling against authority, and usually expresses various political practices. Graffiti also helps deliver ‘anti-war’, ‘feminist’, ‘anarchist’, and other campaign messages.

Graffiti is not always an attempt to deliver certain messages or opinions. In some cases graffiti is

the result of pure desire, hunger for recognition, or resulting from an act of affection (Pride).

“I don’t know, it’s just getting to have your name well known all around the

place . . . They’ll be like, they’ll see your tag and they’ll be like, that’s

good . . . and they’ll be like, I know who writes that, I’m his friend . . . he’s

heaps cool.”

Researcher: So who do you piece for?

Interviewee: Me.

Researcher: You did them for you?

Interviewee: I don’t have to prove anything. I don’t want to make anyone else happy.

It makes me happy, that’s all I care about.

–‘Our Desires Are Ungovernable; Writing Graffiti in Urban Space’ (Halsey/Young, 2006)

Graffiti and The Community

In general the community looks at graffiti as something from the lower order of society, lowering the quality of life in the community. In the 1982 documentary feature “Style Wars”, detective Bernie Jacobs, Crime Prevention Coordinator for New York City, Transit Department defines graffiti as ‘the application of a medium to a surface’ graffiti in his opinion is not an art but a form of crime. The society also finds graffiti somewhat disturbing. A writer’s mother even considered graffiti as ‘a whole miserable subculture’.

Some people however found graffiti to be very interesting, that it meant more than just scribbles on the wall. As some works can only be read by the graffiti community, then it certainly has a deeper meaning than just names or words scribbled in a deformed manner on the urban surface?

When the art community began to accept graffiti as a form of art and opening their galleries to them, some writers find it as a commercialization attempt while others think that train graffiti is slowly dying out and art galleries are the next level for graffiti art, where pieces would last a life time. For the society outside New York City, during the early 80’s, graffiti on the trains are symbols of New York City. As graffiti makes their way to art galleries, some foreigners find it sad to see graffiti existing only in galleries and no longer on trains.

Graffiti Versus The Authority

Graffiti is one of the life quality offenses…destroying our lifestyle, making it hard to enjoy life and has to be responded to…a three time repeater should get five days in jail. A murderer, if you believe in the death penalty…should be executed, but you wouldn’t want to do that to a graffiti writer.

–Quoted from the feature documentary ‘Style Wars’.

It is clear that the authority finds graffiti as a plague to be dealt with to uphold the quality of life. A lot of money had been spent on replacing broken train side windows, and the possibility to replace the glass with acrylic was ruled out because graffiti removal solutions fog the acrylic windows. Trains are regularly washed, and with the graffiti on their bodies, the MTA had to use graffiti removal solution which defaces the trains’ physical make up.

The eradication of graffiti began by publishing posters saying “Make your mark in society, not on society” which were put in buses and trains. Television public service advertisements were also aired to aid the campaign against graffiti using youth icons of the time such as, Hector Camacho and Alex Ramos (Boxing stars; Camacho was a North American light weight champion boxer during that period, and Ramos was the leading middle weight contender.) The posters say “Take it from the champs, graffiti is for chumps.”

Another method the city government used is altering train shifts. The change of schedule, the building of double fences around train yards and putting dogs on patrol between the fences, lead to train graffiti’s slow death. Although the trains still have some tags written on them, but the big pieces and bombs no longer decorate their bodies making them relatively cleaner than before.

The writers reacted to this situation by pointing out bigger issues like fighting muggers and murderers on the transit system. They feel the MTA had wasted money on their battle against graffiti when there are people who do greater damage to the society than they do.

Different approaches towards the graffiti epidemic have been taken by authorities all over the world. In Europe there are ‘community cleaning squads’ such as France’s Protestant youth group Éclaireurs de France who took to their scrubbing action to archeological sites earning them the 1992 LG Nobel Prize in archaeology. Great Britain issued an anti-graffiti legislation known as the ‘Anti-Social Behavior Act 2003’. In the year 2004 the ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ campaign took place, issuing a press release on ‘Zero Tolerance’ for graffiti and supporting on the spot fines for anyone caught doing graffiti, and banning the sales of aerosol paint to teenagers. Other than that, the campaign also condemned the use of graffiti in advertising and music videos which often portrayed graffiti as something cool and edgy, arguing that the real world experience of graffiti exists far removed from the latter.

