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Peri-urban planning in Indonesia: Contexts, approaches and institutional

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 RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN

Peri-urban Planning in Indonesia

Contexts, approaches and institutional capacity

Proefschrift

ter verkrijging van het doctoraat in de

Ruimtelijke Wetenschappen
aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
op gezag van de
Rector Magnificus, dr. F. Zwarts,
in het openbaar te verdedigen op
donderdag 11 maart 2010
om 14.45 uur

door

Delik Hudalah
geboren op 20 augustus 1982
te Bandung, Indonesië
Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. G. J. J. Linden

Copromotores: Dr. J. Woltjer

Dr. ir. H. Winarso

Beoordelingscommissie: Prof. dr. D. Webster

Prof. dr. L. Albrechts
Prof. dr. ir. T. Firman

ISBN: 978-90-367-4233-7

© Delik Hudalah, 2010

Cover design : Nurmala

Paranymfen : Laksmi T. D. J. Wisnu and Ward Rauws
To Putri, Zeidra, and Zhafira for their presence, patience, support and love.
‘I swear by the time, most surely man is in loss, except those who believe and
do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience’.
(Qur’an Surah 103 Al-Asr : 1-3)
 Table of Contents

Table of Contents vii

List of Tables x
List of Figures xi
Preface xiii
List of Abbreviations xv
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Overview 1
1.2 Past studies on peri-urban planning 2
1.3 The three new institutional approaches and planning theory 5
1.4 Objectives/ questions 8
1.5 Theoretical contributions 9
1.6 Structure of the book 10
Chapter 2 Case studies and methodology 14
2.1 Cases selection 14
2.2 Data collection and analytical methods 23
Chapter 3 Peri-urbanisation in East Asia: A new challenge for planning?
28
3.1 Introduction 28
3.2 From a global perspective to East Asia 29
3.3 Spatial manifestations 31
3.4 Institutional rationale 35
3.5 Planning and governance practice 38
3.6 Conclusions and recommendations 41
viii

Chapter 4 Planning system in Transitional Indonesia44

4.1 Introduction 44
4.2 Indonesia’s modern planning history 45
4.3 Institutional forces and the planning system 48
4.4 Formal institutional forces 49
4.5 Informal institutional forces 52
4.6 The influence of neo-liberal ideas 54
4.7 Discussion and conclusion 57
Chapter 5 Policy networking and institutional capacity: an analysis of
peri-urban environmental and infrastructure planning conflicts in Indonesia
59
5.1 Introduction 59
5.2 Towards an institutional approach to networks 60
5.3 Dago-Lembang road development proposal 64
5.4 The emergence of environmental policy network 67
5.5 Discussion and conclusion 74
Chapter 6 Discourse formation and institutional capacity: a study on
fringe transformation and environmental conflicts in Indonesia 76
6.1 Introduction 76
6.2 Discourse, new institutionalism and planning 78
6.3 The integrated development planning of Punclut 82
6.4 Discourse and institutional analyses 85
6.5 Discourse formation around the urban development project on the
fringe 87
6.6 Discussion and conclusion 92
Chapter 7 Planning by opportunity: An analysis of peri-urban
environmental conflicts in Indonesia 95
7.1 Introduction 95
7.2 Political opportunity structure and Kingdon’s policy window 97
7.3 Towards a new institutional approach to opportunity 99
7.4 Institutional analysis 102
7.5 The case of Dago-Lembang corridor 103
7.6 The case of Punclut fringe area 107
7.7 Conclusion 113
 ix

Chapter 8 The building of peri-urban institutional capacity 115

8.1 Introduction 115
8.2 Urban transformation, planning and institutions in peri-urban areas
115
8.3 Peri-urban planning system and practice 122
8.4 Further studies 127
Appendix A Regulations and Plans Concerning North Bandung Area 1982-
2004 131
Appendix B Chronology of the Dago-Lembang project proposal 2004 135
Appendix C Chronology of the Punclut project 2004-2005 138
Appendix D List of interviews 142
Appendix E Interview protocol 146
Samenvatting 147
Summary 151
References 155
 List of Tables

Table 2.1 Interviewees by category 26

Table 4.1 Major political cultures in Indonesia 53
Table 5.1 Exchange of resources among the actors participating in the
debate on Dago-Lembang road development proposal 73
Table 7.1 Key actors and their motivations in the debate on Dago-Lembang
road development planning proposal 105
Table 7.2 Political opportunity structure for rejecting the Dago-Lembang
road development planning proposal 106
Table 7.3 Key actors and their motivations in the debate on the Integrated
Development Planning of Punclut 110
Table 7.4 Political opportunity structures for rejecting the Integrated
Development Planning of Punclut 112
 List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Institutional capacity building as a function of knowledge and

relational resources 8
Figure 1.2 Organisation of the thesis 11
Figure 2.1 Overall methodological procedure 15
Figure 2.2 Map of (Greater) East Asia 16
Figure 2.3 Map of North Bandung Area (NBA)19
Figure 2.4 Historical development of the enactment of plans and regulations
related to North Bandung Area 1970s – 2000s 20
Figure 3.1 Lippo Cikarang, one of biggest private new towns in peri-urban
Jakarta 32
Figure 3.2 The Master Plan of Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) phase 1 36
Figure 4.1 Spatial plan system in Indonesia 47
Figure 4.2 Potential clashes between the institutional forces of Indonesian
planning system 57
Figure 5.1 A policy network approach to peri-urban capacity building 64
Figure 5.2 Map showing possible trajectories for the new Dago-Lembang
Road 66
Figure 5.3 A middle-income residential area along Dago-Lembang Corridor
67
Figure 5.4 Dominant extra-organisational relationships in the debate on
Dago-Lembang road development planning proposal 71
Figure 6.1 Location of Punclut 83
Figure 6.2 A scattered kampong (left) and ‘garden house’ under construction
(right) in Punclut 84
Figure 6.3 Punclut, NBA and the Great Bandung Basin 89
Figure 6.4 Dominant discourses in the integrated planning of Punclut 93
Figure 7.1 An opportunity approach to institutional capacity building 101
Figure 8.1 The Master Plan of Punclut Integrated Tourism Area 117
Figure 8.2 A peri-urban institutional capacity-building process120
xii

Figure 8.3 The interactive relationship between opportunity, network and

discourse in the peri-urban institutional capacity building 121
Figure 8.4 Major activities and social mobilisations organised by
GALIB/KMBB125
 Preface

On this special occasion, it is a great pleasure for me to express my gratitude

to some of the people who have contributed their time, effort and ideas
which have aided the completion of this dissertation. First, this dissertation
would not have been possible if my professor, Gerard Linden, had not built
and maintained the corridor through which I could carry out my PhD
research. Many thanks for his substantial contribution on the issues of
metropolitan transformation and also for helping me to focus on my PhD
and my research interests. This dissertation also would not have been
completed without Johan Woltjer who guided me on how to deal with
complex research problems, to draw on contesting ideas and to make
institutional approaches work in planning practice. Thank you very much
for being not only my supervisor but also my mentor who encouraged me to
persevere and do my best in my PhD research. I am also extremely grateful
to Pak Haryo Winarso who introduced me to the topic of peri-urban land
development. He also taught me how to be scientifically critical and
determined in my doctoral pursuit. I also would like to thank the members of
my reading committee for their input and comments on my work.
My sincere thanks go out to the secretaries and the Financial
Department at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences. Warm gratitude to Stiny
Tiggelaar who tirelessly arranged and sorted out my academic as well as my
family-related administration matters in the faculty. I also gratefully
acknowledge the support of the Graduate School and URSI, especially
Professor Leo van Wissen and Professor Inge Hutter who encouraged me to
be progressive in my research. It has been a pleasure, honour and inspiring
period working in the PLUREL project. To Professor Gert de Roo, many
thanks for giving me an opportunity to be part of the team.
I would like to express my appreciation to the university representatives
for their hard work. Among others is Tim Zwaagstra who helped me
convince that I would be successful with my PhD. Another very important
person is Anneke Toxopeus whose enthusiastic support in institutional and
legal matters and consultations are highly appreciated.
xiv

I owe a debt of gratitude to my Paranimfen, Laksmi T.D.J. Wisnu and

Ward Rauws. Many thanks for being my contact persons during my visit to
Indonesia, for the arrangements surrounding my PhD and for becoming my
defence companions. I am obliged to thank Pak Mohamad Mustajab,
Christian Zuidema, Taede Tillema, Pengjun Zhao, and Ferry van Kann for
their support or becoming my friendly roommates during the completion of
my PhD.
I would like to acknowledge the editors and anonymous referees of
International Planning Studies, International Development Planning Review,
Urban Studies, Environment and Planning A and Planning Theory, and Terry
van Dijk for their fruitful comments and input, E. Catur Hardiansah for
permitting me to recycle his data and information, Aristiyono D. Nuryanto
for preparing the data for the analysis and Nurmala for designing the book
cover and invitations. I am truly in debt and thankful to my informants,
interviewees, and discussants, especially Pak Denny Zulkaidi, Mas Petrus
Natalivan, Pak Iwan Kustiwan, Ibu Titik Sulandari, Pak Rahmat Jabaril,
Taufan Suranto, Pak Mubiar Purwasasmita, Pak Tedy Rusmawan, Pak
Khairul Anwar, Pak Tedi Sunandar, Pak Adi Suharyo, Pak M. Iqbal
Abdulkarim, Teh Yulia, Teh Isma, Teh Tita, Pak Tony Ardjo, Pak Apih and
Nurrohman Wijaya.
I would like to express my gratitude to my new-found families in
Groningen, especially Pak Miming Family, Mas Chalid Family, Wahono
Family, Bang Yusof Saari Family, and Guntur Family. Thank you so much
for becoming my close friends and for making my family feel at home.
Special thanks to Guntur and his wife for arranging my defence dinner and
party. I would also like to mention my dear housemates, Mbak Poppy
Ismalina, Mbak Nurul Indarti, Kang Intan Taufik, and Pak Iswandi Basri:
thank you for all personal and family sharing that we had.
My sincerest, deepest and earnest gratitude is due to my dear wife, son
and daughter. There are no words that could express how indebted I am to
them for helping me through this important period of my life with their
presence, patience, love and dedication. Everlasting gratitude to our beloved
parents, Pak Kosasih, Pak Syofianudin, Ibu Maryati, and Ibu Emi
Rusmiati. I am really proud to have them as they laid the foundation and
stressed how education and the thirst for knowledge are important in this life
and the thereafter. Finally, all praise to Allah Almighty, who helped me
write my dissertation successfully.

Delik Hudalah
Groningen, January 2010
 List of Abbreviations

Bappeda : Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Daerah (Regional

Development Planning Board)
BMA : Bandung Metropolitan Area (= Greater Bandung)
Bermartabat : Bersih, Makmur, Taat dan Bersahabat (Clean, Prosper,
Obedient and Friendly)
Bopunjur : Bogor-Puncak-Cianjur (The upland located in the south of
Jakarta)
BSD : Bumi Serpong Damai
CBO : Community-Based Organisation
DPRD : Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah (Regional Legislative
Assembly)
DPKLTS : Dewan Pemerhati Kehutanan dan Lingkungan Tatar Sunda
(The Assembly for the Forestry and Environmental
Observers of the Sundanese Region)
DUS : Dam Utama Sakti
EIA : Environmental Impact Assessment
FDI : Foreign Direct Investment
FPLH : Forum Penyelamat Lingkungan Hidup (Forum for the
Environmental Protection)
GALIB : Gabungan Aktivis Lingkungan Bandung (Bandung
Environmental Activists Union)
HGB : Hak Guna Bangunan (Building Rights on Land)
HGU : Hak Guna Usaha (Cultivation Rights on Land)
ITB : Institut Teknologi Bandung (Bandung Institute of
Technology)
Jabodetabek : Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi (Jakarta Metro-
politan Area = Greater Jakarta)
Kasiba : Kawasan Siap Bangun (Planned Area for New Residential
Development)
xvi

KBU : Kawasan Bandung Utara (= NBA)

KMBB : Komite Masyarakat Bandung Bermartabat (Committee for
the Civilised Bandung Society)
KPJB : Komisi Peduli Jawa Barat (Committee for Good West Java
Governance)
KPP : Komisi Peduli Punclut (The Association for Ex-veteran
Families Owning Land in Punclut)
Lemlit : Lembaga Penelitian (Research Institute)
Lab Rangkot : Laboratorium Rancang Kota (Laboratory for Urban Design)
Lisiba : Lingkungan Siap Bangun (Planned Site for New
Residential Development)
LPPM : Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian Masyarakat (Research
and Social Service Institute)
NBA : North Bandung Area (= KBU)
NGO : Non-Government Organisation
Pemilu : Pemilihan Umum (General Election)
Pemkot : Pemerintah Kota (Municipal Government)
Pemprop : Pemerintah Propinsi (Provincial Government)
PT : Perseroan Terbatas (Inc., Ltd.)
RDTR : Rencana Detail Tata Ruang (Detailed Spatial Plan)
REI : Real Estate Indonesia (Indonesian Developers’ Association)
RTRW : Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah (General Spatial Plan)
Tahura : Taman Hutan Rakyat (Great Public Park)
TKPRKP : Tim Koordinasi Penyelamatan dan Revitalisasi Kawasan
Punclut (Coordinating Team for the Punclut Project)
Unpad : Universitas Padjadjaran (Padjadjaran University)
 Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Overview

Peri-urban areas can be defined as areas around or outside the city proper
that are ecologically and socio-economically integrated into their core city
(Simon, McGregor, & Nsiah-Gyabaah, 2004). They function as a transitional
zone between the city and its hinterland and countryside, characterised by
intensive flows of natural resources, goods, and people from and to the city.
They also serve as the interface between urban, rural and natural areas with
relatively rapid growth, dynamic and mixed physical and socio-economic
attributes (Allen, 2003).
Peri-urbanisation, which refers to the process of urban transformation in
peri-urban areas, is becoming an important spatial phenomenon in our
informational and globalised society. Peri-urbanisation can be triggered by
the development of irregular settlements, new towns, industrial estates and
other forms of large-scale urban functions around big cities. The
phenomenon is increasing rapidly in fast-growing economic regions such as
East Asia. In the next two decades, around 200 million people are predicted
to reside in peri-urban areas of East Asian metropolitan regions, making up
40 percent of the total population of the metropolitan regions (Webster,
2002).
Peri-urbanisation has created new opportunities as well as challenges for
metropolitan planning and governance in Indonesia and other developing
and transitional countries in East Asia. First, peri-urbanisation may create
new economic activities, attracting massive employment thus contributing
to regional development (Lin, 2001). However, it is also found that the
development of exclusive middle-class residential and other urban functions
in rural areas has created gated communities, reinforcing colonial-inherited
socio-spatial segregation (Firman, 2004; Leisch, 2002). In addition, industrial
estate developments often transform extensively fertile agricultural land
2 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

thus decreasing a region’s rural productivity (Chunnasit, Pages, &

Duangngam, 2000; Firman, 2000). Furthermore, the emergence of second
homes, private villas and recreational facilities often encroach on protected
areas thus threatening regional sustainability (Douglass, Ginsburg, Koppel,
& McGee, 1991; Firman, 1996; Firman & Dharmapatni, 1994; Goldblum &
Wong, 2000; Leaf, 1996).
The most fundamental challenge is the fact that peri-urban areas, as
transitional zones, are often governed by complex and often overlapping
institutional structures. For example, the peri-urban area of North Bandung
Area (NBA) is administered by four autonomous urban and rural
governments with different visions and governance styles and capacities.
Besides, some planning tasks are shared with the province which is
responsible for coordinating inter-local planning issues. Such conditions
might result in uncoordinated private and local initiatives, which
contributed to the increased physical as well as institutional fragmentations
in peri-urban areas (Dijkgraaf, 2000; Mattingly, 1999).
This study examines and addresses the emerging challenges of rapid and
unforeseen physical change, spatial divides, social exclusion and conflicts,
and institutional fragmentation in peri-urban areas. It first sketches out the
institutional contexts for peri-urbanisation and planning in East Asia, with a
special reference to Indonesia. Emphasis is given to the impact of the global
economy, neo-liberalisation and domestic institutional arrangements on peri-
urban transformation and planning and governance system and practice. In
understanding how to deal with these institutional forces, it draws on
network, discourse and opportunity approaches, especially from a
sociological institutional viewpoint. Each approach is developed into an
institutional capacity building framework to understand how planning, in
the face of irresponsive formal institutional arrangements, could respond to
the peri-urban challenges and contribute to the improvement of governance
capacity. The conceptual frameworks are enhanced through the empirical
cases of urban and environmental conflicts in North Bandung Area (NBA).

1.2 Past studies on peri-urban planning

Peri-urbanisation is not a new issue in the planning literature. Since the

beginning of modern planning history, urban and planning theorists had
been aware of the emergence of this form of spatial reality. For example,
Ebenezer Howard (1898) introduced the ‘garden city’, a conceptual design to
deal with growth and expansion of European cities by making clear the
boundaries between city and countryside.
Introduction 3

However, the current urbanisation challenge is far more complex than

Howard ever predicted. There is now a seemingly boundless growth and
expansion of cities throughout the globe. As a consequence, a peri-urban area
can no longer be perceived as a locked gate or a sharp borderline between city
and countryside.
This increasing complexity of the peri-urbanisation phenomenon has
become an integrated outcome of transport and communication technological
revolution and the global neo-liberal economy. In studying networked cities
in Germany, Sieverts (2003, p. x) argues that ‘the speed of information and
travel connections has blurred the notion of space, in which the old contrast
between city and country has dissolved into a city-country continuum’.
Furthermore, he maintains that the emergence of international institutions,
transnational firms and the global market has undermined the traditional
role of nation-states, cities and communities as the sole drivers of spatial
change in peri-urban areas.
In dealing with the peri-urbanisation around German historic cities,
Sieverts (2003) suggests that planning systems should move away from their
old tradition of maintaining and controlling urban-rural separation through,
for example, compact city policy. He contends that ‘at present, only
undemocratic societies can still enforce a compact city’ (Sieverts, 2003, p.
123). Instead, living in peri-urban areas should be accepted as a part of
reality of large cities and, thus, needs to be accommodated in planning. In
this context, Sieverts (2003, p. 122) emphasises that ‘planning must change
from being a predominantly restrictive, controlling and distributive activity
into an active and creative one’. In Sieverts’s conception, planning should
equip the core cities better in order to be able to compete with peri-urban
areas. This must be combined with large-scale and sustained protection and
development of important landscapes around the cities. Furthermore, the
region must be seen as the most appropriate spatial and institutional scale for
managing peri-urbanisation. For this reason, regional governance should be
strengthened politically, administratively and financially in order to make
development control possible again.
Compared to this Western viewpoint, planning the peri-urban areas of
developing and transitional countries is even more challenging. Peri-
urbanisation grows much more rapidly in these countries. Besides, their
planning’s institutional arrangements tend to be old-fashioned, with a lack of
capacity to comply with this relatively new form of urbanisation
phenomenon. In addition to the decrease in environmental quality, rapid and
uncontrolled peri-urbanisation in developing countries often results in a
deeper social differentiation and acute poverty (Tacoli, 1998).
4 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

The distinctive and increasingly challenging peri-urbanisation

phenomenon in developing countries has invited scholars to develop new
planning and management approaches and tools. According to Allen (2003),
the current models of intervention can be divided into three broad categories:
rural, urban, and regional planning perspectives. The rural planning
perspective attempted to counteract a perceived ‘urban bias’ in government-
led rural programmes and policies. This can be seen for example in rural-
urban migration control measures through strengthening rural production.
Such programmes tend to focus on localised and discrete actions with a lack
of regional and long-term planning perspectives.
The urban planning perspective focuses on managing the relationship
between urban systems and their rural hinterlands (Allen, 2003). According
to this approach, the urban planning system needs to extend its influence
outside the limits of built-up areas in order to be more pro-active in
managing flows of resources required and produced by the city. Such an
attempt entails a shift of emphasis from local government and environmental
issues towards local governance and sustainability issues; from pragmatic
stakeholders’ participation towards strategic and long-term actions affecting
the city and its hinterlands. As an alternative, the urban planning
perspective may also focus on improving the quality of life of peri-urban
dwellers in an attempt to integrate peri-urban areas into the urban fabric
(Allen, 2003). It includes, for example, programmes of promoting
decentralised provision of infrastructure and services, low-cost sanitation
technologies, participatory methodologies for project design, community
labour and micro-financing schemes. The challenges for both focuses have
arisen, according to Allen (2003), because most peri-urban issues work
beyond the scope of local government decision making and the nature of
power relations at the municipal level tends to be biased towards urban-
based interests.
The regional planning perspective seeks to respond to rural-urban
pressures and flows by developing mutual linkages between rural and urban
areas (Allen, 2003). This rural-urban linkage perspective views the regional
territory as a network in which planning and policy initiatives are developed
for multi-sectoral, interrelated and complementary activities. Emphasis is on
the infrastructure connectivity of the region as a system of rural, peri-urban
and urban areas. Tacoli (1998) underlines that, instead of the city cores, this
perspective views small towns and peri-urban areas as playing a key role in
linking the rural hinterlands with both domestic and global markets and
creating non-farming employment opportunities for the rural population.
However, in giving more room for market-led development, such a neo-
Introduction 5

liberal perspective tends to generalise society thus moving away from

addressing the needs of the most vulnerable groups and planning issues in
both rural and urban areas (Tacoli, 1998).
Another emphasis of the regional planning perspective attempts to
respond to the problem that peri-urban areas tend to be remotely governed
and framed by fragmented, disconnected and often overlapping institutional
arrangements (Mattingly, 1999). As mentioned earlier, the current
arrangements have been dominated by the dichotomies of the state vs. local
governments, public authority vs. private sector. Since major issues lie
between the two dichotomies, peri-urban areas experience the ‘missing
middle’ (Storey, 2003), the intermediary institutional arrangements that link
the divides between urban and rural issues, between formal rules and local
custom, between local and national/global interests, and between public and
private interventions. Therefore, the new regional planning approach needs
to focus on creating new institutional arrangements that encourage inter-
local cooperation to address these political and spatial imbalances resulting
from the core city primacy and global market hegemony.
The design of the new institutional arrangements in peri-urban areas
needs to be coupled with the building of institutional capacity, or the
improvement of governance consciousness, styles and cultures. Therefore,
this study aims to explore how such a capacity can be built innovatively by
planners and wider participants, who are situated in complex contextual
environments characterised by institutional fragmentation, social exclusion
and spatial divides. Illustrated by several cases of peri-urban environmental
conflicts in Indonesia, the main analyses of this study show that the project
of institutional capacity building or transforming governance can be started
in day-to-day and informal planning policy practice as part of broader socio-
political processes.

1.3 The three new institutional approaches and planning theory

The previous section leads us towards the conclusion that one of the key
issues in planning the peri-urban areas is how to deal with plural,
irresponsive and fragmented institutional arrangements hampering the
achievement of sustainability objectives at a broader (regional) scale. Major
new institutional and planning theoretical approaches have the potential to
address such institutional/contextual issues, including rational institutional
approach, historical institutional approach and sociological institutional
approach.
6 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

First, the rational institutional approach focuses on human instrumental

behaviour aspects based on strategic calculation in which individuals seek to
maximise the attainment of preferred goals (Hall & Taylor, 1996).
Institutions affect behaviour by providing certainty about the behaviour of
other actors. In this approach, institutions are defined as the ‘rules of the
game’ by which agency/action is enabled and constrained. Institutions are
seen as an instrument to enhance the efficiency of action by reducing
transaction costs of undertaking the same action without such an institution
(Hall & Taylor, 1996). Planning’s application of this approach has focused on
institutional design, referring to ‘the devising and realisation of rules,
procedures, and organisational structures that will enable and constrain
behaviour and action so as to accord with held values, achieve desired
objectives, or execute given tasks’ (Alexander, 2005, p. 213). It is essentially
a technical, purposive, and experimental process of designing institutional
arrangements (Bolan, Mandelbaum, Mazza, & Burchell, 1996; Gualini, 2001).
As another application, Sager (2001a, 2001b) uses social choice theory to
explain the relation between types of planning styles and organisational
contexts in which planning is practiced. The main weaknesses of applying
such a rational approach are due to taking the institution out of its context.
The approach treats institution as external to action thus simplifying and
reducing the ambiguity and complexity of human motivation and preference
into sets of predefined rules, procedures, and organisational structures (Hall
& Taylor, 1996).
In the historical institutional approach, institutions are defined both as
‘formal and informal procedures, routines, norms, and conventions embedded
in the organisational structure of the polity or political economy’ (Hall &
Taylor, 1996, p. 938). Institutions are associated with organisations, rules,
and conventions promulgated by formal organisation. The approach
emphasises institutions as unintended consequences of history, path
dependence and uneven power relation and distribution.
The historical institutional approach has played a significant role in
some variants of postmodern planning approaches, in which planning is seen
as a ‘struggle for power’ in the context of politically rationalised institutions
(Flyvbjerg, 1998; Huxley & Yiftachel, 2000; P. M. McGuirk, 2001). The
problem with this approach is apparent in its structural analytical
perspective. First, the approach tends to overstate the uniqueness of
particular cases and contexts thus compromising its contribution to general
theoretical building (Immergut, 1998). Furthermore, it treats the institutions
prevailing in that particular case as an external, given and passive factor for
Introduction 7

planning action thus lacking normative and practical implications (Rydin,

2003).
Anticipating the weaknesses of both rational and historical approaches,
as an alternative, the current study is built on the sociological institutional
approach. According to this approach, institutions share meaning with
‘culture’, comprising ‘not just formal rules, procedures, and norms, but the
routines, symbols, cognitive scripts, and moral templates that provide the
“frames of meaning” guiding human action’ (Hall & Taylor, 1996, p. 947).
Institutions function not just to reduce transaction costs (rational
institutional approach) or to give context (historical institutional approach)
but also to build social legitimacy of action (W. W. Powell & DiMaggio,
1991).
The sociological institutional approach emphasises an interactive and
mutually-constitutive relationship between institutions (structure) and
action (agency) (Giddens, 1986). It is a process-oriented view on institutions
in which, according to Powell and DiMaggio (1991, p. 7), institutions ‘do not
merely reflect the preferences and power of the units constituting them; the
institutions themselves shape those preferences and that power’. Following
this, the notion of institutions, institutional change and institutional
transformation fundamentally shifts their focus from formal organisations
towards informal rule-like forms of institutions; from static and stable to
dynamic and contesting characters of institutions; from holistic to
incremental institutional change; and from top-down, independent and
hierarchical to bottom-up, embedded and relational institutional formation
(Lowndes, 2001).

IC = institutional capacity
K = knowledge resources
R = relational resources
M = capacity for mobilisation
8 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

Figure 1.1 Institutional capacity building as a function of knowledge and relational

resources
(source: Healey, 1998, p. 1541)

Planning’s application of the sociological institutional approach has

concentrated on institution building, referring to a gradual and socially
constructed ethos of transforming institutional aspects that affects the
nature of planning policy space (Gualini, 2001). According to Gualini (2001),
the process involves mobilising and pursuing shared commitment, contingent
unity of meanings, and constitution of collective actions. As can be seen in
Figure 1.1, in Healey’s collaborative planning, emphasis has been given to
the notion of discourse (knowledge resources) and policy network (relational
resources) as two important mobilising aspects of ‘building an institutional
capacity focused on enhancing the ability of place-focused stakeholders to
improve their power to “make a difference” to qualities of their place’
(Healey, 1998, p. 1541, emphasis added).
However, in Healey’s later works (Coaffee & Healey, 2003; Gonzal‚z &
Healey, 2005; Healey, 2007a, 2007b), it becomes apparent that discourse and
policy network per se hardly result in successful institutional capacity
building. Therefore, in order to overcome this weakness, the current study
combines discourse and network, as the main resources internal to actors,
with moment and structure of opportunity, as the main resource external to
actors. The opportunity enables the actors to read cracks in power relations,
to recognise contradictions and conflicts, which encourages these actors to
realise that they need to reflect on what they are doing, that they need to
work with others, and that they need to evolve different processes (Healey,
1997). More specifically, by employing the idea of moment and structure of
opportunity into the existing framework, the current study attempts to
maintain the normative dimension of Healey’s institutional capacity
building while strengthening its contextual intelligence.

1.4 Objectives/ questions

This study provides institutional perspectives on peri-urbanisation and its

planning and governance. The main objective is to understand the
institutional contexts for peri-urbanisation and planning policy of
Indonesian cities and, by using the sociological institutional approach, to
further explore emerging planning approaches/strategies in order to be able
to improve planning’s institutional capacity in peri-urban areas. These
general objectives can be divided into two groups of operational questions:
Introduction 9

1) What are the institutional factors for peri-urbanisation in Indonesia? How

do these contextual factors influence planning policy and governance
affecting peri-urban areas?
The study views peri-urbanisation as a global phenomenon that at the
same time is contextually shaped. Prior to questioning emerging
approaches/strategies to peri-urban planning, it is important to know
how global and domestic, indigenous institutional factors have
influenced the uniqueness of the peri-urbanisation phenomenon and
planning and governance system and practice in Indonesia. The
institutional factors analysed are extracted from the elements of global
economy, neo-liberalisation and domestic planning and governance
cultural and institutional arrangements.
2) How have planning approaches been constructed to deal with peri-urban
environmental conflicts? To which extent have they contributed to the building
of institutional capacity in peri-urban areas?
With these questions, the study aims to explore approaches/strategies to
managing environmental conflicts and building of institutional capacity
in peri-urban areas. Particularly, it compares and combines discourse,
network and opportunity approaches as aspects of institutional capacity
building in peri-urban areas. Based on the sociological institutional
approach, institutional capacity here is defined as the ability of
governance to promote social acceptance and legitimacy of planning
ideas, strategies, frameworks, and action affecting peri-urban areas. The
main proposition is that, in the face of fragmented peri-urban
institutional arrangements, the building of such capacity can be started
from informal day-to-day practices of governance process, including the
building of policy network, discourse formation and the exploration of
moment and structure of opportunity.

1.5 Theoretical contributions

This study aims at understanding peri-urban and environmental change

and its planning process from the view of sociological institutionalists. First,
it is expected to help urban and planning theorists, academicians and
researchers to develop a better understanding of peri-urbanisation and its
planning process in Indonesia. To a lesser extent, it could also be used as a
conceptual resource for policy makers and practitioners in Indonesia to
develop policy adaptations and planning strategies to deal with peri-
urbanisation and environmental degradation in fast-growing metropolitan
regions in Indonesia.
10 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

The contributions of this study to the theoretical development of peri-

urbanisation and planning approaches can be identified as follows:
1) Providing an Indonesian perspective on peri-urbanisation and planning in
developing countries
The current study can enrich the results of past studies of peri-
urbanisation and planning in developing countries, which have largely
concentrated on Africa, South Asia and other East Asian countries
(Brook & D vila, 2000; Leaf, 2002; McGregor, Simon, & Thompson, 2006;
Shaw, 2005; Simon, et al., 2004; Storey, 2003; Webster, 2002). The
uniqueness of the case of Indonesia can be related to large-scale peri-
urbanisation around big cities, a considerable role of the market and
clientelist governance tradition in peri-urban planning system and
practice, and the impact of societal and institutional transition towards
democratic society.
2) Development of new institutional approaches in planning theory
Past studies on new institutional approaches in planning have focused on
Western-industrialised countries (Alexander, 2005; Gualini, 2001;
Healey, 1998, 2007a; Meyerson & Banfield, 1955). Meanwhile,
institutional fragmentation, social exclusion, and neo-liberalising policy
practices as the underlying contexts for institutional approaches can be
found more explicitly in developing countries such as Indonesia. As such,
richer and more significant empirical findings on how institutional
approaches work in practice are expected to emerge from this study.
3) Application and enhancement of the sociological institutional approach in
planning theory
The application of this variant of institutional approaches in planning
has so far emphasised the role of social resources internal to actors,
especially in the forms of discourse and network, as a means of building
institutional capacity (Gualini, 2001; Healey, 1998; Rydin, 1999; Vigar,
Healey, Hull, & Davoudi, 2000). This agency-centred sociological
approach has been criticised for giving inadequate accounts on the role of
contextual forces such as the economy, power relations and the state
(Huxley & Yiftachel, 2000; P. M. McGuirk, 2001; Tewdwr-Jones &
Allmendinger, 1999). As a response, this study emphasises that discourse
and network need to be coupled with moment and structure of
opportunity, as a key resource external to actors.

1.6 Structure of the book

Introduction 11

This book is divided into three main parts. The first part represents the
research design, which outlines the state of the art of the study. It includes
Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.

Research
design Ch 1 Introduction

Ch 2 Methodology

Contexts

Ch 3 Peri-urbanisation Ch 4 Planning in
in East Asia transitional Indonesia

Ch 5 Policy network Ch 6 Discourse and

and institutional institutional capacity
capacity

Ch 7 Planning by
opportunity

Ch 8 The building of
institutional capacity

Approaches and
Institutional capacity

Figure 1.2 Organisation of the thesis

The second and third parts mainly consist of the analytical chapters,
which are presented as a collection of papers/articles. Most of the chapters
were reproduced from papers formerly presented at international conferences
and/or articles published in internationally recognised academic journals. In
order to maintain fluency in their argumentation, the chapters are presented
12 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

as much as possible in their original versions as formerly presented papers

and/or published articles. Although they are not rigidly ordered, the chapters
are organised in such a way so they can address the three interconnected
themes in question: institutional contexts, approaches and institutional
capacity (Figure 1.2).
The second part comprises Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, which discusses the
contextual factors for peri-urbanisation and planning in Indonesia. It
underlines some key challenges for peri-urban planning: formal institutional
dynamics, clientelist governance, and global neo-liberalisation. They include,
on the one hand, global trends of peri-urbanisation and, on the other, the
planning practice and domestic planning system, culture and institutions.
First, Chapter 3 identifies the characteristics of peri-urbanisation in
Indonesia and other three East Asian countries. It also explains the
institutional factors shaping peri-urbanisation in this growing economic
region. Whilst Chapter 3 focuses on the impacts of global and domestic
institutional forces on peri-urbanisation and planning practice, Chapter 4
concentrates on the impacts of these forces on the planning system. It
mainly discusses the current transition in the planning system marked by a
massive enactment of laws and regulations, including the formulation of a
new spatial planning law. It particularly explains the extent to which
domestic institutional arrangements as well as global neo-liberalisation have
influenced this transition process.
Based on this contextual understanding, the last part of this book
identifies approaches to managing peri-urban environmental conflicts, which
includes opportunity, network and discourse approaches. It also explains
how and to which extent these approaches might contribute to the building
of institutional capacity of planning in peri-urban areas.
Chapter 5, Chapter 6, and Chapter 7 discuss approaches to promote the
function of North Bandung Area (NBA) as the main water catchment for
Bandung Metropolitan Area (BMA), which faces an increasing peri-
urbanisation pressure from the main city of Bandung. First, Chapter 5
explores the potential of policy networking as an important aspect of
capacity building in the metropolitan region. The case of policy debate on
the Dago-Lembang regional road development proposal is reconstructed to
illustrate how a policy network can be built and how it can contribute to the
improvement of governance consciousness to be more responsive towards
environmental quality and regional sustainability. In relation to the
discussion on policy network, Chapter 6 examines how discourses can play a
role in the building of institutional capacity of planning in peri-urban areas.
It uses a contested urban development planning project in the protected
Introduction 13

fringe area of Punclut as the study case. In this area, planning discourses
have concentrated on market-led housing and agro-tourism development in
contrast with green environmental improvement as strategies to support and
challenge the project respectively. In supporting the discussion about the
role of policy network and discourse, Chapter 7 combines political
opportunity structure and Kingdon’s policy window in order to develop a
sociological institutional approach to the meaning and utilisation of
opportunity in collective action. Using the study cases analysed in Chapter 5
and Chapter 6, Chapter 7 argues that in order to make institutional capacity
building work, the social resources internal to actors in the forms of policy
network and discourse need to be coupled with moment and structure of
opportunity, which function as a resource external to actors.
Finally, Chapter 8 synthesises and concludes the results of all case
studies. It focuses on understanding the building of institutional capacity as
a deliberative ethos of transforming undesirable governance styles and
cultures in peri-urban areas by interactively linking policy networks,
discourses and moments and structures of opportunity.
 Chapter 2 Case studies and methodology

In order to achieve its objectives, the study mainly adopts case study
research. This research approach explains causal links, namely to answer the
question ‘how’, in a situation that is too complex for survey as well as
experimental research approaches (Yin, 1994). According to Yin (1994, p.
13), ‘a case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary
phenomenon within its real life context, especially when boundaries between
phenomenon and context are not clearly evident’. Accordingly, this is a
powerful methodological approach for researching urbanisation phenomena
and planning intervention in an open and complex society such as Indonesia.

2.1 Cases selection

The most crucial step in case study research is, certainly, selecting cases.
Following Yin (1994), the cases for the current study are selected on the
basis of the possibility for analytical/ procedural replication rather than
statistical/ result generalisation. For this purpose, the selection process is
oriented towards acquiring the richest possible – rather than the
representativeness – of information for the researched phenomenon
(Flyvbjerg, 1998).
The study follows a multi-level case selection process including
international, nation-state, functional peri-urban, regional, and local levels (see
Figure 2.1). The main cases used for answering the first group of research
questions (the contexts) can be found at the international and nation-state
levels. Meanwhile, in answering the second group of research questions
(planning approaches/strategies and institutional capacity), the case study
analyses focus on a functional peri-urban area where urban development and
environmental planning practices frequently emerge. Urban and
environmental conflict management is used as the focus for the analyses as it
has become one of the most pressing challenges for peri-urban planning
(Douglass, et al., 1991; Firman, 1996; Firman & Dharmapatni, 1994;
Goldblum & Wong, 2000; Leaf, 1996). Furthermore, around a selected
Case study and methodology 15

functional peri-urban case, embedded cases at the regional and local levels
are more closely analysed.

Literature Case study Analysis Conclusion

review

East Asia Peri-urbanisation,

planning practice

Contexts

Planning system,
Theoretical Indonesia culture and
framework institutions

North Opportunity
Bandung approach
Area

Dago- Network Institutional

Lembang approach capacity
corridor

Punclut Discourse
fringe area approach

Figure 2.1 Overall methodological procedure

2.1.1 East Asia and Indonesia

In order to understand the wider context of peri-urbanisation and

planning practice, East Asia was selected as the case at the international
level. What we mean by East Asia might better refer to what so called
‘Greater East Asia’, an economic sub-region consisting of countries in eastern
and south-eastern part of Asia (Figure 2.2). This study focuses on four
countries with fast-growing urbanisation and increasing linkages with global
economy: Indonesia, China, Thailand and the Philippines.
16 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

Figure 2.2 Map of (Greater) East Asia

(Source: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/asia_east_pol_2004.jpg, accessed on 1
July 2009)

The reason for up-scaling into the case of East Asia is because there are
commonalities of stage and complexity of urbanisation and planning practice
among the countries in this economic sub-region. In the first place, the
Case study and methodology 17

urbanisation in this region is typified by rapid transformation around big

cities, particularly impacted by structural adjustment (neo-liberalisation)
and decentralisation policies. As a major outcome, in the next two decades, it
has been predicted that around 200 million or 40 percent of East Asian
metropolitan residents will live in peri-urban areas (Webster, 2002). In
addition, the four countries mentioned also share some common governance
and political cultural practices characterised by pragmatism and clientelism.
By comparing different countries with similar institutional features, richer
and more valid results can be obtained.
Meanwhile, in order to study domestic planning system, institutions and
culture, the national case of Indonesia was selected. The nation-state is
considered the most relevant level since major policy systems, formal
institutional arrangements and political cultures are reproduced at this level.
For historical reasons, Indonesia can be used to evaluate the significance of
the transition towards democratic and neo-liberal economy on urban
development and planning.
First, during the peak of Soeharto’s New Order Era, the political
economy was shifted from state-controlled towards market-oriented
economic development policy. A significant change in urban development
trends was triggered by a series of deregulation and debureaucratisation
measures of the 1980s. This market-oriented policy was aimed at accelerating
economic growth by promoting domestic and foreign private participation in
finance and industries. The policy has boosted the real estate industry as well
as FDI in manufacturing, leading towards an uncontrolled growth of large-
scale land development around major cities such as Jakarta and Bandung
(Firman, 2000).
It has been argued that such uncontrolled land development and global
investments in manufacturing triggered the economic crisis of the 1997 that
badly affected major Asian developing countries, including Indonesia
(Winarso & Firman, 2002). In Indonesia, the economic crisis (krismon) was
not the end of this difficult period since it further brought the country into a
deeper socio-political turmoil, which unavoidably forced Soeharto’s
paternalistic, authoritarian and militaristic regime to end its 32 years’
leadership. Out of this chaos, with the outbreak of the Reform Era in the
late 1990s, the country attempted to completely make a new beginning. The
new era endorsed a holistic reformation in major aspects of governance
including democratisation, decentralisation and rule of law. The socio-
political reformation happened so quickly, which soon after Indonesia
became the third biggest democratic country in the world. The current study
explains the impact of these fundamental changes on the planning system,
18 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

which to a large extent can be represented by the formulation of new spatial

planning laws and other principal regulatory frameworks affecting urban
development and planning practice.