Authorities in Australia decided to provide legal walls for graffiti writers in an attempt to reduce the act of vandalism. Some suggest that this will encourage graffiti writers to be able to take their time and produce greater art without having to worry about getting caught by local authorities. Others are more skeptical and claim that the existence of legal walls will not reduce the amount of illegal graffiti. Another strategy local authority used to fight against graffiti was the ‘brownout’ which was a rapid removal program by painting trains brown. However this rapid removal program only managed to eradicate big pieces but not tagging.

Singapore had an incident involving graffiti in 1993 where several expensive cars were found spray painted. Michael P. Fay, a student from the Singapore American School was arrested and charged with vandalism. He eventually pleaded guilty to the charges in addition to stealing road signs and was sentenced to four months in jail, a fine of SG$3.500,- and caning according to 1966 Singapore Vandalism Act which was legislated to battle communist graffiti. The American public outraged to the sentence passed and flooded the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singaporean government received many protests, Fay’s caning took place on May 1994 with the amount of lashes reduced from six lashes to four.

Conclusion

Up to this day the argument of graffiti being either a form of art or a menace to society still exists. A group of people encourage the proliferation of such street art to beautify and decorate the city, whereas the other group, local authority included, acts according to a contradictive agenda. The solution to such situation may well lie in the boundary of graffiti as an art form, and graffiti as an act of vandalism. Question is: where is this boundary? When do we look at graffiti as art and when do we see it as vandalism? Art and vandalism, in the street context, have a very vague border line. A mural may be considered as vandalism to those who do not favor it even if the mural is legal, and vice versa. Either way, one can safely say that most people are afraid of things that they do not understand, and graffiti with its ‘exclusive’ nature may pose a certain degree of threat and insecurity to some layers of society. Should we fight against graffiti to live cleaner environments or should we let graffiti exist to give the city the notion of a lived environment?

Related Articles

• City can’t clean up notorious graffiti hub (seattlepi.com)
• Urban Scrawl: Rome’s Graffiti Pits Clean-Up Crews Against Artists (online.wsj.com)
• Schools join hunt for the graffiti yob (menmedia.co.uk)
• The Best Bathroom Graffiti: Notes From The Stall (pastemagazine.com)
• How Graffiti Can Be Even Cooler: Just Add Star Wars (weburbanist.com)

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“I am reposting this article simply to make it easier for me to keep track of my writings.”

-Prananda Navitas

Anyone familiar with Surabaya will definitely know Dolly, a red-light district, which, some people have mentioned to be one of South Asia’s largest. The fact that Dolly is a big thing certainly means that it has great potentials especially in contributing to regional income. Not only that, other businesses (non-sex-oriented) flourish in the area as a result of Dolly’s magnetic potentials. However, behind all its fame, Dolly also causes a degree of uneasiness to residents who live in the vicinity by spawning excess activities such as crime and drug abuse. People would easily look at this district as the number one source of HIV/AIDS (but I believe that drug abuse, statistically speaking is the #1 cause of the spread of HIV/AIDS here…correct me if I’m wrong, please!). Another concern is that Dolly, in a way, encourages human trafficking. Don’t forget the psychological pressures that (non-prostitute) residents of the vicinity (especially children) have to endure. After considering all these aspects, then the amount of regional income Dolly might be able to generate is nothing compared to its destructive potentials that threaten the city.

Sparkling Surabaya is a new vision that the local authorities have conceived, and it aims at encouraging tourism in Surabaya to develop. Bearing that in mind, then it is apparent that marketing the city is something everyone should consider. However, even the dumbest of people can understand that marketing the city by taking using prostitution as packaging is a sensitive issue. It would even put shame on some people’s faces; and if we force the idea, we can expect a great deal of friction with religious parties, and other humanitarian organizations. But that is no reason to turn our backs on Dolly! One solution to take advantage of Dolly’s potential is to rehabilitate the red-light district, but retain its reputation as a red-light district, and market it as a sex-tourism district. Before you get me wrong, what I meant was to promote Dolly as a former red-light district (not promoting the fact that Dolly is a red-light district!), just like Amsterdam’s notorious de Wallen area. Imagine the amount of credit Surabaya’s city government will get if they succeed in rehabilitating Dolly as did the Amsterdam city government de Wallen (Jawa Pos 5th & 6th February 2008)! Can readers imagine a red-light Fashion District instead of an actual red-light District? The creative industry sector is the most suitable agent-of-change (in my opinion). The existence of art galleries will certainly be more appreciated compared to sex and a few cafes.

Resistance will certainly arise especially from those who work in brothels with unemployment being the most common reason. They should bear in mind, however, that if the rehabilitation project is successful, then jobs will certainly be available automatically. Cleaning out this district will also reduce various crimes, including drug abuse and human trafficking. The spread of HIV/AIDS will also be reduced. (I know I know, I’m being too optimistic!)

We should keep in mind that even if Dolly can be fully rehabilitated, the project will not totally wipe out prostitution. This idea is also not an overnight miracle stuff. But at least this idea can present a reflecting point; that even something that society has deemed as rotten and hopeless can become something good, just like the ugly caterpillar becoming a beautiful butterfly.

Related Articles

• Prostitutes: World Cup Fans Being Scared Away (news.sky.com)
• A Red-Light District Off the Beaten Path (blogs.wsj.com)
• .XXX domain: A bit like Amsterdam…only different (zdnet.com)
• Urban Renewal from NYC to Amsterdam: A Podcast (oup.com)
• Long search for answer to problem that will not just go away (timesonline.co.uk)
• Goddard: Amsterdam museum exhibit illuminates the ladies of the night (thestar.com)

Penerapan model perencanaan seperti ini dapat digunakan untuk mengembalikan fungsi dan mengendalikan zona-zona yang telah dilanggar. Pertimbangan implementasi konsep ini adalah karakter perencanaan katalitik itu sendiri dimana dalam model perencanaan ini sebuah komponen baru diperkenalkan kedalam konteks yang telah ada. Komponen baru ini nantinya akan mempengaruhi konteks sehingga terjadi perubahan sesuai dengan program yang telah ditentukan.

Perubahan yang diharapkan tentunya adalah perubahan yang positif; oleh karena itu reaksi yang ditimbulkan oleh komponen baru tersebut hendaknya dikendalikan sehingga tidak merusak konteks aslinya. Dan karena sifat/pola “reaksi kimia” yang terjadi tidak ditentukan sebelumnya, maka tidak ada rumus yang pasti untuk setiap konteks. Dalam hemat saya sifat ini merupakan kelemahan pada model perencanaan katalitik.

Letak keindahan konsep ini adalah pada komponen yang akan diperkenalkan kedalam konteks. Pembentukan/formulasi komponen ini dipengaruhi oleh konteks yang akan ia “sentuh”, dan pada akhirnya mempengaruhi konteks yang ia penetrasi. Oleh karena komponen baru ini dipengaruhi oleh konteks, maka komponen baru ini harus dimengerti, dipertimbangkan, dan diterima keadaannya terlebih dahulu.

Theoretically Speaking: Reading Adorno (1903-1969) and Horkheimer’s (1895-1975) argument, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception” (1944), that popular culture is akin to a factory producing standardized cultural goods – through film, radios, and magazines – to manipulate masses into passivity, I came to realize that culture industry may be able to save Indonesia’s traditional markets. Both men argued that business is culture industry’s ideology, and that its power resides in the identification with manufactured needs. Working on Adorno and Horkheimer’s understanding of culture industry, I see the potential to help regenerate traditional markets by manufacturing a need for them.  There is, however, a risk of the markets becoming mere amusement, sought after as an escape from the mechanized work process. To avoid this condition, therefore the manufactured need should be focused on the need of certain goods or services, and perhaps even manufacture the need to be able to bargain and negotiate the price of goods.

What is Expected: it is expected that by preserving Indonesia’s traditional markets, it not only maintains one of the archipelago’s many cultural heritages, but also encourage and shift economic growth towards the populist economy – that way Indonesia’s development won’t be too concentrated on one or two regions/islands.

-BPPT, 1992

Rapid increases in car and motorcycle ownership in Surabaya over recent years (are) creating serious and widespread traffic congestion. In the future, if no action is taken, conditions will deteriorate still further. It is estimated that a journey to work that takes thirty minutes now, will take up to one hour by the year 2010.