2.1.2 North Bandung Area (NBA)

The empirical exploration of the approaches to institutional capacity

building requires a utilisation of an extreme case, referring to a deviant,
unique case where the problems being examined and the connections
between them can be recognised very clearly. Such a case potentially
contains rich information, which in turn can provide a powerful lesson
learned and insight for replication (Yin, 1994). An extreme case is also
helpful for analysing problematic questions (Flyvbjerg, 1998). For these
reasons, Kawasan Bandung Utara (KBU) or North Bandung Area (NBA)
was selected for study at the functional peri-urban level.
NBA refers to the main upland area located in the northern part of
Bandung Metropolitan Area (BMA) – currently the third largest
metropolitan region in Indonesia with more than seven million inhabitants
and around three percent annual population growth. With a total area
38,548.33 hectares, the peri-urban area mainly consists of plateaus and hills
surrounded by mountains and delimited by the contour of 750 meters
altitude. Since the early 1980s, the upland area has been popular among the
middle- and upper-income groups because of its beautiful landscape, good
local climate, fresh air and proximity to Bandung City as the core of BMA.
These features have increasingly fostered the development of settlements
and recreational functions, as will be explained in the following.
Case study and methodology 19

Figure 2.3 Map of North Bandung Area (NBA)

NBA is effectively governed by at least four autonomous local

governments: West Bandung District, Bandung District, Bandung
Municipality and Cimahi Municipality (Figure 2.3). Following
decentralisation policies triggered by Law No. 22 of 1999 – later replaced by
Law No. 32 of 2004 – on regional administration, the local governments have
the authority to manage urban and regional sectors, including spatial
planning, within their own jurisdictions (Law No. 22 on Regional
Administration, 1999; Law No. 32 on Regional Administration, 2004).
Meanwhile, with the non-existence of metropolitan institutions, West Java
Province by law has been the only tier expected to be able to coordinate
inter-local planning issues such as groundwater, the environment and
regional transportation in NBA as well as BMA as a whole. However, since
20 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

Indonesia’s decentralisation has emphasised the role of local governments,

provincial governments have been criticised for the lack of power and
resources and, thus, their role in managing these inter-local affairs has been
very weak.
NBA has unique ecological functions due to its topographic and
geological characteristics. Although NBA covers only 11 percent of the
metropolitan area, it is claimed that, due to its soil and rock types and
formation, it provides at least 60 percent of the region’s groundwater need
(Penataan Kawasan Punclut, 2004). However, the decrease in vegetation
caused by peri- urbanisation has been argued to increase the magnitude and
occurrence of floods during the rainy season, especially around the city and
lower parts of the region. Moreover, it has contributed to the deepening of
the groundwater level in the region.

Figure 2.4 Historical development of the enactment of plans and regulations related
to North Bandung Area 1970s – 2000s
(source: Natalivan, 2004)

In common with other Indonesian major metropolitan regions, peri-

urbanisation in NBA has been largely triggered by Soeharto’s market-led
development policies in the 1980s and early 1990s. The most fundamental
one was the 1993 Deregulation Measures Package (Pakto 1993), which stated
that the issuance of development permits (ijin lokasi) would be no longer be
the sole responsibility of the province but that the local governments and the
Case study and methodology 21

National Land Administration Board would be responsible. The package in

fact triggered the first Indonesian property boom period (1993-1997).
A series of governor’s decrees has resulted in NBA as the region’s main
water catchment and conservation area (see also Appendix A Regulations
and Plans Concerning North Bandung Area 1982-2004). First, NBA was
named after Governor’s Decree of West Java Province No. 181.1/Sk.1624-
Bapp/1982 on the Conservation of the Northern Part of Bandung
Metropolitan Area. As the main regulatory foundation, the governor’s decree
aimed to preserve 25 percent of NBA as protected forests and only allow 15
percent of NBA to be converted into cultivation areas – most likely new
settlements. The governor’s decrees were later reinforced by presidential
decrees and a number of provincial and national land use plans. Some of
those plans were also renewed and adapted to the changing regional
administrative structure impacted by the decentralisation policies.
The enactment of such regulations and plans, however, could not
significantly restrain the issuance of land development and building permits
as well as the physical development by private developers. The development
and planning practice in such peri-urban areas has been characterised largely
by discretionary, clientelist and corrupt practices with a strong influence of
the markets and private sector (Server, 1996; Winarso & Firman, 2002). In
the case of NBA, it was the property developers who initiated urban
transformation in the form of exclusive residential and recreational estates,
complete with road networks. Meanwhile, the provincial and municipal plans
were often forced to adapt to these fragmented private initiatives.
As a result, during the boom period, in the district’s part of NBA, the
land reserved by private developers increased dramatically from 586 hectares
in 1992 to 2832 hectares in 1996 (Natalivan, 2004). For a while, the economic
crisis in 1997–98 suddenly restrained the physical development as well as the
issuance of new development permits. However, since the economy has
recovered, development continues to grow again. In fact, most of the
development projetcs are deemed to violate local and regional land use plans
because they have transformed designated protected forests into settlements
and recreational functions (Harris, 2008).
In addition, DPKLTS has reported massive physical changes in NBA in
the period 1994-2001 (Grahadyarini, 2005). The total area of secondary
forest in NBA, which was 39,349.3 hectares in 1994, has been reduced by
5,541.9 hectares in 2001. In contrast, the total area of settlement in NBA has
expanded from 29,914.9 hectares to 33,025.1 hectares. A considerable
increase was also evident in the total area occupied by industries from
2,356.2 to 2,478.8 hectares.
22 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

2.1.3 Dago-Lembang and Punclut projects

Planning’s institutional capacity may be tested and evaluated when

episodes of debate between urban growth coalition and environmental
advocates emerge. An episode of debate can be defined as a series of
interconnected discussion, conflict and strategy and decision making
between participants that embody capacity building potentials and are
situated in particular socio-political contexts. There are two episodes of
debate selected as the embedded cases within NBA: (1) Dago-Lembang road
development proposal and (2) the integrated development planning of
Punclut. These cases have been utilised by major planning communities,
especially environmental NGOs, political leaders, planners and academicians,
as moments of opportunity for improving peri-urban environmental
planning and governance in NBA (see Appendix B Chronology of the Dago-
Lembang project proposal 2004 and Appendix C Chronology of the Punclut
project 2004-2005). Therefore, it is interesting to compare how making
opportunities have been practised in both cases. Both cases are further
analysed in more detail in the other two approaches explained in the
following paragraphs.
First, the Dago-Lembang road development proposal was a crucial
episode of debate on planning the corridor between Bandung City and the
tourist town of Lembang. It also symbolised the lengthy debate between
provincial elites and private developers on the one hand and environmental
NGOs, political leaders, planners and academicians on the other about the
protection of the ecological functions of NBA at the regional level in the face
of increasing tension due to peri-urbanisation. In addition to exploring the
practice of creating opportunities, with a considerable mobilisation of
relational resources in fuelling the debate, it is useful to analyse how policy
network strategy was used at the regional level by the environmental NGOs,
political leaders, planners/academicians and journalists to counter the
project proposal and to improve regional governance consciousness of the
state of NBA’s environment.
Meanwhile, the integrated development planning of Punclut marked the
climax of the debate between private developers and municipal elites on the
one hand and environmental NGOs, political leaders, planners and
academicians on the other. The issue was about how to improve the
environmental quality of Punclut, an urban fringe on the northern edge of
Bandung City, in the face of limited local financial and institutional
resources capacity. The environmental change on the Punclut fringe area has
become an emblem of peri-urban planning performance at the
Case study and methodology 23

local/municipal level. With a significant mobilisation of knowledge resources

in fostering the debate, it seems to be valuable to analyse how discourse
formation was used by both sides to strengthen their argument and influence
a wider audience. Particular attention is given to the practice in forming
environmental planning discourse by the environmental NGOs, political
leaders, planners and academicians in order to illustrate how such practice
might contribute to the improvement of local governance consciousness of
the environmental condition of the urban fringe.

2.2 Data collection and analytical methods

Following the case study research tradition, data collection and analyses for
this study utilise mixed qualitative methods. The data collection methods
consist of past studies, formal documents, archives, interviews, and
observations. The analytical methods include qualitative content analysis,
institutional analysis and standard qualitative techniques (coding-
interpretation- conclusion). The first group of research questions is answered
through desk studies in the cases of East Asia and Indonesia. Meanwhile, the
empirical study in the cases of NBA, Dago-Lembang Corridor, and Punclut
fringe area attempt to answer the second group of research questions.

2.2.1 Desk study

In answering the first research question, qualitative content analyses on

past studies, formal documents and archives were conducted. In the East
Asian case, selected information and results from separate past studies,
combined with relevant formal documents, were used as the main input for a
comparative analysis between the four countries, focusing on spatial
features, institutional changes and planning and governance. In the
Indonesian case, various laws, formal documents, news articles and related
studies were analysed to explain how global and domestic institutional and
cultural arrangements have shaped the recent transition in the planning
system.
The qualitative content analyses aim at reducing unnecessary elements
of the textual materials. Following Flick (2006, p. 313), the techniques
included in the analyses are:
1) Summarising: abstracting and reducing overlapping statements;
2) Explicating: clarifying ‘diffuse, ambiguous, and contradictory passages
by involving context material in the analysis’;
24 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

3) Structuring: looking for types or formal structures and connections in

the materials.

2.2.2 Empirical study

In answering the second group of research questions, institutional

analysis is used to examine the dynamics of governance processes in the two
embedded cases of NBA and to understand their transformative potential.
Institutional analysis identifies the formation of governance as an
interaction between agency and structure and between power and
institutions.
It is argued that the formation of governance follows several ‘degrees of
structuration’ (Giddens, 1986) and several ‘dimensions of power’ (Lukes,
2005). Based on number of dimensions involved, Lukes (2005) and Dyrberg
(1997) identify three different views of power:
1) The one-dimensional view of power focuses on the influence of
individuals/ groups on the behaviour of others in observable conflicts of
decisionmaking.
2) In addition to the attention on the observable conflicts, the two-
dimensional view of power concerns the ‘mobilisation of bias’, which is
the ways values, beliefs, rituals and institutional procedures force or
prevent political agendas from being included in the decisionmaking.
3) As an extension to the previous views, the three-dimensional view of
power explains how the ‘constitution of identity’ such as paradigm,
social structure, cultural pattern and form of organisation dominates the
exclusion or inclusion of agendas in the decisionmaking.
Healey (2007a) transforms this multidimensional analysis of power into
different levels of institutional analysis:
1) Level of specific episodes or policy process. This is the surface analytical
level in which actors are positioned and interact with each other ‘in
specific institutional sites or arenas where ideas are expressed, strategies
played out, decisions made and power games fought out’ (Healey, 2007a,
p. 10). These include interactive strategies of communicative action,
participation, partnerships, and community-based initiatives.
2) Level of mobilisation of bias or governance process. Major parts of
institutional analysis start from this deeper level, which consists of
underpinning structures that frame debates, conflicts, interests, and
strategies. These include the building of contextual, knowledge and
relational capacity through the exploration of opportunity, discourse
formation and policy network/coalition.
Case study and methodology 25

3) Level of cultural determinants or long-term historical process. This level

penetrates deeper into embedded assumptions and habits, including path
dependence, national culture, modes of governance, and social capital.
It is argued that an enduring governance transformation occurs when all
those levels move towards a similar direction (Coaffee & Healey, 2003).
This study is interested in analysing the interactive dimensions of
governance practice, i.e. understanding how actors actively (re-)construct
opportunities, networks and discourses. Therefore, the analyses focus on the
mobilisation level where open and often conflicting contextual, knowledge
and relational resources play a significant role in fostering the capacity
building process. The main task of the institutional analysis in the current
study is to track the process of making opportunities and mobilising
networks and discourses and to explain their potential contribution to the
building of institutional capacity for managing peri-urban environmental
change in NBA.
The analysis at the mobilisation level is then illustrated by day-to-day
strategy and decision making, relational dynamics and conflicts among
participating actors. This illustration takes place at the specific episodes, as
represented in both embedded cases of Dago-Lembang and Punclut projects.
Furthermore, the case study is then situated and contextualised by
connecting the analysis at these levels of mobilisation of bias and specific
episode with key issues operating the levels of cultural determinants and
external process, for examples, governance culture, national political system,
and global neo-liberalisation.
In institutional analysis, narratives1 are essential material for situating
and constructing empirical accounts (Healey, 2007a). Narratives are required
to reveal complexities and contradictions within the cases investigated
(Flyvbjerg, 1998). Narratives are more than just stories. They are sequences
of connected events and the relations between events and their consequences
(Wiles, et al., 2005). As input material for institutional analysis, narratives
provide insights into the experience and meanings of a range of place-based
issues (Wiles, et al., 2005). After constructing such narratives, interpretation
and conclusion were generated by using standard coding techniques.
To gather such narratives, semi-structured interviews were conducted
with key informants in both episodes of debate, comprising government

1 Narratives, as the main material for institutional analysis, can be distinguished

from narrative analysis. The latter deals with not only the content but the hidden
(linguistic) structure of narratives in order to uncover deep motivation for telling a
subjective story and to reveal its embedded, contextual meanings (Wiles, Rosenberg,
& Kearns, 2005).
26 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

officials, politicians, NGOs, experts and planners (see Appendix D List of

interviews). All categories of interviewees represent two conflicting sides,
which are the proponent of environmental protection – thus, opposing the
projects – and the proponent of the peri-urban development projects (see
Table 2.1). Each interview normally lasted for approximately sixty minutes.
For some respondents, there were also clarification steps and/or follow-up
interviews.
During the fieldwork, the researchers were not just passive interviewers
but also close observers of each episode for around half year by following
relevant discussions and meetings arranged by experts and the
activists/NGOs objecting the projects. It was difficult to directly follow the
discussions arranged by the actors supporting the projects. This difficulty
might be due to non-transparent and clientelist decisionmaking process and
corruption practices – or, at least, hidden agendas – between the government
and the private sector.
Table 2.1 Interviewees by category

Category Projects opposition Projects proponent Unclear position

Government 3 2 2
Expert 4 1 1
Politician 4 1 1
NGO/CBO 6 1

Following Flick (2006), the interviews aimed to acquire historical data

and to uncover subjective experiences of the key informants who followed
and/or were involved in the debate on Dago-Lembang and/or Punclut
projects. Emphasis was given to the extent to which network, discourse and
opportunity were important for the informants in creating governance that
is more responsive to the issues of environmental protection and regional
sustainability. Furthermore, the interviews explored how the informants
constructed network, discourse and opportunity in both episodes of the
planning debate. Further explanation of the interview protocol is provided in
Appendix E Interview protocol.
The information resulting from the interviews was analysed using
standard coding techniques and compared with other supporting data such
as field observation, official documents, minutes of meetings and articles in
recognised regional newspapers.
It should be made clear that in the empirical case study of NBA we do
not aim to conduct an in-depth and purely inductive analysis. Instead, we
use the cases as instruments for illustrating how the proposed network,
discourse, and opportunity frameworks work in an extreme situation.
Case study and methodology 27

Consequently, the narratives presented in the analyses are restricted to

certain time periods when the episodes of debate were escalating and at their
peak. The stories uncovered by this study might be not enough to describe
comprehensively the complexity of real situation on the ground.
Nevertheless, hopefully, at least they can provide a helpful illustration from
which we can apply the conceptual frameworks thus can be understood,
enhanced and replicated in other cases.
 Chapter 3 Peri-urbanisation in East Asia: A new challenge
for planning? 2

3.1 Introduction

Peri-urbanisation, implying the development of mixed land uses outside

designated city boundaries, is a newly emerging challenge for planning
including in the planning of East Asian cities and regions. Webster (2002)
predicted that, over the next twenty years, around 200 million people will
reside in the peri-urban areas of East Asian metropolitan regions – 40 per
cent of the total urban population in these countries. Furthermore, the peri-
urban areas of these countries, as in coastal China, may extend up to 300
kilometres from the major cities. This extension is much greater than that of
African peri-urban areas, which usually fall within 30–50 kilometres beyond
the existing city boundaries. In addition, peri-urbanisation around fast-
growing large cities of East Asia is distinctive due to the rapid socio-
economic transformation in such areas from rural towards urban livelihoods.
At the same time, it is also characterised by the dynamic physical co-
existence of rural and urban functions.
There have been many empirical studies on peri-urbanisation,
particularly in the developing world (Aguilar, Ward, & Smith Sr, 2003;
Browder & Bohland, 1995; Simon, et al., 2004; Webster, 2002). The
implications for its planning and management have also been formulated
(Allen, 2003; Brook & D vila, 2000; McGregor, et al., 2006). Indeed, the
growing phenomenon of peri-urbanisation has resulted in new emerging
urbanisation theories (McGee, Ginsburg, Koppel, & McGee, 1991; Tacoli,
1998). However, since most studies have been conducted in Africa, South
Asia, and Latin America, there is still limited account of East Asian
perspectives.

2 An earlier version of this chapter was published as Hudalah, Winarso and Woltjer
(2007)
Peri-urbanisation in East Asia 29

This chapter aims to provide guidance towards a general understanding

of peri-urbanisation in the context of developing and transitional East Asian
countries, and to make suggestions for its planning and governance. We
propose that the complexity of both spatial features of and institutional
forces for peri-urbanisation should be first understood as an underlying basis
prior to the drawing of any policy recommendation. In order to examine this
proposition, several questions are formulated:
(1) What are the unique features of peri-urbanisation in East Asia?
(2) How can we explain peri-urbanisation in East Asia from an institutional
perspective?
(3) How should planning and governance anticipate and respond to the
emerging phenomenon of peri-urbanisation?
To answer these questions, we revisit studies carried out since the 1990s,
mainly conducted in major metropolitan regions in Indonesia, China,
Thailand and the Philippines. Moreover, we reframe and integrate the
findings of these separate studies. We collect and select the information and
results provided by the studies and use them as an input for comparative
analysis between the four countries, focusing on spatial features,
institutional changes and planning and governance. In addition, qualitative
content analysis is also conducted on relevant policy documents to support
the arguments for planning and governance adaptation. A more detailed
account of the analytical methods is provided in Chapter 1.
Following this introduction, the chapter is divided into five sections.
First, we describe peri-urbanisation as a global phenomenon and point out
what makes the context of East Asia unique. We then identify the
manifestations of peri-urbanisation in terms of the economy, socio-spatial
relationships, spatial structure and physical environments of East Asian
metropolitan regions. Furthermore, we explain the driving forces of this
emerging phenomenon, mainly from an institutional perspective. Following
this, we analyse what lessons can be learned from the past and from current
planning and governance practices and put forward a number of suggestions
for the improvement of planning and governance in the peri-urban areas.
Finally, we conclude the discussion in the last section.

3.2 From a global perspective to East Asia

We have introduced in Chapter 1 that the emergence of urban

development outside designated city boundaries has become a global
phenomenon but grows faster in developing countries. Studies in North
Africa and South Asia since the late 1990s have looked increasingly at ‘the
30 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

peri-urban interface’, a transitional zone between urban and rural activities

(Allen, 2003; Simon, et al., 2004). In a broader scale, McGee (1991) has
studied the desakota (the Indonesian term for ‘rural-urban’), revealing an
intensive coexistence of agricultural and non-agricultural activities within
the extended East Asian metropolitan regions. These studies imply fading
boundaries between city and countryside and blurring divides between urban
and rural livelihoods.
Peri-urban areas can be considered as an extension of the designated
cities they surround. They are not only ecologically but also socio-
economically integrated into urban functions within the cities (Simon, et al.,
2004). In addition, intensive flows of natural resources, goods and people
from and to the cities also occur in the peri-urban areas. Moreover, based on
the cases in South East Asia and Latin America, Browder and Bohland
(1995) have proposed a concern for the ‘metropolitan fringe’, describing the
demographic integration of peri-urban areas into the metropolitan systems.
In spite of the spatial integration with the designated urban areas at the
macro level, peri-urban areas can be differentiated from both urban and
rural areas due to their rapid growth and dynamic and mixed physical,
environmental, and economic as well as social attributes (Simon, et al.,
2004). Although the occupations of the majority of the residents in peri-
urban areas can officially be classified as agricultural or rural in character,
there is an intensive mixture and growing integration of urban and rural
economies that makes the urban/rural dichotomy less apparent (Lin, 2001).
In addition, population growth has been greatest in the peri-urban areas.
Population in East Asia’s peri-urban areas grows 2 – 7 per cent annually. In
the case of Eastern Sea Board, Thailand, this implies that the peri-urban
population growth is about four times higher than that in the cities
(Webster, 2002).
Peri-urban areas in East Asian metropolitan regions are rarely a unified
spatial feature. Instead, they are a fuzzy phenomenon evolving between
urban and rural characteristics. It has been suggested that in the case of
Jabodetabek (the Jakarta metropolitan region), peri-urban areas can be
classified into three types (Soegijoko, Winarso, & Hudalah, 2007). First,
those areas that have been socio-economically incorporated into the main
city are classified as predominantly urban areas. Second, semi-urban areas are
those dominated by manufacturing and other large land-consuming
industrial activities. Finally, potential urban areas are those experiencing
early land conversion and residential development.
Transformation in peri-urban areas of East Asian metropolitan regions
has become a complex phenomenon. The areas are also much more dynamic
Peri-urbanisation in East Asia 31

than just the desa-kota. This draws our attention towards the process of peri-
urbanisation rather than to the characteristics of peri-urban areas. Following
Webster (2002, p. 5), peri-urbanisation can be defined here as ‘a process in
which rural areas located on the outskirts of established cities become more
urban in character, in physical, economic, and social terms, often in
piecemeal fashion’. It is characterised by changing local economic and
employment structures from agriculture to manufacturing, rapid population
growth and migration, rising land values and mixed land use.
Previous studies in the late 1980s perceived peri-urban areas in
developing countries, particularly in the northern parts of Africa, as
characterised by poverty and informal economies with strong links between
urban and rural activities (Browder & Bohland, 1995). However, East Asian
peri-urbanisation has rather undermined this traditional conception. In this
region, peri-urbanisation tends to be triggered by formal land development,
often in a large scale. To some extent, this development has been a result of
the growing networks of global capitalism (Goldblum & Wong, 2000; Leaf,
2002).

3.3 Spatial manifestations

In the previous section, we have identified unique features of peri-

urbanisation in East Asia, including its substantial dependence on
metropolitan centres, capital accumulation and dynamic coexistence of
urban and rural livelihoods. This section will describe the scale of these
features, which is manifested in the following spatial dimensions: (1)
contribution to the regional economy; (2) spatial segregation; (3) structural
fragmentation and infrastructure deficiency; and (4) rural productivity and
environmental sustainability.
First, there are some indications that peri-urban areas contribute
increasingly to the improvement of regional economy. As Lin (2001) has
pointed out, this can be seen in (among other factors) the proportion and
growth rates of industrial and agricultural production, retail sales and
foreign investment in peri-urban areas, which are high and in some cases
outstripping those in the designated urban areas. Lin maintained that peri-
urban areas function as centres of industrialisation, regional economic
development and rural–urban interaction. As an illustration, the peri-urban
areas of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in China produced 55 per cent of
the region’s total industrial and agricultural output and received 70 per cent
of the realised foreign capital flowing into the PRD region between 1980 and
1997 (Lin, 2001).
32 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

However, global capital flowing into the peri-urban areas not only
increases regional economic growth but also widens socio-economic
disparities. This vast economic opportunity has merely benefited the middle
(and upper) classes, who are only a small part of the peri-urban communities.
As their socio-economic systems have been integrated into the regional and
global networks, the middle classes tend to be cut off from the neighbouring
poorer communities, which remain the largest parts of the peri-urban
communities. This has been manifested in the construction of walls, gates
and exclusive infrastructure networks and the development of high-class
residential areas and high-technology industrial enclaves (Connell, 1999;
Firman, 2004; Leisch, 2002; Wissink, Dijkwel, & Meijer, 2004).
An increasing gap between the socio-economic classes may raise security
and other social issues, which in turn force the creation of gated
communities. To the private developers, the construction of gated
communities has become a promising and marketable solution to these
issues. Therefore, large-scale enclave development projects have dominated
the landscape of the peri-urban areas in major East Asian metropolitan
regions (Firman & Dharmapatni, 1994; Webster, 2002; Winarso, 2007).
Leisch (2002) shows that such large-scale development has been a
manifestation of the new prestige and lifestyles, and has to a large extent
copied the development of gated communities in North America. However,
he emphasised that, in East Asia, the security issues, as a result of the
increasing gap between the socio-economic classes, have become a more
important reason for the minority to live in ‘gated communities’.

Figure 3.1 Lippo Cikarang, one of biggest private new towns in peri-urban Jakarta
(Source: http://www.tatamulia.co.id/Data%20Project%20List/Mall/Citimal_Lippo_ Cikarang.jpg, accessed
on 1 July 2009)
Peri-urbanisation in East Asia 33

These gated communities have created spatial separation by race, social

group, and economic class in peri-urban areas of East Asian metropolitan
regions (Connell, 1999; Leisch, 2002; Wissink, et al., 2004). For example,
Firman (2004) concludes that in peri-urban Jakarta the development of
exclusive new towns has reinforced the spatial segregation inherited from the
colonial past. Through the construction of the new towns, the colonial race-
based separation has been virtually replaced by the current socio-economic
segmentation, although the two are in many cases still interchangeable. The
spatial segregation occurs mainly between the new town areas and their
neighbouring informal settlements, and is liable to result in social conflicts
and riots, as happened during the economic crises of 1997 (Winarso, 2005).
To a lesser extent, a systematic separation is also brought into the project
areas, often represented in different blocks associated with particular groups
and classes (Firman, 2004).
Spatial segregation can also be reflected in the growth and distribution of
land prices in the project areas and their surroundings. For example,
Winarso (2007) reports that land prices have increased significantly
following more than fifteen years of construction of Bumi Serpong Damai
(BSD), the largest new town project ever built in Indonesia. He emphasises
an unresolved gap in land prices between the project area and its
surrounding regions. As a result, the dynamic of the market-driven land
prices has violated the tax-based land prices as regulated by the local
government (Winarso, 2007).
Whilst at the local level peri-urbanisation may cause socio-economic
segregation, at a higher level this transformation may result in fragmented
regional structure and infrastructure network. Spatial fragmentation occurs
among different new towns built by different developers as well as between
the new towns and their surrounding areas. Winarso (2002a) shows that the
large-scale housing developers, in proposing new developments, searched for
locations where there was abundant and cheap vacant land. The developers
may not consider the adequacy of the existing infrastructure since, as he
argues, they are financially able to create new infrastructure subsequently.
As the result, the new urban infrastructure built independently by the
private developers is often not integrated into the existing regional
infrastructure network provided by the governments. For example, new
sections of roads can be disconnected from broader transportation network
systems (Dijkgraaf, 2000).
Uncontrolled peri-urbanisation may also cause infrastructure deficiency,
particularly at the regional level. The lack of transport infrastructure,
especially integrated public transportation, is its classic example that can
34 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

isolate the peri-urban areas from their surrounding regions. It can also be
more expensive to deliver an adequate environmental infrastructure (e.g.
solid waste and waste-water systems and watershed management) to the
industrial estates at long distances from cities (Webster, 2002). Furthermore,
the construction of the environmental infrastructure is often not a policy
priority, since public investment is largely allocated to other types of
infrastructure that can directly facilitate the industrial activities. For
example, 88 per cent of public investment for the development of Eastern
Sea Board, Thailand, was allocated to major industrial-support
infrastructure, including two world-class seaports and an expressway
(Webster, 2002).
Another impact of peri-urbanisation is presented by Chunnasit et al.
(2000) who demonstrate that there is a strong negative correlation between
the economic value of the peri-urban agriculture and the distance to the
urban areas within a metropolitan region. As urban sectors are emerging
following the development in the new areas, the economic value of peri-
urban agriculture is also falling. As the result, the traditional rural sector can
no longer function as a major income generating activity in the peri-urban
areas. In turn, this socio-economic transformation may reduce the rural
productivity of the whole metropolitan region. This argument can be
strengthened by the fact that most peri-urban areas in East Asia are located
on highly productive agricultural land (McGee, et al., 1991). As an
illustration, Firman (2000) shows that an uncontrolled land conversion has
been responsible for the loss of fertile agricultural land in Bandung
Metropolitan Area (BMA), Indonesia. In this metropolitan region, peri-
urbanisation has reduced the productivity of the remaining paddy fields
from 4.5 to 3.4 tons per hectare (Firman, 2000).
In addition to the reduced rural productivity, peri-urbanisation may also
challenge the environmental sustainability of metropolitan regions.
Urbanisation pressure in peri-urban Jakarta, for instance, has severely
encroached on the Puncak–Cianjur corridor, an upland area with the vital
function of water catchment area for Jakarta. As a result, periodic flooding
downstream, i.e. in Jakarta, is getting worse (Firman & Dharmapatni, 1994).
According to Firman (1996), similar problems have also been faced by BMA,
in which urban development is moving towards the northern upland with
altitude more than 750 m above sea level, which were designated as water
conservation areas. Furthermore, industrialisation with high consumption of
water in the southern part of BMA has caused air and water pollution and
the falling of groundwater levels (Firman, 1996).
Peri-urbanisation in East Asia 35

3.4 Institutional rationale

Similar to the planning system to be discussed in Chapter 4, peri-

urbanisation is not an isolated spatial transformation process. It cannot be
separated fundamentally from major institutional changes occurring at local,
regional and global levels. In relation to the notion of institutional forces
used in Chapter 4, institutional changes can be defined as the restructuring of
both formal and informal rules, procedures, cultures and other types of social
framework that constrain and enable actors’ decisions and behaviour
(Hudalah, 2007). In this section, we will explain how institutional changes
playing at various spatial levels have underpinned peri-urbanisation in East
Asia. The multi-level institutional changes discussed in this section include:
(1) the growing influence of global capitalism and markets; (2) the rise of
middle-class culture; (3) the reinforcement of clientelist governance tradition;
and (4) the weakening of formal and centralised governance and legislation.
Global capitalism in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI),
particularly in manufacturing, has actively searched for large areas of vacant
land, good access to major cities and cheap labour (Leaf, 2002; Webster,
2002). For this reason, over 90 percent of FDI in Thailand, for example,
flows to the designated large industrial estates located in the extended
Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Meanwhile, some industrial estates in the
Lower Yangtze Region are pushed 300 kilometres away from the main
designated cities. As another illustration, between 1990 and 1995, there were
28 industrial estates developed in peri-urban Surabaya with sizes between 15
and 900 hectares (Firman, 2000).
According to Firman (2000) and Winarso and Firman (2002), the
uncontrolled peri-urbanisation surrounding Indonesian large cities was
particularly triggered by a series of deregulation and debureaucratisation
measures during the 1980s. The authors argue that this market-oriented
policy was aimed at accelerating economic growth by promoting domestic
and foreign private participation in finance and industries, which later
boosted the real estate industry as well as FDI in manufacturing. After the
boom period of the early 1990s, the economic crises in 1997–98 suddenly
restrained peri-urbanisation to two-thirds slower than before (Firman, 2000).
However, since the economy has now recovered, the development continues
to grow again (Winarso, 2005).
In addition to large-scale housing and industrial investments, global
capitalism has also facilitated the concentration of economic growth enjoyed
by small parts of the society. For example, Winarso and Firman (2002)
reveal that, in the case of Jabodetabek (the Jakarta Metropolitan Region), a
36 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

high economic growth, which was 15.2 per cent annually during the 1980s
and 1990s, had increased the number of middle- (and upper-) income people
significantly. This fuelled the rise of middle-class consumption culture,
expressed in an emerging need for private security and amenity and
exclusive lifestyles. This new need boosted the demand for large-scale
housing development, constructing gated communities in the peri-urban
areas (Firman, 2004; Leisch, 2002). In order to fulfil this need, within only
twenty years, the private developers have transformed more than 16,600
hectares of rural land outside the built-up areas of the Jakarta Metropolitan
Region into 25 large residential areas and new towns ranging from 500 to
6,000 hectares (Firman, 2004; Winarso & Firman, 2002). As another
illustration, large scale housing development has also boosted the population
growth of peri-urban Manila, particularly Cavite and Laguna, by 7 per cent
annually (based on 2000 census) (Webster, 2002).

Figure 3.2 The Master Plan of Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) phase 1
(Sources: http://ptpede.co.cc/images/bumi-serpong-damai-1.jpg, accessed on 1 July 2009)
BSD (6000 hectares) is the largest private new town project ever planned in Indonesia.
It was first constructed in 1989 and is now still being developed.
Peri-urbanisation in East Asia 37

In line with the emerging middle class culture, the existence of few but
strong, concentrated and large property developers has significantly
influenced the scale of peri-urban development in major East Asian
metropolitan regions (Sajor, 2003; Webster, 2002). According to Winarso and
Firman (2002), this powerful position allows the private developers to build
enduring patron-client relationships with financial sectors as well as the
government, including the political elite. According to the explanation in
Chapter 4, such a clientelist governance tradition has in fact long persisted
within Indonesian society. Currently, this tradition may be reinforced by
concentrated growth, resulting in the undesirable spatial outcomes described
in the previous section. Through informal lobbying, the developers with the
help of corrupt officials can simplify, can manipulate the established plans
and development procedures so they can reduce the transaction costs of
realising large-scale integrated urban land development projects (Server,
1996; Winarso & Firman, 2002).
Such hidden and corrupt practices can be more apparent in the issuance
of development permits. Actually, the permit system in Indonesia was
designed as an essential systemic mechanism for controlling land use
development. In practice, however, it has been widely misused to reserve
land exclusively for the approved developers (Firman, 2000). In fact, due to
high transaction costs and complex inter-organisational procedures, the
issuance of land development and building permits has become a prime field
of attraction for collusion and corruption, especially in large-scale urban
development on conflicting land (Server, 1996). Such practice has
encouraged uncontrolled speculation particularly in remotely-governed
places such as peri-urban areas.
Apart from this informal governance practice, peri-urban areas cannot
transform fundamentally without a weakening power of the governments.
For instance, Webster (2002) recognised that in Thailand, the national
government, backed up by FDI, has promoted peri-urbanisation through the
provision of industrial-support infrastructure. It can be seen in the
construction of major seaports, railways, expressways and industrial estates
in the Eastern Sea Board (ESB), which is the largest designated
agglomeration of industrial estates in peri-urban Bangkok. Moreover,
Webster and Muller (2002) identified that the government in China, through
local state enterprises, has played an active role not only as the initiator but
also the developer of economic and technological development zones
(ETDZs) or major industrial estates, for instance within the Hangzhou–
Ningbo corridor.
38 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

Recently, jurisdictional and political fragmentation following

decentralisation policies has added a new challenge for implementing strong
and integrated strategies and policies, since such strategies are not preceded
by an integrated institutional adaptation at sub-national levels. For
example, the role of national government in Thailand is now weakening, due
to fiscal decentralisation since 2006. Meanwhile, Webster (2002) found that
the sub-national governments have responded slowly to peri-urbanisation.
He particularly underlined a low capacity of local governments in the rural
regions or tambons in Thailand to deal with large-scale developments.
Furthermore, the tambons are spatially fragmented and serve only small
areas, with inexperienced staff (Webster, 2002).
A similar situation can be found in the Philippines. Following the Local
Government Code of 1991, the national government has been reducing its
resources compared to local government in relation to peri-urban
management. The institutional landscape is therefore characterised by very
strong cities and municipios (municipalities). They have greater fiscal and
administrative power than the provincial government. They have been
responsible for low-income housing provision, clean river programming, land
use planning, site and services projects for low-income housing and local
traffic improvements (Webster, 2002).

3.5 Planning and governance practice

Various planning and governance measures have been applied as both direct
and indirect adaptation to the growing complexity of spatial transformation
and institutional changes in peri-urban areas of East Asian metropolitan
regions. In this section, we first identify lessons from both the successes and
failures of the past and current practices in three fields: (1) land use and
comprehensive plans; (2) private and community participation; and (3)
strengthening of regional institutions. Furthermore, for each of these three
fields, we also make suggestions for the improvement of planning and
governance in the peri-urban areas.

3.5.1 Land use and comprehensive plans

In Indonesia, as in most of other East Asian countries, the issue of peri-

urbanisation has been regulated implicitly within a broader traditional
planning framework including regional plans. As described in Chapter 4, in
fact, such blue-print frameworks build the main foundation for planning
systems Indonesia. In 1989, for example, Bandung District introduced the
Peri-urbanisation in East Asia 39

concept of dekonsentrasi planologis, a counter-magnet strategy to redistribute

urban activities from Bandung City to the designated surrounding smaller
cities (Firman, 1996). This concept implied that it was necessary to reduce
the undesirable impacts of uncontrolled urban extension (urban sprawl),
which began to threaten the environmentally sensitive areas. Substantially,
this concept is still adopted in later plans, including the Bandung
Metropolitan Plan (2005).
In most land use plans, peri-urban areas tend to be defined based on
formal political-administrative boundaries. Meanwhile, the functional
boundaries of peri-urban areas are dynamic and often cut across these
traditional and rigid boundaries. Nevertheless, only few plans have explicitly
considered the importance of involving the functional boundaries of peri-
urban areas. In Indonesia, a special provision can be made for
environmentally sensitive areas prone to urban land use conversion. For
instance, through spatial plans and zoning regulation, the West Java
Province showed its commitment of protecting the North Bandung Area as
the region’s main water catchment by strictly forbidding physical
development on the areas higher than 750 m above sea level. Another
example is the enactment of Presidential Decree No. 114 of 1999 to preserve
the function of the Bopunjur (Bogor–Puncak–Cianjur) corridor as the water
catchment for Jabodetabek (the Jakarta Metropolitan Region).
In addition to allocating future land uses through these top-down and
rigid land use plans and regulations, longer-term spatial and sectoral
integration has also been promoted through the making of comprehensive
plans. For example, in the Philippines, a comprehensive plan was made in
the late 1980s in order to guide new developments in Cavite-Laguna, a peri-
urban area around Manila. Unfortunately, its realisation failed since there
was no single institution that was politically capable of implementing and
monitoring the plan (Webster, 2002).

3.5.2 Private and community participation

In large, fast-growing metropolitan regions of East Asia, there has also been
a shift in planning and governance practices away from traditional land use
and comprehensive plans towards collaborative approaches. These
innovative approaches have been an inevitable consequence of the increasing
role of the actors beyond government agencies in decision-making processes
and the implementation of spatial development frameworks in the peri-
urban areas. For example, since 1980, in the Eastern Sea Board, Thailand, a
comprehensive plan has been prepared, monitored and evaluated in
40 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

cooperation with major international financial institutions, namely the

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC). Following this initiative, various
infrastructure development programmes, involving national and multi-
national investors, have emerged to support the implementation of this plan.
Webster (2002) has recognised that the private sector in East Asia,
including multinational corporations, has played a key role in responding to
peri-urbanisation through localised adaptations. Such corporations acted to
fill the gaps caused by the shortcomings of local government. However, they
tend to take action only in the areas that are directly connected to their
interests. For example, the industrial estate managers in the Eastern Sea
Board, Thailand, have worked with the local governments to undertake
environmental functions including water supply, waste-water management
and social services, but only within their project locations (Webster, 2002).
At a higher level, the private sector mainly focuses on the optimisation
of the existing regional infrastructure delivered by the government. For
example, in the Hangzhou–Ningbo corridor, China, large firms and
industrial estates provide shuttle buses in order to facilitate daily commuting
from and to the gated communities (Webster & Muller, 2002).
Webster and Muller (2002) argue that, in addition to the private sector,
the role of local collectives (community-based authorities) and local
government can also be significant in adapting to rapid peri-urbanisation. In
fact, they recognise that the role of local collectives is even more significant
in China compared to other East Asian countries. One reason for this is that
the local collectives in China have more control over the land than
comparable collectives in other countries. The local collectives in the peri-
urban areas in particular have a coordinated power with respect to the
formulation of community’s decisions upon the future utilisation of their
land. As a result, the peri-urban communities have a stronger bargaining
position in facing the growing tensions from the market-driven peri-
urbanisation. In addition, the local government support for the local
economy is more pronounced in China. Locally owned firms are encouraged,
particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.