-Surabaya Integrated Transport Network Planning Report No. B3, “Traffic Demand Management”, 1998

Introduction

Congestion, not only is it troublesome for the individual motorist in terms of delay, stress, and uncertainty, but it is also a problem that confronts society as a whole. Not to mention, the impact congestion has upon the environment in terms of higher emissions, noise, and visual intrusion, thus also implicating for public health and safety. When referred to the data that BPPT issued in 1992, congestion also has a role in increasing economic pressure due to high fuel demand.

Various parties play different roles in society, each contributing in their own way to congestion whether they realize it or not. Even the financial sector (banks) contribute greatly to congestion by providing automobile mortgages; empowering people to own private vehicles. Motor vehicle manufacturers are also greatly responsible for providing society with incredibly affordable vehicles. This article does not convey that it’s wrong to have your own motor vehicles, its only asking readers to think about their contribution to society, and asking readers to take a look at the possibilities to help reduce the economic pressure that we face when we commute daily in our private vehicles (fuel demands, maintenance costs, insurance, etc.)

The solution to this matter that makes the most sense is of course public transport or urban mass transit. As one professor in Shanghai, China, once mentioned:

The earlier urban transit system is developed, the greater the possibility to avoid congestion issues.

-Zhang, “Development of East Asian Cities” (lecture) Tongji University Shanghai, CAUP, 24/12/2007

Although Zhang’s statement indicates that urban transit system must be developed as early as possible in the urban development stages, it doesn’t mean that it’s too late for big cities that up until today have not properly developed urban mass transit.  The following are possible forms of urban mass transit and other possible solutions to this clog:

Busway

The term Busway refers to a form of public mass transport (buses) that exclusively occupies a lane in main arterial roads.

“.. Jakarta sejak ada busway ama masalah banjir jadi kacau banget..[..eversince we have the busway and the regular floods, Jakarta has been really chaotic..]” this is an excerpt from an email that I received from a friend of mine, D, on November 29th, 2007. In this message, he states his disappointment with the latest form of urban mass transit currently available in Jakarta. It’s not a surprise that a lot of people are disappointed with the busway system, and most people accuse the busway as the cause of further congestion as it occupies an exclusive lane in major arterial roads, thus reducing the number of existing vehicle lanes.

Railway (Rail-based Transportation)

Railways in Indonesia were built during the Dutch colonization era and were not intended to serve the intra-urban passengers. The strategic concept was clear that our suburban railway network was intended to connect large cities with smaller cities nearby e.g. Jakarta with Bekasi, Bogor, and Tangerang. Thus railways did not correlate with the urban development patterns which mainly guided development towards major arterial roads.

Surabaya has developed what is known as the commuter train, a light rail train connecting Surabaya and Sidoarjo. The idea is to serve the people who commute to and fro between Sidoarjo and Surabaya especially during rush hour. Thus ultimately reducing the volume of private motor vehicles that operate along some of the main arteries. So far, this has been the best solution since it actually reduces the amount of private vehicles on the road, and it doesn’t occupy the roads at all, but operate on its own tracks.

Highway

The idea of developing highway systems to overcome traffic congestion has been heard of quite often. In my opinion, providing highways may be able to solve the congestion problems that a big city has, but it is nothing more than just a short-term solution, and a win-win solution for both construction contractors and the urban authorities.

IT Solutions

T, a friend of mine, suggested in a conversation some time in early December 2007, that rescheduling the public transport trajectory route and controlling congestion-risk nodes may be an efficient solution to congestion. During our conversation, T mentioned that a program which can calculate the volume and amount of public transport vehicles should be operational according to the time of the day be developed. This program will also determine the best route to be taken during certain periods of the day. Thus there is a possibility that there will be various routes going from A to B. One route perhaps with more or less stops than the other.

Closing Remarks

The solutions mentioned above are the sort that a great number of funds, thought / energy, and time. Perhaps it would make a lot of sense if authorities would simply make do with whatever it is that they have in hand at the moment. In other words, repair the existing forms of public transport facilities and improve their service quality. Not only that, urban authorities should also actively promote the use of public transport through mass media. As for the greater society, please reconsider when you board your private vehicles; nothing compares to communal needs. Not even prestige.