3.5.3 Towards stronger regional institutions?

As made clear above, the comprehensive spatial plans are unable to

redistribute the spatial development in the metropolitan regions of East
Asia. The fundamental reason for this is that there is often no
institutionalised mechanism for inter-local coordination and inter-sectoral
Peri-urbanisation in East Asia 41

integration of planning and development at the regional level. In China, the

local government particularly has a strong position compared to higher tiers
of government with regard to official mandates and budget resources
(Webster & Muller, 2002). However, in this country there is a greater
potential for peri-urban coordination and urbanisation control at the
regional level. The reason is that many municipalities in China cover larger
areas including not only the urban areas but also their surrounding
hinterlands. Moreover, the annexation of surrounding hinterland territories
by the main city is a common phenomenon in China. Besides, the current
administrative system also still allows a vertical coordination between
county and townships.
However, we should look at the Chinese experience more as an
exceptional case, rather than as a best practice. This is because a hierarchical
command-and-control style, to a certain extent, is still possible within the
Chinese communist government system, which cannot be applied anymore in
many other East Asian countries. Besides, the global neo-liberalisation and
decentralisation pressures, as discussed in Chapter 4, may further complicate
the challenge for preferring such approach in the future.
As an alternative, many metropolitan and urban regions in Indonesia
have since decades ago initiated the establishment of ‘coordinating forums’
(forum koordinasi) involving respective provincial and local governments
around the regions. For Jakarta Metropolitan Area, this cooperation is called
BKSP (Badan Kerjasama Pembangunan or Cooperation Board for
Development), which was first created in 1973 (Oetomo, Winarso, &
Hudalah, 2007). Similar institutions have also been initiated in Bandung
Metropolitan Area, Greater Jogjakarta, Greater Surabaya and Bali.
Unfortunately, the establishment of these institutions tends to be voluntary
and symbolic in character without any clear agenda for a systematic
collaborative action. Their presence is politically weak and not supported by
sufficient resources. They can only provide communication arenas through
coordination meetings. They have no legal authority to coordinate the local
governments in order to improve urbanisation control at the regional level.
Their functions and authorities also often overlap with those carried out by
the local governments.

3.6 Conclusions and recommendations

In this chapter, we have discussed the characteristics of peri-urbanisation in

East Asia’s developing and transitional countries. In these countries, peri-
urban areas have unique features due to their substantial dependence on
42 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

metropolitan centres, capital accumulation and dynamic coexistence of

urban and rural livelihoods. Furthermore, peri-urbanisation has largely
characterised the spatial transformation in the countries’ major metropolitan
regions. The potential contribution of peri-urban areas to the improvement
of regional economic performance might begin to emerge. However, we
should be aware of its undesirable consequences, including spatial
segregation and fragmentation and reduction of rural productivity and
environmental sustainability, which may follow this spatial transformation.
We have argued that the undesirable implications of spatial
transformation in peri-urban areas have reflected the fragmented
institutional landscape prevailing in these areas. As transitional zones
between rural and urban administrations, those areas face a weakening
governing power. While the national governments are too remote to reach
those areas, the local governments have an inadequate capacity to formulate
and implement required planning policies. At the same time, regional
authorities are still poorly established. Ineffectiveness also occurs as
fragmented rural authorities are pushed to adapt to an earlier urbanisation.
All these institutional conditions encourage the private enterprises, which
have strong links with global capitalism and the markets, to take over parts
of physical development and planning, which are often uncoordinated at
higher levels.
Considering the above institutional fragmentation, we have raised some
planning policy issues as a basis for building new planning perspectives and
approaches. First, we have seen that the traditional land use and
comprehensive plans have had only limited success in addressing early
urbanisation, mainly due to inconsistencies in their implementation and
weak enforcement and control (Firman, 2000). These are due to a weakening
capacity of the current planning systems to continue playing their
traditional role as the ‘trend-setter’ of future spatial development, by
promoting rigid norms and standards (see Chapter 4). Meanwhile, the
increasing complexity of peri-urbanisation implies a pressure to transform
these systems to be more flexible and adaptive, by accommodating the
dynamic, multi-level spatial and institutional drivers of peri-urbanisation. It
is also increasingly difficult for the planners and decision-makers to deal with
peri-urbanisation without involving different actors outside the
governments, including the private sector and the community, whose role is
becoming more significant in shaping the future of East Asian peri-urban
landscapes.
The current inclusive planning practices in the peri-urban areas of East
Asia tend to take the forms of localised action. These practices are mostly
Peri-urbanisation in East Asia 43

reactive in nature and appear to be fragmented or not integrated at higher

levels. Meanwhile, various planning issues in peri-urban areas emerge at the
regional level, including infrastructure, environmental sustainability,
employment and economy. Therefore, the building of institutional
arrangements operating at this higher level seem necessary in order to build
an integrated policy adaptation that can meet the cross-local border
challenges of spatial development in peri-urban areas.
Collaborative institution building, as initiated in Indonesia, can be
conceptually more desirable, compared to the Chinese top-down practices,
considering the dynamic characteristics of peri-urbanisation and the global
trends of decentralisation and neo-liberalisation. However, the current
practices still need major improvements in order to better promote
sustainable development in the peri-urban areas. In this respect, exploration
of shared visions and interests may be crucial so that the political
commitment of the participating local governments and authorities can be
enhanced. As Oetomo (2007) suggests, such institutions should focus on the
strategic issues emerging at the regional level, such as growth management,
good governance and participation, sustainable development and sharing of
authorities between the local governments and the sectoral bodies. In
addition, the current collaborative initiatives must be coupled with a
stronger and continuous stimulation, mediation and monitoring by the
national/ provincial government. By combining the bottom-up and top-
down approaches and promoting multi-level governance, the existing
‘coordinating forums’, as being experimented with in Indonesia, should be
open to transformation into the inter-local or supra-local institutions with a
stronger authority and a higher social legitimacy in order to gain more power
in decision-making processes at the regional level.
In order to gain social legitimacy, the building of such institutional
capacity should be grounded in day-to-day governance practice. As will be
discussed in Chapter 5, Chapter 6 and Chapter 7, the process may start with
the practice of capturing the emergence of opportunities and addressing the
complexity of social networks and the diversity of discursive knowledge.
Such innovative institution building is expected to be able to deal with
clientelist and neo-liberalised institutional forces underlined in Chapter 4.
 Chapter 4 Planning system in Transitional Indonesia 3

4.1 Introduction

There has been considerable discussion among scholars concerned with

international perspectives on domestic urban development and planning
cultures (de Vries & van den Broeck, 1997; Sanyal, 2005). More specific
discussions include the comparison of planning systems and practices across
nations (Kaufman & Escuin, 2000). This chapter takes a similar approach. It
takes, as a starting point, the perspective that planning systems are a crucial
aspect for understanding the planning culture in a particular country since
they are closely linked with the country’s domestic institutional forces.
Planning systems can be defined as ‘systems of law and procedure that
set the ground rules for planning practice’ (Healey, 1997, p. 72). It is argued
that in the face of growing complexity of current society, planning systems
cannot be seen as an independent phenomenon but more as a product of
wider institutional forces (Booth, 2005). Following the discussion about peri-
urbanisation and planning practice in Chapter 3, a planning system is also
not an isolated system but rather it is embedded in domestic institutional
and cultural traditions that form it (de Vries & van den Broeck, 1997).
Besides, it is recognised that globalisation has facilitated a freer transfer of
policy ideas, including planning ideas, across nations (Dolowitz & Marsh,
1996). Many studies have shown how neo-liberal ideas in the framework of
globalisation have influenced the form and structure of domestic planning
systems (Hajer & Zonneveld, 2000; Healey & Williams, 1993; Sanyal, 2005).
As a result, a planning system is not a stable but a relatively dynamic
phenomenon, whose evolution cannot be fully understood without reflecting
on these complex domestic and global institutional changes.

3 An earlier version of this chapter was published as Hudalah and Woltjer (2007)
Planning system in transitional Indonesia 45

Chapter 3 discussed the role of domestic and global institutional forces in

explaining peri-urbanisation trend and planning practice. This chapter, by
focusing on the case of Indonesia, seeks to investigate whether both forces
are linked with each other and whether they work simultaneously in
reshaping the planning system. It is also equally important to examine
whether their influences on the system are pervasive in countries
experiencing institutional transition and rapid societal change such as
Indonesia.
Indonesia entered a transitional process after being hit by the financial
and economic crisis of 1997 (krismon). Consequently, Indonesia faces rapid
institutional changes in major policy fields, including spatial planning. The
former law on spatial planning ("Law No. 24 on Spatial Planning," 1992) was
thought to be no longer relevant with the new emerging institutional
settings. As a result, a new spatial planning law was discussed in 2005–2006
and it was finally enacted in 2007.
The analysis of this chapter tends to focus on the formulation of this new
spatial planning law and other regulatory elements of the planning system,
in the view of current institutional forces, cultural traditions, and
globalisation related to neo-liberal ideas. While cultural traditions can be
better accommodated, this chapter suggests that pragmatic adoption of neo-
liberal ideas in the current system needs to be analysed more critically.
The current chapter is divided into several sections. The first section
describes the progress of the planning system in Indonesia as the contextual
arena for our discussion. After summarising the conceptual framework and
methods for the study, the next three sections explain the influences of
formal institutional forces, informal cultural forces and neo-liberal ideas on
the planning system. Later, interactions among these influences are
discussed. Finally, the last section provides some remarks and
recommendations.

4.2 Indonesia’s modern planning history

The history of Indonesia’s modern planning system can be tracked back to

the first quarter of the twentieth century, during the late Dutch colonial
period. Through the enactment of the Nuisance Ordinance of 1926, the
colonial government designed permit and zoning systems for regulating
industrial installations in specific areas (Niessen, 1999). However, the first
comprehensive planning regulatory framework was not created until the
outbreak of the World War II. The regulatory framework was introduced in
1948 through the promulgation of Stadsvorming Ordonantie (SVO) or Town
46 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

Planning Ordinance followed by its implementing regulation known as

Stadsvormings Verordening (SVV) of 1949 (Dirdjosisworo, 1978). It was
focused on improving urban housing conditions (Winarso, 2002b) and was
designed for municipalities in the most densely populated island of Java,
where problems of urbanisation were already evident at that time (Niessen,
1999). After the independence, this first integrated planning law continued
to be enforced by the Indonesian government. In fact, in this period, it was
not applied only in Java but in all regions in the country.
The inherited Dutch planning law was increasingly criticised for its
irrelevance due to colonial and Java-centric biases. Besides, there has been a
growing inter-departmental rivalry and urbanisation complexity, increasing
the need for a purely Indonesian planning law. As the result, Law No. 25 on
Spatial Planning ("Law No. 24 on Spatial Planning," 1992) was enacted.
Compared to the previous Dutch planning law, this first post-colonial
planning law was simplified and provided only general rules and
classifications for carrying out spatial planning at the national, provincial
and local levels. Following this law, detailed guidelines and standards were
expected to be prepared by the national government and respective
ministries.
Whilst the required operational guidelines have not yet been completed,
the Asian financial and economic crisis of 1997–1998 hit the country
severely, triggering wider socio-political crises. The crises led to the birth of
the reform era, marking the beginning of the country’s institutional
transition into a democratic and decentralised political system. The
transition period was characterised by a massive production of laws and
legislation, including laws on regional administration, regional fiscal
balancing, water resources and housing and human settlement. This massive
production meant that the Soeharto-era spatial planning law was outdated
vis-a-vis the new laws and legislations. Therefore, a new spatial planning law
was drafted in late 2005 and finally enacted in 2007.
In general, the Indonesian planning system, as reflected in the last two
planning laws of 1992 and 2007, fell short of an integrated-comprehensive
approach, unlike the Dutch model. As reported by the European
Commission (The EU Compendium of Spatial Planning Systems and Policies,
1997, pp. 36-37), in the integrated-comprehensive approach, ‘spatial
planning is conducted through a very systematic and formal hierarchy of
plans from national to local level, which coordinate public sector activity
across different sectors but focus more specifically on spatial coordination
than economic development’. The Indonesian system adopts such a
hierarchical structure, in which spatial plans are made at the national,
Planning system in transitional Indonesia 47

provincial and local governmental tiers (Figure 4.1). Each tier is required to
prepare several plans with different scales, namely general spatial plan
(RTRW), detailed spatial plan (RDTR) and detailed engineering design
(RTR Kawasan). However, in the Indonesian system, the role of the public
sector in the realisation of planning frameworks and plans is not clearly spelt
out. In fact, related sectoral policy systems such as housing and water
management tend to encourage privatisation rather than government
participation (Government of Indonesia, "Law No. 4 on Housing and
Human Settlement," 2004; Siregar, 2005).

Hierarchy/ Scale

National Spatial Provincial/ regional Sub Regional/ Local

Plan System Spatial Plan System Spatial Plan System

General RTRW Nasional RTRW Propinsi RTRW Kab./

Spatial plan kota
Operationalisation/ Level of Detail

(RTRW)

RDTR for RDTR for RDTR for

Detail Spatial Island(s) and Strategic Area Strategic Area
Plan (RDTR) Strategic Area (regional scale) (local scale)

Detail
Engineering RTR Kawasan RTR Kawasan RTR Kawasan
Design (RTR (national scale) (regional scale) (local scale)
Kawasan)

Figure 4.1 Spatial plan system in Indonesia

Furthermore, through the promulgation of the new spatial planning law

of 2007, the system started to adopt the North American planning system
style of land use management. In this system, growth management and
development control through rigid zoning and codes are encouraged.
Nevertheless, in Indonesia, the role of spatial plans made by all tiers of
planning authorities is still important. Besides, the land use management in
Indonesia is the responsibility not only of the local government as in the US,
but also of the provincial and central governments.
48 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

4.3 Institutional forces and the planning system

Following the transition period, the Indonesian planning system has become
more complex thus requiring a comprehensive explanation of its persistent as
well as changing characteristics. This section, therefore, attempts to
investigate the extent to which recent spatial planning laws and other major
regulatory elements of the planning system have been situated in broader
institutional forces in effect at both national and international levels. The
analysis focuses on the following key aspects of the planning system: (1)
goals; (2) scope; (3) concept; (4) structure and approach, (5) process and
procedure; and (6) instruments.
Institutional forces are defined as sets of organisational structures, rules,
procedures as well as embedded cultural values and norms underlying social
attitude and action. Analytically, such institutional forces can be divided
into two main categories:
1) endogenous (or internal, domestic) institutional forces; and
2) exogenous (or external, global) institutional forces.
The endogenous institutional forces can provide an intentional
explanation on the development of the domestic planning system as a
product of culture (Booth, 2005; de Vries & van den Broeck, 1997). These
forces consist of formal and informal institutional forces. The formal
institutional forces are focused on form and structure of government and
legal aspect in land and property affairs. Meanwhile, the informal
institutional forces are associated with the national political culture, state–
society relations and governance tradition. Compared to the formal forces,
these relatively path-dependent forces tend to be more stable since they are
influenced by long-term historical developments of the nation.
The exogenous institutional forces are regarded as unintended structural
determinants that may dictate how a planning system ought to be. The
analysis of external factors in this chapter focuses on the potential influence
of neo-liberal ideas on the planning system. These neoliberal ideas are
divided into three main aspects: (1) efficient government; (2) rule of law;
and, (3) decentralisation. In the context of the increasingly globalised world
society, it is argued that such neoliberal ideas are more easily transfered
across nations (European Commission, The EU Compendium of Spatial
Planning Systems and Policies, 1997; Hajer & Zonneveld, 2000; Healey &
Williams, 1993; Sanyal, 2005).
The data and information for the analysis are mainly gathered from
textual materials. These include laws, legislations, government documents
and publications in relation to government administration and spatial
Planning system in transitional Indonesia 49

planning going back to the early history of independent Indonesia (1945).

Furthermore, previous studies on the political, governance and planning
cultures in Indonesia during the pre-colonisation, colonisation and
independence periods were collected. Other literature included studies on the
impact of neoliberal globalisation on spatial planning in other countries.
During the data collection on the preparation of the new spatial planning
law, as the central issue for analysis, the researcher was not only an outside
investigator but also a close observer and participant in relevant formal and
informal discussions in relation to the preparation of the new spatial
planning law. These included informal discussions among experts, feasibility
study discussions and public seminars held from 2004 until 2006. Being both
spectator and participant in the drafting process, the researcher benefited
from producing an objectively-motivated investigation while at the same
time strengthening the richness and situatedness of the results. A more
detailed account of the analytical methods is provided in Chapter 2.

4.4 Formal institutional forces

There are some legal frameworks underlying the form and structure of
government and the legal framework for land and property affairs in
Indonesia. These legal frameworks include the 1945 constitution, the basic
agrarian law, and the regional administration laws.
In relation to land and property affairs, the 1945 Constitution requires
the role of the state to control the uses of land, water, space, and natural
resources for the greatest benefit of its citizens. The constitutional statement
of promoting ‘the greatest benefit of the citizens’ is an important rationale
for the state’s strong control over the exploitation of land, waters, space, and
natural resources ("The Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia of 1945,"
1945, Art. 33, par. 3). This justifies the government’s ambition to promote
comprehensive goals of spatial planning comprising spatial quality,
sustainable development, environmental protection, and national security. A
good spatial quality is difficult to achieve in the absence of such pervasive
government.
Following the constitutional statement, the Law No. 5 ("Law No. 5 on
Basic Agrarian Regulation," 1960) on Basic Agrarian allows a broad state
capacity in land administration and policy, including the authority to use
and cultivate the land and to regulate legal relations between the citizens
and the land and between citizens’ legal action in relation to the land. The
law also requires the protection and maintenance of land resources and
50 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

special attention on the poor, thus specifically explaining the spatial

planning objective of promoting broad sustainability principles.
In order to further accommodate the strong role of government in land
and property affairs, the scope of the planning system has been developed
comprehensively. This comprehensive scope can be seen in the integration of
three planning policy aspects, which are the plan-making process
(perencanaan ruang), land utilisation (pemanfaatan ruang), and land
utilisation control (pengendalian pemanfaatan ruang) (Government of
Indonesia, "Draft of Law on Spatial Planning," 2005; Law No. 24 on Spatial
Planning," 1992). The strong role of government is especially recognisable in
the aspects of plan-making and land utilisation control. The spatial planning
law requires all government tiers to prepare spatial plans in order to direct
spatial development in their regions. It is also mentioned that spatial plans
per se are not sufficient to control change in land use. Therefore, planning
control instruments are also required to make spatial plans more realistic.
The comprehensive scope of the Indonesian planning system is then
followed by its centralised approach. These are a manifestation of the
unitary form of government, in which the central government is the only tier
authorised to make laws to be applied throughout the whole country.
Furthermore, the central government tends to promote universal, top-down
planning approaches and standards. Geographical diversity among regions
and islands is still poorly accommodated. Pragmatic variations are merely
designed when it is considered necessary to prevent technical problems on
the ground. For example, different resolutions of planning map are required
for different level of plans and planning areas ("Government Regulation No.
10 on Criteria for Spatial Planning Map," 2000). As another example,
requirements for urban residential facilities are classified based on the scale
of services and statistical parameters of planned area such as population,
area, and density (Ministry of Public Works, 1987). The uniqueness of local
cultural systems is given limited consideration in spite of the prevalence of
such systems in the country.
Regardless of its centralised approaches, the system’s institutional
structure gives a degree of authority to the local and provincial governments
to carry out spatial planning functions in their regions. Although the
decentralisation policy has not been effective until the implementation of the
Law on Regional Administration of 1999 in 2001, its principle in spatial
planning has been anticipated since the promulgation of the Law on Spatial
Planning of 1992. For example, according to the law, spatial plans made by
all tiers are required to conform to each other, and to higher and lower tiers.
Planning system in transitional Indonesia 51

A further outcome of this decentralised structure is that citizen

involvement is increasingly considered an important element in the planning
process and procedure. In the previous spatial planning law, it was stated
that ‘every citizen has the rights: to be informed about spatial plan; to be
involved in spatial plan making, land cultivation process, and land
cultivation control ...’ ("Law No. 24 on Spatial Planning," 1992, art. 4). The
role of citizen in spatial planning is strengthened by the Government
Regulation of 1996 (No. 69), Art. 2:

‘In spatial planning, the citizen has the rights: to participate in the processes of
plan-making, land cultivation process, and land cultivation control; to be
informed about general spatial plans (rencana tata ruang wilayah), detailed
spatial plans (rencana detail tata ruang), and detailed engineering design (rencana
teknis ruang) transparently; to obtain the utility of space and its added value
resulting from spatial planning; to obtain a fair compensation in the event of
being affected by the implementation of development projects based on a spatial
plan’.

The role of citizens in planning has been improved following the enactment
of the 1999 law on regional administration in 2001, based on which the
government structure shifted from a centralised into a highly decentralised
structure. Most of the governmental tasks, including spatial planning, are
now transferred from the central government to the provincial and local
governments (Government of Indonesia, Law No. 22 on Regional
Administration, 1999). The newest law on regional administration (Law No.
32 on Regional Administration, 2004) reinforces this decentralisation trend by
introducing the notion of regional autonomy (otonomi wilayah), referring to
‘the rights, authorities, and obligations of autonomous local and regional
tiers to regulate and to manage their own governmental affairs and citizen
interests’ (Law No. 32 on Regional Administration, 2004, art. 1). The
importance of these local and regional aspirations were later adopted in the
draft of the new spatial planning law, for which ‘spatial planning is carried
out by the government through promoting community participation . . .
conducted at least through public consultation’ ("Draft of Law on Spatial
Planning," 2005, Art. 57). It implies that the decentralisation policy
transition contributes to the improvement of the level of citizen
participation in the spatial planning system from the level of informing to
the level of consultation.
52 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

4.5 Informal institutional forces

With thousands of islands, hundreds of ethnic groups and languages, and at

least five major influencial religions, Indonesia is truly a plural country
without any single basic national as well as political culture. According to
Liddle (1996), there are at least three significant political cultures that so far
have influenced the institutional forces in modern Indonesia: Javanese, Outer
Islands, and Dutch colonial cultures (Table 4.1). The Javanese statecraft and
culture is rooted in the pre-colonial kingdoms, which have constructed
paternalistic social relations and hierarchical social structures. It brought
pervasive and centralistic characteristics into the public administration
system. The seemingly arbitrary decision making has also illustrated the
Javanese tradition, contributing to the building of acute clientelist and
corrupt governance traditions in Indonesia’s modern planning and
governance history (Cowherd, 2005). In comparison, Liddle (1996) recognises
that the Outer Islanders have not developed any rigid political culture and
social structure. Their pluralist governance culture, however, has produced
some important socio-political values such as an egalitarian social structure
and decentralised and democratic institutional arrangements. In addition, he
maintains that Indonesian society also inherited the Dutch colonial culture.
Built on a corporatist style of governance and influenced by imperialist
ideas, the Dutch colonial culture was characterised by a hierarchical social
structure and extensive bureaucratic, administrative and legal systems.
First, the Javanese style is one of the most hierarchical-minded in the
world (Liddle, 1996). It is reflected in the maintenance of a centralistic and
hierarchical style of government. To some extent, this centralistic
governance culture explains the persistently strong role of the modern
central government in major policy fields, including spatial planning.
According to the law on regional administration of 2004, spatial planning is
actually no longer a main policy field for the central government. The law
indeed encourages most of policy fields to be transferred to the provincial
and local governments as part of decentralisation measures. However, the
draft of the new spatial planning law still maintains the role of the central
government in all planning policy aspects, including plan-making, land
cultivation and land cultivation control, especially in the cases of national
spatial planning (RTRW Nasional) and spatial planning for national
strategic regions (RTRW Kawasan Strategis Nasional) ("Draft of Law on
Spatial Planning," 2005).
Planning system in transitional Indonesia 53

Table 4.1 Major political cultures in Indonesia

Javanese Outer Islands Dutch Colonial

Origin/reflection Pre-Islamic caste, Trade culture, Protestant tradition of

wet rice feudalism, Islamic religious prosperous welfare
court tradition, culture, global state, Napoleon Codes
wayang kulit (leather interaction of administration,
puppet) plays colonialism
Social structure Birth caste-like Egalitarian Racial and socio-
economic classes

Role of state Very strong Weak Strong

Public decision Discretionary Discretionary Bureaucratic

making
Public Centralism Decentralisation, Hierarchical system
management
democratization
Governance Clientelism Pluralism Corporatism
culture

State – society Strong paternalistic Paternalistic Paternalistic

relation

Another key feature of Javanese statecraft is the principle that the rulers
and their officials have the ultimate power in the decision making (Liddle,
1996; Moertono, 1981). Principally, the rulers cannot take any wrong
decision. Such a benevolence–obedience political culture has contributed to
the development of arbitrary policy making and implementation as reflected
in the law and court cultures. In the modern planning history, this has
resulted in a strongly politicised planning cultural practice, reflected by
widespread discretionary and patron-client practices in land use planning
and development permit procedures (Cowherd, 2005; Winarso & Firman,
2002). Nevertheless, these cultures have never been brought into the
planning policy system.
In addition to the Javanese political culture, it is remarkable that the
Dutch colonial culture has also largely shaped major administrative and
policy, including planning, systems in modern Indonesia. Their corporatist
governance tradition has resulted in extensive bureaucratic machineries,
rules and norms (Cowherd, 2005; Liddle, 1996). Dutch technical policy
54 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

approaches have also long been dominating the policy making and
implementation procedures. These governance and policy traditions lead
towards a depoliticised planning cultural system, fuelling the development of
normative-binding concepts in the planning system.
The current binding system entails the requirement that development
activities are guided by legalised spatial plans. These plans range from
general to detailed spatial plans and, indeed, detailed engineering plans. Such
normative-positive instruments function as legal guidance for the
governments in making decisions about location, type, and scale of proposed
urban development. These blueprint planning documents bind not only the
governments but the community and the private sectors, which want to be
involved in urban land development. In principle, no land development
proposal will be approved without conforming to spatial plans. Development
proposals violating formulated spatial plans are subject to rejection by the
governments.

4.6 The influence of neo-liberal ideas

The influence of exogenous institutional forces, particularly globalising neo-

liberalism, has impacted the characteristics of domestic spatial planning
everywhere, regardless of state boundaries (Lai, 2004; Sanyal, 2005; Wadley,
2004). Dominated by US’s influence, neo-liberal globalisation has become a
universal economic and political framework, which promotes free markets as
the sole effective system (Pieterse, 2004). In this framework, the ideas of
efficiency, rule of law, and decentralisation originating from the
industrialised liberal countries are now spreading all over the world.
The neo-liberal concept of efficiency in the administration system entails
the retreat of government’s role in major policy fields. In the current
Indonesian planning system, it can be seen in an undefined role of
government in land cultivation, indicating a weak capacity of government in
realising plans. The government is only required to prepare development
programmes and projects in order to guide private investment and financing
in land cultivation ("Draft of Law on Spatial Planning shall Separate
Residential Areas Clearly ", 2006). There is no clear, specific requirement for
the government to invest or to finance the proposed land clearance and
development. In principle, the government, private sector, and the
community have the same opportunity to be involved in the development
process in order to realise the formulated plans.
One of common arguments forwarded is that spatial planning is a
coordinative policy field. As such, the realisation of planning frameworks is
Planning system in transitional Indonesia 55

more a responsibility of sectoral policy systems rather than the spatial

planning system (Ministry of Public Works, "Draft of Law on Spatial
Planning shall Separate Residential Areas Clearly ", 2006). The planning
system cannot be perceived as an independent system but one that is
connected to other policy systems. Therefore, in order to understand the
impact of the retreat of the role of government in the spatial planning
system, it is helpful to first examine their influence on related sectoral policy
systems: housing (cipta karya), road infrastructure (bina marga), and water
resources (sumber daya air) (Dardak, 2005; Niessen, 1999; Winarso, 2002b).
In Indonesia, these three interlinked systems fall under the responsibility of
the Ministry of Public Works.
In the housing policy system for example, particularly in relation to
housing provision for low-income earners, enabling strategies such as public–
private partnership and mortgage system are preferable to the provision of
massive public housing development (Winarso, 2002b). Such private
involvement can in fact be very proactive, especially in large-scale housing
development (Kasiba/Lisiba), which allows the private parties to develop not
just massive numbers of houses and neighbourhood facilities but also main
urban road and infrastructure (Government of Indonesia, "Law No. 4 on
Housing and Human Settlement," 2004). This increased role of private
parties in the housing policy implies a significant role of the market in the
policy system.
Another obvious retreat of government through privatisation is evident
in the water management system through the enactment of Law No. 7 on
Water Resources (Government of Indonesia, "Law No. 7 on Water
Resources," 2004). Replacing the former law on irrigation, this law
effectively legalises privatisation in water management, whose
implementation is financially supported by major influential international
institutions including the World Bank (Walhi, "Water Privatisation," 2003).
According to Siregar (2005), the law might lead towards an uncontrolled
participation of the private sector, replacing the role of the state. Meanwhile,
since water is one of people’s basic needs and vital for the country, full
privatisation in water management is actually undesirable according to the
1945 Constitution. However, the international institutions strongly promote
the commodification of water possibly in order to foster global capitalism
(Walhi, "Campaign to Reject the Water Resource Privatisation and
Commercialisation," 2005).
As a consequence of the minimised role of government, the rule of law is
an important aspect of government intervention in neo-liberal countries. It
attempts to ensure that information as much as possible is provided in
56 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

advance in order to help the market make investment decisions properly. For
this reason, binding instruments such as zoning system, as part of land
development control measures, replacing bureaucratic procedures in the
permit system, are often suggested as a means to provide certainty and a
deregulatory framework (Allmendinger, 2002; Lai, 2004).
In Indonesia, the zoning system is officially introduced in the draft of
new spatial planning law. In addition to the long-established permit system,
the new law requires the governments to prepare zoning regulation (petunjuk
teknis rencana tata ruang) supported by environmental and building codes as
key instruments for controlling land development. According to the Annex
of new spatial planning law:

‘Zoning ordinance consists of stipulations that should or should not be carried

out in certain land use zones, which can consist of stipulations concerning
buildings, provision of services, utilities, settlement and other stipulations
needed to realise convenient, productive, and sustainable space. Other
stipulations needed are sectorial such as stipulations concerning flight safety
zone and high voltage electrical network’.

As a further aspect of neo-liberalism, the idea of decentralisation

encourages the transfer of the central government’s responsibilities to the
lowest possible tiers of government, where it is easier to promote democratic
and participation processes. In planning, this idea is closely linked with the
current trend of regionalisation, promoting the region as the most
appropriate scale for building cohesive institutional forces oriented towards
economic development (Lovering, 1999).
In line with the neo-regionalist ideas, the draft of a new spatial planning
law facilitates planning for urban regions (kawasan perkotaan), which
includes the urban/metropolitan region shared by more than one local
government (kabupaten and/or kota) (Ministry of Public Works, "Draft of
Law on Spatial Planning shall Separate Residential Areas Clearly ", 2006).
Metropolitan/ regional planning is often required to promote regional
specialisation, particularly to separate growth centres and political centres at
the national and provincial levels. Therefore, according to the draft, the
urban regions made up of two or more kabupatens/kotas shall be planned
integrally by involving respective local governments. As part of coordinative
instruments, structure plans and development plans need to be prepared for
such regions. It is necessary to encourage coordination in the formulation of
urban and infrastructure development programmes. Furthermore, the
existing local governments must cooperate with each other in managing
urban development in their regions. Such regional cooperation, rather than
Planning system in transitional Indonesia 57

designing fixed regional institutions, is preferred in order to promote

efficiency, flexibility, and decentralisation.
4.7 Discussion and conclusion

We have seen in the analysis that both endogenous and exogenous

institutional forces attempt to reshape the basic characteristics of the
Indonesian planning system. First, the formal institutional forces have
resulted in the comprehensive goals and scope, universalised structure and a
degree of participation in planning processes. Meanwhile, the informal
institutional forces have characterised the normative approaches and
instruments and maintained the role of the central government in the
planning institutional structure. Finally, the influence of neo-liberal ideas
can be seen in the development of binding approaches, the growing necessity
for metropolitan/regional planning, reduction in government participation
and the zoning instruments. With a sustained role of informal institutional
forces, the influences of neo-liberal ideas tend to be fragmented and cannot
alter the system comprehensively.

Neo-liberal ideas Institutional-cultural forces

Retreat of government in Government control,

sectoral policy systems pervasive state tradition

Decentralisation and new Centralistic Javanese

regionalism tradition

Binding/ zoning Discretionary and clientelist

instruments governance tradition

Figure 4.2 Potential clashes between the institutional forces of

Indonesian planning system

In fact, the neo-liberal ideas tend to conflict with the endogenous

institutional forces that have long influenced the planning system (Figure
4.2). First, the reduction of government participation from the urban
development process has undermined the 1945 Constitution assertion, which
requires the government to actively redistribute the cultivation of land and
space. In practice, however, it is difficult for the government to redistribute
such vital resources since they lack institutional as well as financial capacity
to control these resources. In addition, the neo-liberal idea of minimising the
role of government also tends to deviate from the long-standing Javanese
58 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

political culture of maintaining a strong and pervasive state. Besides, the

decentralisation of spatial planning might to some extent clash with the
centralised tradition of Javanese statecraft. Finally, the introduction of
binding development control and zoning instruments should confront the
pragmatic, discretionary, and clientelist governance traditions of the
Javanese political culture.
In the context of the globalised society and increasing tension for
structural adjustment, Indonesia cannot escape from the influence of
neoliberal ideas. However, the country can minimise their negative effects
through critical internalisation and adaptation of the ideas with the existing
endogenous institutional forces. In transferring planning policy ideas, the
policy makers could promote hybridising or synthesis, rather than instant
copying or adoption, in order to encourage better coordination with the
endogenous forces and to develop a more cohesive planning system.
Chapter 3 implied that the current planning system is still ineffective in
managing peri-urbanisation in fast-growing metropolitan regions. Based on
the analysis of this chapter, it can be argued that one of the reasons for this
is that the system has not appropriately taken into account globalising as
well as domestic institutional forces that have been embedded within the
society and governance practice. First, major aspects of the formal
institutional forces are detached from the current reality grounded in
planning practice. Meanwhile, the pragmatic process of transferring
neoliberal ideas seems to be dominated by partial copying or adapting,
narrowly importing new ideas without involving necessary adaptation of the
long-persistent informal institutional forces. These result in an inconsistent
and fragmented system, in which elements may clash with each other.
Chapter 5, Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 essentially attempt to address such
fragmentation issues in planning and governance, focusing on the cases of
managing urban and environmental conflicts in peri-urban areas.
 Chapter 5 Policy networking and institutional capacity: an
analysis of peri-urban environmental and infrastructure
planning conflicts in Indonesia 4

5.1 Introduction

Network approaches are not new in planning and policy studies. Earlier
studies have focused on their functions as a framework for defining policy
measures (Glasbergen, 1990) and for understanding long-term policy change
(Sabatier & Jenkins-Smith, 1999), as an alternative organisational device
(Alexander, 1993), as a medium of power exercise (Booher & Innes, 2002;
Bull & Jones, 2006; Pauline M. McGuirk, 2000; Moulaert & Cabaret, 2006),
as an infrastructure for social movements (Batterbury, 2003; Wekerle, 2004)
and as criteria for assessing democratic planning systems (Torfing, Sorensen,
& Fotel, 2009). Nevertheless, little attention has been given to the
institutional potential of networks. As a relational resource in transformative
planning processes, networks have the potential to contribute to the
improvement of governance capacity. As Healey (1998, p. 1541) argues, such
relational resources function as an important mobilising aspect for ‘building
an institutional capacity focused on enhancing the ability of place-focused
stakeholders to improve their power to “make a difference” to qualities of
their place’.
It is argued that network forms of social relations are an appropriate
basis for effective collective action in the context of increasingly
decentralised and fragmented places and society (Castell, 1996). This
changing context of space and distance is currently emerging in Indonesia
and it exerts a considerable effect on spatial change in its peri-urban areas.
First, with the commencement of the Reform Era, since 1998 the country

4An earlier version of this chapter was presented at The 10th European Network
Association of European Researchers on Urbanisation in the South (N-AERUS)
Conference: Challenges to Open Cities, Rotterdam, 1-3 October 2009 (Hudalah,
Winarso, Woltjer, & Linden, 2009b); forthcoming in Planning Theory.
60 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

has radically transformed its centralised and hierarchical political system of

Soeharto’s New Order into a democratic and decentralised one. As the result,
urban and regional policies can no longer be easily formulated based on the
rigid hierarchical order. The current open and democratic political system
and social order provide more room for parties at local and regional scales to
push government to consider various alternatives in their plans. This
pressure on a more innovative planning process might be more apparent in
peri-urban areas such as NBA due to its rapid spatial and socio-economic
changes, inter-local jurisdictional character and the increasingly fragmented
role of private and other non-governmental initiatives (Chapter 1 and
Chapter 3).
This chapter aims to understand how a planning policy network is
constructed and how it can contribute to the building of planning’s
institutional capacity in the face of fragmented spatial, social and formal
institutional relations. It is illustrated by an episode of the planning debate
in the peri-urban area of NBA, in which institutional capacity concerned the
issue of improving regional governance consciousness to effectively involve
stakeholders and consistently implement agreed planning frameworks aiming
at enhancing the quality of the peri-urban environment and promoting
sustainable urban and regional development.
The chapter first reviews the literature on network approaches,
especially from new institutional perspectives, resulting in a conceptual
framework for capacity building. Following the overview of land
development, planning and governance contexts in Indonesia in general and
NBA in particular (Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4), the debate on the
Dago-Lembang road development planning project will be examined to
illustrate how the network approach to capacity building framework may
work in practice. It further identifies the actors participating in the debate
and reconstructs how those actors were connected with each other forming a
planning policy network. It reveals that the network strategy was not used
merely to prevent the project’s realisation but, on top of that, to contribute
in transforming the governance attitudes in order to be more responsive
towards the sustainability issues in the peri-urban area. In conclusion, the
chapter stresses aspects of institutional capacity that were inherent in the
policy networking: mobilisation, empowerment, and learning.