This type of planning model can be used to restore functions, and control planned zones that have been violated. The consideration towards implementing this concept is the characteristic of Catalytic Planning itself where a new, so to say, “ingredient” is introduced into the existing context. This new element will then influence the context in such a way according to the predetermined program.

The changes that this new element cause are of course (hopefully) for the better; thus the “chemical reaction” which takes place should be closely observed and controlled to ensure that it doesn’t cause damage to the original context. And since the characteristic/pattern of the “chemical reaction” is not predetermined, therefore there is no such thing as “one formulae for all circumstances”. In my opinion, this is a weakness of the Catalytic model.

The beauty of this model, however, is in the new “ingredient” itself. Its formulation is strongly influenced by the context to which it will be introduced, and ultimately it will influence the context itself. Thus this new component must first of all be well understood, considered, and accepted.

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Ever since I was a child, I have often heard of the phrase “hygiene is a part of faith”, and naturally as a child, I manifested the phrase in the form of taking regular baths, and keeping my room clean. As I grew up, however, my understanding towards this jargon has also expanded. The word “hygiene” has taken a broader meaning in my mind, expanding to more than just physical hygiene, but also “moral hygiene”, “spiritual hygiene”, etc. What does this have to do with architecture? I will attempt to explain in the following paragraphs.

To kick start our journey, we shall first take a closer look at the word “hygiene” from various perspectives. The term is derived from Hygieia, the Greek godess of health, cleanliness, and sanitation. Hygiene refers to practices associated with ensuring good health and cleanliness. Such practices vary widely and what is considered acceptable in one culture may be unacceptable in another. In medical context, the term “hygiene” refers to the maintenance of health and healthy living. In Islam, hygiene has been a prominent topic in the faith. Since the 7th century, Islam has always placed a strong emphasis on personal hygiene; one example is that one must be ritually clean in time for the daily prayer (Shalat) through Wudhu, and Ghusl. There are many hygiene-related rules governing the lives of Muslims, including Islamic dietary laws, and sexual hygiene. Thus, in a shallow sense, in architecture, it is advised that we choose building materials that are easy to clean, and maintain. The architecture itself must be environmentally friendly at all times, including the phase where it manifests itself physically (during construction), and even during demolition.

The latter discussed mostly about physical hygiene. What about moral hygiene, or spiritual hygiene? Islam encourages us to maintain cleanliness, not only must our bodies be kept clean (ritually clean whenever possible), but also our minds, and our souls. This can be seen through how a Muslim must pray (Shalat) five times a day at fixed times. Shalat’s primary purpose is as an individual’s means of communication with God, enabling one to stand in front of God to thank and praise Him, and ask Him to show one the “right path” (as mentioned in surah Al-Fatihah which is recited in every prayer). In addition, the daily ritual prayers serve as a constant reminder to Muslims that they should be grateful for God’s blessings. Shalat also serves as a formal method of remembering God. Ultimately, Shalat (As-Salat) is also a means to restrain believers from social wrong and moral deviancy (Q.S. Al-’Ankabuut verse 45) Thus, in my opinion, this should manifest itself in architecture through low profile appearance; for example a house should not reflect its owners social status (boastful) to avoid any possible social conflicts. As Andy Rahman has also mentioned, a house’s gate and fence (should there be any), despite its function as security means, should enable interaction with neighbors, and not segregate the house completely from its immediate environment; the gate and fence should not reflect that of a fort’s.

As hygiene is strongly related to cleanliness, therefore, architecture should be able to reflect and maintain its users’ image cleanliness in the sense that, a house should ensure its owners’ privacy. Its spatial arrangement, according to Andy Rahman, should make sure that guests and passers-by should not be able to see the semi-public and private spaces. This is to ensure that guests are not able to see the hosts when they are not yet ready to receive guests (such as perhaps the host’s wife has not put her scarf on).

To conclude this essay of mine, in my opinion, Islamic architecture should be one with its immediate environment. It should not cause any conflicts whatsoever; whether it’s conflicts with nature, or socio-cultural conflicts. Thus making it very clean in all aspects.