5.2 Towards an institutional approach to networks

A (social) network can be broadly defined as ‘a regular set of contacts or

social connections among individuals or groups’ (M. Granovetter &
Policy network and institutional capacity 61

Swedberg, 2001, p. 11). With this broad definition, networks, particularly in

sociological economics, may refer to all kinds of social relations (Yeung,
1994). However, this chapter restricts the scope of enquiry to a comparison
of their unique characteristics with the characteristics of other major forms
of social relations, especially markets and hierarchies.
Powell (1991) identifies these unique characteristics as follows. First,
networks emphasise horizontal and decentralised – rather than hierarchical
and centralised – social relations as they bring together actors of relatively
equivalent role and status. These networks are typified by informal, implicit
and reciprocal – instead of transactional (in markets) or employment (in
hierarchies) – patterns of communication and exchanges. They promote
interdependent – as opposed to independent (in markets) and dependent (in
hierarchies) – relationships among actors. Another important feature is that
networks imply moderately flexible relationships. These networks produce
enduring but rather ‘loose coupling’ relationships. Such relationships
preserve the autonomy of connected actors and prevent them from being
‘locked into’ specific rigid relationships (Grabher, 1993a).
By comparison, rational planning literature on social relations has
emphasised hierarchical organisational arrangements as a means of reducing
transactional costs resulting from the gap between the planning formulation
process and the complexity of its implementation (Alexander, 1993).
Fundamental shifts of attention in the literature towards network forms of
social relations did not appear until the rise of the issue of social and political
fragmentation, which increasingly characterises planning in the
informational and globalised society (Healey, 1997). From a systemic
viewpoint, for example, networks are defined as open, dynamic and self-
organising social systems taking the form of sets of interconnected actors
with certain communicative codes, values or goals. This form of network is
later adopted in communicative planning as a medium of spreading
‘informational power’ in collaborative processes (Booher & Innes, 2002). Yet,
this informational perspective on networks still maintains the rationalistic
view as it assumes the pre-existence of universal and perfect diversity,
interdependence and mutual dialogue among participating actors. These
assumptions are hardly evident in the social relations that have been
unequally bounded by fragmented socio-cultural and institutional contexts.
In short, this idealistic viewpoint hardly takes power as well as
institutional/governance dimensions into account in planning practice. For
this reason, some scholars have suggested treating networks under more
structural theories such as regulation theory, Bourdieu’s theory (Moulaert &
Cabaret, 2006) and the Latourian approach (Pauline M. McGuirk, 2000).
62 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

The problem with this approach is, since its analysis tends to be structural
and historical, that it results in descriptive, if not destructive, suggestions,
providing very limited opportunities for agency to reconstruct the networks.
As an alternative, this chapter argues that new institutionalism in sociology
can more effectively address the governance inadequacies that often typify
planning processes on the edge of cities in developing and transitional
democratic countries.
New institutionalism is a social theory dealing with the cognitive and
cultural analyses on the interactive relations between institutions and action
(W. W. Powell & DiMaggio, 1991). As emphasised in Chapter 1, institutions
are defined as more than just ‘visible’ structural properties constraining
behaviour such as formal bodies, rules, procedures or norms such as the
state, constitutional writings and the policy systems. Away from this
modern definition, the new institutionalism stresses ‘the importance of
particular common forms of understanding that are seldom explicitly
articulated – classifications, routines, scripts, and other rationalising and
rationalised schemas or, in other words, institutional myths’ (Amin & Thrift,
1994, p. 12). According to Hall and Taylor (1996), such institutions may also
include abstract templates such as social symbols and cultural values and
function not just to constraint but to enable, frame and legitimise action.
Furthermore, these institutions are not predetermined but socially
constructed in daily practices. In fact, there is a mutually constitutive
process between institutions (structure) and action (agency) in which the
reproduction of institutions influences and is influenced by action (Giddens,
1986).
From this sociological perspective, which was later adopted in regional
economics, the institutional dimensions of networks can be explained
through the concepts of social capital, embeddedness and/or institutional
thickness. First, as a process in the building of social capital, networking
may take a considerable social construction effort in the forms of enduring
interdependent and reciprocal relationships (Putnam, 1993). Networks do
not guarantee that actors attain tangible and short-term objectives but
rather provide them with a reputational, taken-for-granted and cultural
frame of reference that constrains as well as enables their action. As an
alternative explanation, if a firm (or an actor in the broadest sense) is
embedded within a network, its action and opportunities are shaped by this
social relationship and, thus, its motivation moves away from the narrow
pursuit of profit (or other short-term, tangible and material) gains towards
the enrichment of this relationship through trust and reciprocity (Uzzi,
1996). In another conceptual understanding, if a given region (or a society)
Policy network and institutional capacity 63

has a ‘thick’ network form of social relations, there may be high levels of
contacts, cooperation and interchanges embodied in shared rules,
conventions, and knowledge which serve to constitute a supporting
contextual environment for regional development (or social progress) (Amin
& Thrift, 1994). In short, these three overlapping concepts lead us towards
the perception that networks can be regarded as a form of institution and,
accordingly, networking can be seen as an important aspect of institution
building.
Networks have the ability not merely to channel shared (informational)
power but moreover to function as institutions. As Castell (2003, p. 427)
concludes, ‘these networks do more than organising activity and sharing
information. They are the actual producers, and distributors, of cultural
codes’, which may construct new institutions. In explaining this argument,
transactional and historical institutionalism has focused on the reasons how
the existence of such networks may increase the potential costs for
opportunist action and manifest past success in collaborative action
(Putnam, 1993). Meanwhile, sociological institutionalism, as far as the
current study is concerned, moves away from this pre-existent feature and
constraining functions of networks towards its reflexive construction and
framing functions.
How do the constructed networks transform into those functioning as
institutional reference gaining the capacity of framing action? First,
Granovetter (1973) describes the unique capacity of these networks through
the concept of ‘weak ties’, referring to ideal open, horizontal, informal
network forms of social relations. Weak ties tend to link weak groups of
actors rather than strong ones. Different and fragmented strong ties are not
linked altogether but bridged through indirect contacts promoted by these
weak ties. This contextual richness of weak ties builds a cohesive community
thus collaborative action more likely to happen (M. S. Granovetter, 1973).
Furthermore, the ‘loosely coupled’ relationships promoted by networks
combine this contextual richness with a degree of flexibility. Both unique
features may increase the ability of networks to learn and change (Amin &
Thrift, 1994). This learning capacity is required to produce innovative social
action. These combined features also facilitate the construction as well as
mobilisation of knowledge. It is argued that the knowledge passed through
networks is relatively ‘freer’ than that which flows in formal organisational
hierarchies and ‘thicker’ than that captured through independent external
resources (Grabher, 1993b).
Potential application of this new institutional approach to networks in
environmental planning and management as the capacity building process is
64 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

presented as the conceptual framework of the current study (Figure 5.1).

First, network forms of social relations might already exist among actors
resulting from a long period of interdependent and reciprocal interactions.
When a planning debate is emerging, escalating and extending beyond
formal decision-making boundaries, these networks are (re)constructed,
activated, coordinated and strengthened by participating actors.
Furthermore, the networks channel and mobilise discursive knowledge,
empower the role of marginalised actors, and encourage learning and
innovation in the decision making. These three aspects result in an enhanced
institutional capacity of governance that is more inclusive, adaptive and
responsive to the unique challenges of peri-urban change.

Planning debate

Existing social
capital/ institutional Policy Regional actors
‘thickness’ network
empowerment

learning and
mobilisation
‘Weak ties’

innovation
Discourse

Decision

Institutional capacity

Figure 5.1 A policy network approach to peri-urban capacity building

5.3 Dago-Lembang road development proposal

Planning’s institutional capacity may be tested and evaluated when episodes

of debate between urban growth coalition and environmental advocates
emerge. An episode of debate consists of a series of interconnected discussion,
conflict and strategy and decision making that embody capacity building
Policy network and institutional capacity 65

potential and that are situated in particular socio-political contexts. As

introduced in Chapter 2, a rich history of such episodes can be found in the
peri-urban area of NBA. The episode of debate on the Dago-Lembang road
development proposal, as an integrated part of the lengthy debate on
preserving the ecological functions of NBA, was chosen as the case for this
particular study because of the significant role of policy networking in
reshaping the formal decision making process.
Lembang is a tourist town located at the heart of NBA, 15 kilometers to
the north of Bandung City. Currently there is only one major road – Jalan
Setiabudi – connecting Lembang and Bandung City. The provincial
government has long argued that the capacity of the existing road could no
longer meet the transport demand along the Bandung-Lembang corridor.
Therefore, an alternative road was frequently suggested by the province in
order to solve the traffic jam along the road. The road development idea was
also aimed at reducing the fragmented, sporadic and uncontrolled road
development by private developers. Furthermore, since Lembang functions
as the main tourist destination in BMA, the road development was also
expected to further stimulate economic growth and regional development.
Land use along the proposed trajectory was dominated by protected
forests with steep elevation, followed by agricultural areas and irregular
settlements (kampongs). In 2003, around 4,763 families lived along the
corridor with 20.74 percent of them categorised as very poor families. Most
of them worked in the agricultural and service sectors. Around one-fourth of
the working-age groups were unemployed or worked on an irregular basis.
The province’s discourse to build the alternative road took shape since
1976. However, it was never realised into a detailed project proposal due to
resistance from the environmental society, lack of budget and leadership
transitions in the provincial executive and legislative bodies (Hardiansah,
2005). The discourse was revisited in the early 2000s and first proposed
formally to the provincial legislative assembly in 2002. Later the
government also identified seven possible trajectories for the proposed
alternative road (Figure 5.2). Those trajectories were built on the existing
networks of local roads. The government wanted to transform one of those
networks into a new major/regional road.
In a further attempt, a feasibility study (Kajian Rencana Pembangunan
Jalan Alternatif Bandung-Lembang, 2002) was prepared by the province’s
Regional Development Planning Board (Bappeda) in direct consultation
with LPPM (now LAPI), a business company owned by ITB – a leading
research university in the region. The study was aimed at suggesting the
most feasible alternative among the seven possible trajectories. Included in
66 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

the study were environmental, accessibility, regional, social, and cost-benefit

analyses. Based on this technical study, Trajectory 5 (Lembang-Tahura-
Dago-Bandung) was selected as the best alternative. It was considered as the
shortest route with the least socio-economic costs.

Figure 5.2 Map showing possible trajectories for the new Dago-Lembang Road

Next, the provincial executive resubmitted the road development

proposal to the assembly, to be included in the province’s annual budget of
2004. Paralleling this formal procedure, the executive also actively made
public statements, conducted information sessions, and held meetings with a
number of NGOs and experts. The meeting with NGOs could be seen as an
attempt to gain public support and clarify the position of the project within
the broader society.
Policy network and institutional capacity 67

Public reaction to the proposed plan was very strong. It started from
outside of this parliamentary arena where a number of environmental NGOs
and academicians pushed the assembly to reject the plan. They accused the
road development plan of paving the way for the private developers, whose
uncontrolled action might harm the ecological functions of NBA. This
project was also considered unnecessary, since the traffic jam along the
existing road could be solved by improving traffic management at its critical
locations. Their particular opposition to the selected Track 5 was because it
would pass through the Great Park of Juanda (Tahura), which functions as
the region’s important buffer zone and wildlife preservation area. Together
with the legislative members, planners and journalists, they built an
informal policy network and actively constructed and mobilised this counter-
discourse through legislative hearings, informal forums, news articles, public
speeches, and demonstration.

Figure 5.3 A middle-income residential area along Dago-Lembang Corridor

5.4 The emergence of environmental policy network

The current analysis attempts to understand the dynamics of the governance

process in the debate on the Dago-Lembang road development proposal. It is
focused on exploring the transformative potentials of the environmental
policy network in improving planning’s institutional capacity. For this
reason, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants
involved in the debate on the project proposal, comprising government
68 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

officials, politicians, planners/ academicians, and NGOs. Here the main

researcher was not just a passive interviewer but also a close observer of the
debate for around half a year, through which he followed relevant
discussions and meetings. The information resulting from the interviews was
analysed using standard qualitative analytical techniques and compared
with other supporting data such as field observation, official documents,
minutes of meetings and articles in recognised newspapers. After situating
the actors participating in the planning debate, the analysis further identifies
the network forms of relationships among them. It also explains the aspects
of institutional capacity of the identified network, represented in
mobilisation of discursive knowledge, empowerment of weak ties, and
learning in decision making process.

5.4.1 Background of participating actors

Before analysing the network-building strategy, it is important to know the

background of its participating actors. Whilst the actors who promoted the
road development project centred on the provincial executive – with
potential support from private developers, those who actively opposed the
project tended to be more dynamic and spread among different actors. They
were affiliated with members of the provincial legislative assembly,
environmental NGOs, universities, and the media.
In general, the legislative assemblies in Indonesia function to enact laws
and to pass the budget plan, monitor the performance of executive bodies,
and accommodate and channel society’s aspirations. The authoritarian
regime of the New Order era systematically undermined the representative
functions of this legislative body. Meanwhile, democratisation euphoria of
the reform era tended to exaggerate its authority. Since then, every major
planning project proposed by national, provincial or local executives needed
to be approved, either legally or politically, by their respective legislative
assembly.
The effective provincial legislative assembly during the road
development debate was formed after the 1999’s National Legislative
Election. This first election in the reform era was considered the first
democratic election in the nation’s history since 1955. The assembly mostly
consisted of the parties that won the election. Each party or coalition of
(smaller) parties formed a political faction in the assembly. There were five
factions formed by the parties. In the beginning, the political factions tended
to be divided into those who supported the project proposal (three factions)
and those who rejected the proposal (two factions).
Policy network and institutional capacity 69

In Indonesia, universities, especially big or public research universities,

are more than just academic institutions. The universities have major
responsibilities in three areas (tridharma), which are higher education,
research and social service. Social service is a means through which the
universities use their knowledge and experiences, through their business
sector and research institutes, to contribute in solving broader societal
problems. There were two major (public) universities in the region whose
institutes and business sectors were involved in the debate on the road
development proposal: ITB and Unpad. They were divided in their position.
First, LPPM, the business sector of ITB, served as a private planning
consultant for the provincial executive body thus backing up the project.
Meanwhile, the Research Institute for the Environment (Lemlit) Unpad and
the Urban Planning and Design Laboratory (Rangkot) ITB opposed the
project.
In addition to these modern organisations, following democratisation
policies of the reform era, NGOs and the media grew dramatically both in
number and size and played an increasing influence in Indonesian society.
Some environmental NGOs were built on weak idealism and thus pragmatic
in their action. In Indonesia, such NGOs are called plat merah, implying a
relative reliance on government’s financial aid and political backing in their
operation and thus tended to support every government project.
Nevertheless, their number in the region was relatively small because most of
the leading environmental NGOs originated from within the society.
According to the assembly’s research team, among 15 NGOs formally invited
to the hearings, only one supported the project. The rest led the resistance.
Their self-motivated idealism was built on relatively independent socio-
political positions and strong grass-root support.
Finally, the press, considered as the fourth pillar of democracy, was also
equally important in shaping public opinion due to its wide audiences and its
perceived reputation of neutrality. It was rather difficult, at least based on
their news contents, to categorise which newspaper agencies in the region
supported the project and which opposed it. This vagueness was partly
because maintaining the principle of ‘both sides should cover the story’ was
important for any media in order to survive. Fortunately, each media had a
level of subjectivity and was amenable to influence by others. This potential
was used by the resistant NGOs to reshape the public opinion.
The preceding paragraphs show that each of these organisations had
their own unique and complementary functional strengths in their attempts
to thwart the proposal. They also make clear that these organisations tended
70 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

to be divided in their positions thus not all of their elements proactively

opposed the project.

5.4.2 The networking strategy

In responding to the project proposal, the actors identified in the previous

section did not act independently but tended to link with each other through
a multi-scale network. The relationships emerging within the network can be
divided into intra-, inter-, and extra-organisational relationships. Intra-
organisational relationship, for example, characterised the connection
between members of the legislative assembly. Meanwhile, inter-
organisational relationships predominantly constructed the network of
environmental NGOs. At the highest scale, the four different types of actors
were bounded by extra-organisational relationships. At this scale, the NGOs
tended to act strategically as a bridge between the legislative assembly, the
research institutes and the press.
Against this network form of relationships, there were formal/
hierarchical relationships between the provincial executive and the
legislative assembly. Meanwhile, market/professional relationship was likely
to occur between the executive and the university’s planning consultant
(LPPM ITB). From the interviews conducted, there were indications of a
potential clientelist relationship between the executive and the private
sector, especially private developers. Nevertheless, since the chapter focuses
on the role of networking, the last three types of relationships are treated as
a context for this study and, thus, not identified further in the analysis. The
interactions between these four different types of extra-organisational
relationships are presented in Figure 5.4.
The building of this network was often triggered by conflicts of policy
values in the planning debate and evolved as the debate escalated. The
network was first initiated in the form of a discursive-coalition between
actors (key persons) rather than in the form of formal-hierarchical and
contractual cooperation between the organisations to which the actors
affiliated to. As one of the NGO’s leaders recognised:

‘The relational pattern we developed in the coalition building was not between
institutions but was rather by “person-to-person”, between individuals who had
the same vision and moved towards the same direction … I spoke with the
persons who concerned, not with their organisations … because the
organisation’s policies sometimes didn’t in line with the individual’s policies’
(Interview 3).
Policy network and institutional capacity 71

In the legislative assembly, it was not the political factions but their
members who actively started relationships with the environmental activists
and observers (and not with their affiliated NGOs). The activists also
networked with the academicians and planners (and not necessarily with
their universities) and the journalists and editors (and not formally with
their agencies).

Universities

The The
NGOs
media executive Developers

The
assembly

Network Hierarchy Market (potential)

clientelism
Figure 5.4 Dominant extra-organisational relationships in the debate on Dago-
Lembang road development planning proposal

As an extension to the formed coalition, the network also attempted to

reach a broader range of participants by encouraging more loose coupled
relationships. For instant, some NGOs within the coalition continued to keep
good contact with other NGOs that had the same understanding but
hesitated to proactively join in. This ‘weak’ relationship is indeed considered
as a major strength of networks (Grabher, 1993b; M. S. Granovetter, 1973).
For example, the head of the experts’ assembly of DPKLTS – a leading
environmental NGO in the region – realised that by promoting such informal
relationships, more people from different backgrounds could be connected
and thus stronger arguments and discourses could be constructed:

‘Initially, we thought of a formal form, but it was not preferable because such a
form is rigid ... DPKLTS was created as a loose organisation, without formal ties.
We have a very loose experts’ assembly. The movement is never restricted, but
they are qualified persons. We succeeded to invite retired research fellows and
professors with high qualifications … All people knew that our database was
surprisingly more comprehensive. Therefore, our statements became
consideration … The weakness of ITB’s team was that they appointed only
72 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

persons who were working on behalf of the project ... they worked very sectoral.
During the debate in the province and the assembly, it was very apparent that
we reviewed it comprehensively while ITB reviewed it only from civil engineering
perspectives. Therefore, their analysis was backed by the political power but ...
we had our own consumers’ (Interview 4).

The relationships among the actors opposing the project were not based
on pragmatic political bargaining but rather on mutual understanding and
reciprocity. Such interdependent relationships, for example, were described
by a member of the legislative assembly:

‘I didn’t need lobbying; I only gave information. Then, they (the NGOs) played
it. I was, you know, from the inside. I blew up the issues. They pushed the issues
from the outside. We accommodated from the inside’ (Interview 2).

There was an exchange of information, ideas and other intangible

resources in the network (Table 5.1). This exchange was the result of the
complementary strengths between the actors. For example, the members of
the legislative assembly continuously provided the activists with data and
information about the project. In return, the activists, due to their ‘thick’
network, provided the former with access to the planners and journalists,
and built social pressure. As another example, the activists informed the
journalists about newsworthy events to fill the newspaper pages. In return,
the journalists reserved some article space for the activists to disseminate
their discourse in order to reshape public opinion. In a similar fashion, the
planners and academicians supplied the activists with research outputs and,
by the same token, the activists offered them access to the events where they
could strategically disseminate their research findings. In such a reciprocal
type of exchange, as the head of the experts’ assembly of DPKLTS stressed,
it was not immediate organisational gains that needed to be measured, but
rather the attainment of a shared objective of the discourse, which was to
prevent the road development project from being realised:

‘… The claim issue was not a concern since the most important was the result.
Such an understanding must exist. His (a member of the legislative assembly)
data was not possible to be publicised if it wasn’t connected with the experts, the
press and the grass-root society’ (Interview 3).
Policy network and institutional capacity 73

Table 5.1 Exchange of resources among the actors participating in the debate on
Dago-Lembang road development proposal

To: Environmental Politicians/ Academicians/ Journalists

activists decision planners
From: makers

Environmental External Discussion News events

activists pressure forums
Politicians/ decision Data, Legislative News events/
makers information hearings topics
Academicians/ Research Consultation News topics
planners outputs
Journalists News/article News pages Article pages
pages

In the beginning, the majority of the members of the legislative

assembly agreed to include the road development proposal in the 2004
provincial budget plan. The majority of the politicians did not realise the
broader consequences of the project proposal until pressure from the network
started to build up. Therefore, in the later phases of the decision making
process, the politicians gradually rethought their original positions:

‘In the beginning we didn’t know, only relied on the information given by the
executive ... The members who previously agreed, in the beginning they did not
know and did not understand. They lacked of information and misunderstood’
(Interview 7).

In response to the increasing social resistance, the legislative assembly

formed a research team consisting of their leading members. The task of this
team was to study the issues, listen to what people were saying and, finally,
formulate recommendations for the assembly. The research team was under
pressure to come up with its findings because the elected legislative assembly
was approaching the end of its five-year administration in 2004.
The exchange of ideas and information within the network fuelled the
operation of the assembly’s research team. The results threw more light and
persuaded the politicians to change their decisions:

‘… after we recognised our misinformation, we conducted research in different

committees. Was it true that the road development would reduce the traffic jam?
Apparently not! Construction of a new stretch of road was also considered
74 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

inessential – given the fact that the old road, although was not large enough, still
functioned. Then, after we conducted a fieldwork, we found that the project
would further confront with the provincial land use plan, which stated that 45
percent of the area should be maintained as conservation areas ... Further
impacts would be that, for example, it would attract the people and private
developers to construct new buildings on the roadside’ (Interview 7).

5.5 Discussion and conclusion

Peri-urban environmental planning and management in NBA has focused on

managing urban growth impacted by global neo-liberalism on the one hand
and protecting the quality of the environment, regional sustainability and
local cultural values on the other. These two conflicting issues require the
building of institutional capacity to transform governance styles to be more
integrated, flexible, inclusive and transparent. The case presented in this
chapter provides an example of how policy networking might contribute to
the building of such capacity.
The analysis of this chapter first identifies the construction of a
environmental policy network in opposing the Dago-Lembang road
development planning proposal in NBA. The building of this resistance was
part of broader attempts to promote the quality of the environment and
sustainable growth in the peri-urban area. The policy network was
constructed from social relationships that emerged from within and, more
importantly, among committed politicians, environmental activists,
academicians, planners, and journalists. They interacted with each other on
the basis of shared discursive policy objective of preventing the project’s
realisation. The network type of relationships can be seen in the aspects of
complementary strength, informal, horizontal and loose coupled
communication, and reciprocal forms of exchange.
Three major aspects of institutional capacity result from the strategy of
policy networking in the case study. First, the network was used as an
effective ‘infrastructure’ through which the discourse of preserving the
ecological functions of NBA was reproduced. The richness of ideas and
information flowing through the network strengthened the reconstruction of
this discursive knowledge. The extensive arenas produced by the network
also facilitated the mobilisation of this discourse. As a result, the discourse
did not only frame the acts of the resistance but reshaped the opinions of
other actors and the wider society and increased their awareness of the
broader consequences of the road development. By connecting network with
discourse, the close relation between this chapter and the next one becomes
apparent (Chapter 6).
Policy network and institutional capacity 75

In addition, it was also through the network form of relationship that

the vulnerable ties between non-governmental actors and environmental
advocates gained their influence in the formal decision-making process,
which initially tended to be steered by the pro-growth coalition. The
strength of this loose and dynamic relationship lay in its ability to reach a
wider range of actors and audiences.
Another important aspect was the network’s inherently embodied
innovative potential because learning, adaptation and change in the decision
making process were promoted. The provincial bureaucrats and politicians
would have found it difficult to change their position of supporting the road
development project if they were not pushed by the alternative discourse
and supplied with new ideas and information generated by the network.
Taken together, all these three aspects of capacity building contributed
to the improvement of governance attitudes thus becoming more sensitive
and responsive towards the issues of sustainability and the quality of the
environment on the edge. Such a capacity could affect not only the
achievement of short-term and narrow political objective of preventing the
project’s realisation but the future of the peri-urban areas and the region as a
whole in the longer term and in a more comprehensive sense.
Chapter 6 Discourse formation and institutional capacity: a
study on fringe transformation and environmental
conflicts in Indonesia 5

6.1 Introduction

Before entering the reform era of 1998, Indonesian planning practices have
been framed by top-down norms and standards, which were often detached
from the local contextual milieu. This situation drastically changed following
the commencement of the reform era, engendering democratisation and
decentralisation in urban policy and governance processes. As a result of this
fundamental change, the reproduction of planning ideas seems to be more
pluralistic, dynamic and discursive. For an industrialising country such as
Indonesia, this political progress can be an innovative as well as challenging
context for planning, particularly in remotely governed places with a lack of
governance capacity such as the urban fringe around big cities situated
within fast-growing metropolitan regions (Hudalah, et al., 2007).
In such places, the reproduction of planning ideas tends to be contested,
reflecting the contrasting tension of urban growth vs. environmental
protection; local economic development vs. regional sustainability; and
private partnerships vs. public control. It can be seen, for example, in the
case of Punclut, an urban fringe in the northern part of Bandung City, where
the planning debate has centred on whether to transform it into residential
and recreational areas or to revitalise its ecological function as part of the
region’s main water catchment area.
Past studies suggest that discourse formation, as situated, argumentative
and persuasive process of reproduction of planning ideas, can be a powerful
strategy in the contest of challenging existing governance styles and

5 An earlier version of this chapter was presented at the 23rd Congress of the

Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP): Why Can't the Future be

More Like the Past?, 15-19 July 2009, Liverpool, UK (Hudalah & Woltjer, 2009).
Discourse and institutional capacity 77

attitudes (Healey, 1999; Rydin, 1999; Throgmorton, 1992; Vigar, et al.,

2000). However, these studies were mainly conducted within the context of
established political systems of industrialised countries. Its evidence in
developing and transitional countries still appears as a topical aspect of
collaborative practices (Atao"v & Kahraman, 2008; Usavagovitwong &
Posriprasert, 2006). This chapter argues that the Indonesia’s transition to a
more democratic political system and neo-liberal economy implies the need
for more coherent studies on the theoretical and methodological
consequences of discourse formation in planning.
In order to make discourse works better in the planning of fragmented
and remotely governed places, such as Punclut fringe area, the current
chapter focuses on the institutional capacity that discourses can build.
Healey (1998, p. 1541) argues that discourses function as a knowledge
resource for ‘building an institutional capacity focused on enhancing the
ability of place-focused stakeholders to improve their power to “make a
difference” to qualities of their place’. If discourses can be that important in
planning, how are they constructed in the daily practice of planning? How
does their reproduction contribute to the improvement of governance
capacity in peri-urban areas? As an alternative perspective to the discussion
on policy network in Chapter 5, this chapter attempts to identify the roles
and functions of discourse formation as a strategy for managing conflicts and
building institutional capacity, referring to the improvement of governance
ability to promote social legitimacy of planning action on the fringe.
For this purpose, the chapter first outlines the notions of discourses and
their approaches and applications in urban and planning studies. It contends
that new institutionalism can strengthen the normative foundations as well
as contextual intelligence of discourses from which capacity building
potential can be better explored. Following the overview of land
development, planning and governance contexts in Indonesia in general and
NBA in particular (Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4), this chapter
provides the narrative of the planning debate on urban development and
environmental protection in Punclut, to illustrate how the concept of
discourse approach to capacity building may work in practice. Preceded by a
note on analytical methods, the analytical section deconstructs two main
competing discourses in the case study as reproduced by different networks
of planning communities from different social settings: the ‘garden house’
discourse and the ‘water catchment‘ discourse. The section further situates
the discourses in broader socio-cultural contexts. Particularly, the analyses
examine the extent to which discourse formation might enhance the
institutional capacity for innovative planning action on the urban fringe.
78 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

The conclusion of this chapter suggests that discourse formation may

contribute to the building of more conducive governance consciousness by
facilitating the interlinking of planning ideas with their socio-cultural
contexts, promoting marginalised issues into formal planning agendas, and
cementing fragmented social networks.

6.2 Discourse, new institutionalism and planning

In the last decades, discourse analysis and theory has influenced the
development of post-positivist urban planning theory. First, discourses can
be seen as a descriptive analytical approach to explain the influences of power
and social structures on planning (Richardson, 2002). Besides, discourses
have been utilised as a normative strategy for communicative planning
(Healey, 1997). Enhancing the latter idea, this chapter develops on the
institutional dimensions of discourses; on how discourses connect planning
ideas to their social contexts (Vigar, et al., 2000). As such, discourses may
influence a planning process by framing the ways in which agendas are set,
issues are defined, problems are understood and possible solutions are
delimited (Rydin, 1999).
Discourse can be defined as sets of ideas and concepts that are
reproduced in daily processes of a policy practice (Hajer, 1995). It is
constituted by sets of arguments, myths, metaphors or phrases, which are
transformed into more acceptable forms of policy language. Discourses play
a role in giving meaning to the complex interactions of material and social
realities. Nevertheless, the accurate relation between discourses and realities
is still contested. From postmodern approaches, discourses or language
structures in general, are perceived to represent, and thus to be inseparable
from, the realities themselves (Richardson, 2002). The approaches are
influenced by Foucault (1971, 1978) who views power as the pervasive aspect
of societal reality whose exercise is represented through discourse.
Alternatively, discourses can be perceived normatively as a communicative
strategy of using and manipulating realities to promote particular agendas.
Extending the latter idea, discourses are regarded rather as a medium for
making sense of the invisible structures of the realities (Vigar, et al., 2000).
Bridging the divide between material and social realities, discourse
theory corresponds with new institutionalism, a social theory dealing with
the cognitive and cultural analysis on the interactive relations between
institutions and action (W. W. Powell & DiMaggio, 1991). As emphasised in
Chapter 1, institutions are defined as more than just ‘visible’ structural
properties constraining behaviour such as formal bodies, rules, procedures or
Discourse and institutional capacity 79

norms such as the state, constitutional writings and the policy systems.
Away from this modern definition, institutions may also include abstract
templates such as routines, social symbols and cultural values that function
not just to constrain but to enable, frame and legitimise action (Hall &
Taylor, 1996). According to new institutionalism, such institutions are not
predetermined but socially constructed in daily practices. In fact, there is a
mutually constitutive process between institutions (structure) and action
(agency) in which the reproduction of institutions influences and is
influenced by action (Giddens, 1986).
Discourse is an alternative approach through which we can comprehend
how new institutionalism works in practice. Discourses essentially have
institutional dimensions, implying not just substantial knowledge but
institutional structure containing internal rules that frame action (Hajer,
1995). The meanings that discourses carry are also more than just linguistic
structures, which are often static and uncontextualised. Discourses also
contain social framework creating conditions for our thought,
communication and even action (Richardson, 2002; Vigar, et al., 2000).
The most essential concept of discourse approach for policy practices is
probably discourse formation or ‘doing discourse’, referring to the borrowing,
adaptation, transformation and/or reproduction of discourse by particular
policy communities for particular policy audiences situated in particular
institutional contexts. It can be a reflective, and not linear, process and,
according to Hajer (1995), it takes place at several levels of
institutionalisation. In the first level, sets of ideas, which are grounded in
particular social relations, are structured into coherent story-lines. Following
this structuring process, the story-lines are communicated, merged, and
consolidated by networks of policy communities so they become embedded
within daily policy practices.
The adoption of discourse formation in planning and urban studies has
followed two major approaches (Lees, 2004). The first approach is based on
Foucault’s works, which explains that discourse production is a process of
selection through the mechanisms of societal exclusion, prohibition and
constraint (Foucault, 1971). Following this, in planning practice, discourses
are seen as an unintended phenomenon, mainly reproduced as consequences
of constant political struggle for urban spaces (Richardson & Jensen, 2003).
Such discourses function to provide constraining conditions for planning
practice.
Using the Foucauldian approach, Richardson (2002) shows that
discourses can explain the political context for planning process. It is based
on the assumptions that planning is situated within a complex discursive
80 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

environment in which the relation between discourse, power, and knowledge

is highly apparent (Flyvbjerg, 1998). It is argued that ‘language, and how it
is reproduced in different places, is of critical importance in shaping events in
the world, and certain languages can reinforce power structures’
(Richardson, 2002, p. 353). By using this perception, planning is seen as ‘an
arena of constant struggle over meanings and values in society, played out in
day-to-day micro level practices of planning’ in which discourse is ‘an
element of both critical analysis and reflexive practice in planning’
(Richardson, 2002, p. 353).
The adoption of Foucauldian approach into planning entails several
weaknesses. As Richardson (2002) stresses, only the wider institutional
environment can reproduce and control discourses through systematic
exclusion of creating prohibitions, taboos and rationality attributes. The
approach leaves almost no room for a planning agency to play a pro-active
role in the process of discourse formation. Besides, since discourse is seen as
an explanatory mechanism, this approach, as Richardson (2002) observes,
cannot provide any prescriptive dimension for planning action. Further
critiques are the results of the inherent limitations of Foucauldian
approaches, including their oppressiveness, relational power neglect and
demystication of the meaning of rationality (Rydin, 2003).
As an alternative, communicative approach argue that discourses can be
proactively reproduced by policy communities as a purposive strategy for
promoting planning agendas (Healey, 1997). Further development of this
approach tends to perceive planning discourses as a result of complex
interactions between groups of policy communities, as discourses
reproducers, and their institutional contexts (Healey, 1999; Rydin, 2003).
Drawing on communicative approaches, Throgmorton (1992) introduced
discourses in the form of narratives about the future that can be used by
planners to persuade actors’ attention on the proposed ideas. Healey (1997,
1998) and Innes & Booher (1999) also frequently point out that
argumentative practices in general and discourse formation in particular are
an essential aspect of collaborative planning. Here discourses are considered
purposive, argumentative and persuasive systems of meaning embedded in
strategies for action. Discourses are produced proactively by groups of
planning communities around planning issues through communicative
actions.
Giving more emphasis on the potential of action, the communicative
approaches, and thus their purposive discursive approach, are considered to
provide a limited account on the roles of institutional settings as reflected in
the state, the economy and relational power (Huxley & Yiftachel, 2000;
Discourse and institutional capacity 81

McGuirk, 2001; Tewdwr-Jones & Allmendinger, 1999). To overcome this

limitation, Rydin (1999) proposes that discourses need to be better linked
contingently into the wider institutional structure in which they are
situated. As such, discourses, constituted by linguistic as well as broader
social resources, can bridge the structure-agency duality. Incorporating new
institutionalism, here Rydin (2003) tries to create a balanced position where
discourses are seen as structurally constrained as well as purposively
constructed institutional software. Discourses tend to be perceived as an
emergent social phenomenon, whose reproduction is contingent, incomplete
and engaged with complex governance contexts (Healey, 2007a).
In the light of new institutionalism, discourses have the ability to
translate ideas and concepts that are acceptable in the policy realm into
linguistic and, furthermore, broader socio-cultural structures. Doing
discourse formation, we actually use, engage with as well as reshape those
structures in order to reconstruct the frame of reference for socially
legitimate planning action. As Vigar et al (2000, p. 223) argues:

‘Policy discourses provide a language of representation – of space and place, of

local environments, of sociospatial arrangements and policy processes – which
can provide powerful images with a capacity to convince, to disseminate widely
and become key "referents" in subsequent policy debate ... Where power was
distributed among diverse agencies and loci of legitimacy, the capacity to
persuade became a key quality of effective urban and regional policies’.

The ultimate goal of discourse formation, as an important aspect of

institutional capacity building, is thus not merely imposing a planning
proposal but contributing to the transformation of governance attitudes that
hinder socially innovative ideas and action, which tend to come from outside
formal processes (Healey, 2007a; Rydin, 1999).
In order to open up innovative, hidden and marginalised issues, Rydin
(1999) suggests that institutional discourses need to be inclusively managed
and positively ‘manipulated’. Discourse management helps to identify
potential common sense as the basis for action. It also can transform
unnecessary conflicts into consensual images as a precondition for socially
legitimate action. In addition to bringing formally invisible issues to the
table, well-managed discourses also can fold fragmented practices into
stronger coalitions (Rydin, 2003). Such institutional potential of discourse
formation are assessed empirically in this chapter by reflecting on an
Indonesian case study of planning on the edge.
82 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

6.3 The integrated development planning of Punclut

Planning’s institutional capacity may be tested and evaluated when episodes

of debate between urban growth coalition and environmental advocates
emerge. An episode of debate consists of a series of interconnected discussion,
conflict and strategy and decision making that embody capacity-building
potential and are situated in particular socio-political contexts. As
introduced in Chapter 2, a rich history of such episodes can be found in the
peri-urban area of NBA. The episode of debate on the integrated
development planning of Punclut, as part of the lengthy debate on
preserving the ecological functions of NBA, was chosen as the case for this
particular analysis in which discourse formation play a significant role in
reshaping the formal decision making process. The episode peaked around
2004-2005, marked by the municipality’s proposal of a controversial
development planning project on the fringe, followed by a revision of the
municipal land use plan.
Punclut is an urban fringe divided by two different local administrations:
West Bandung District (582 hectares) and Bandung Municipality (268
hectares) (see Figure 6.1). Since the 1980s, the fringe has transformed into
one of Bandung City’s important recreation parks and tourist attractions.
Punclut, which in Sundanese literally means ‘peak’, has been associated with
a hill and its lower surroundings located around 10 kilometres to the north of
the city centre of Bandung. During the late colonial era of 1940s, the area
mainly functioned as a tea plantation owned by a Dutch company.
Following the nationalisation of Dutch assets in the early independence
era, the land tenure and the future orientation of Punclut became uncertain.
The tea plantation was gradually replaced by scattered kampongs
(informal/irregular settlements) and agricultural fields on which shifting
cultivation was carried out. Most of the local people have lived for
generations in these kampongs and their population was almost 12,000 in
2000 (Laporan Hasil Kerja Tim Koordinasi Penyelamatan dan Revitalisasi
Kawasan Punclut (Kep. Walikota Bandung No. 593/Kep.522-Huk/2004),
2004). Many are poor and mostly work on an irregular basis as construction
workers and farmers.
Discourse and institutional capacity 83

Figure 6.1 Location of Punclut

In addition to the uncontrolled squatting and kampongs, as a result of

the 1990s property boom in Indonesia, more than 40 percent of the land
under Bandung Municipality has long been reserved by at least three private
residential developers and only fractions of this land has been developed. The
municipal executive (Laporan Hasil Kerja Tim Koordinasi Penyelamatan dan
Revitalisasi Kawasan Punclut (Kep. Walikota Bandung No. 593/Kep.522-
Huk/2004), 2004) argued that the unexecuted land development permits had
largely contributed to the increase in erosion, sedimentation and air
temperature, the deepening of the groundwater level, and the decrease in
vegetation. Therefore, in 2004, the executive proposed a land development
planning project aiming at increasing the economic potential of Punclut as a
residential and agri-tourism area while, at the same time, revitalising its
ecological function as a buffer zone for the city. This integrated project
84 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

consisted of physical planning, land consolidation and certification, and

greening, complete with monitoring and control measures.
According to the planning report (Laporan Hasil Kerja Tim Koordinasi
Penyelamatan dan Revitalisasi Kawasan Punclut (Kep. Walikota Bandung
No. 593/Kep.522-Huk/2004), 2004), two main urban development concepts
motivated the project. The first was land consolidation and certification of
the scattered kampongs, which provided the existing indigenous people a
legal basis to cultivate the land. The concept was expected to increase the
people’s sense of belonging’ to the land thus assuring the sustainability of the
greening programme. The most important concept was integrated tourism
development, which tried to combine the agri-tourism and ecological
functions with residential development. The latter was a strategy to
accommodate the execution of the private residential development
proposals. The concept adopted the developers’ idea of ‘garden houses’
(rumah kebun), implying low-density houses (with at maximum of 20 percent
building coverage ratio) surrounded by vegetation (Studi AMDAL Rencana
Pembangunan Kawasan Wisata dan Hunian Terpadu Punclut Kota Bandung:
Analisis Dampak Lingkungan (ANDAL), 2005).

Figure 6.2 A scattered kampong (left) and ‘garden house’ under construction (right)
in Punclut

From the beginning, the project was considered controversial by major

environmental NGOs, experts and planners in the region. It was argued that
the project’s concept of promoting active partnership with private housing
developers had undermined the earlier government commitments to promote
community participation. It was also inconsistent with the local land use
plan (Municipal law no. 2 concerning the land use plan of Bandung
Municipality, 2004), which designated the area as a green area. Most
importantly, the project ignored the governor’s decrees and the provincial
Discourse and institutional capacity 85

land use plan that banned any new residential land development in NBA, as
the region’s main water catchment area.
The resistance increased when the developers started to build the main
road connecting Punclut and existing road networks. In fact, in the face of
growing public awareness of the project’s controversy, the municipal
executive proposed to revise a one-year-old local land use plan, allowing the
lengthy debate to reach its peak. The revision process was deemed to be
dominated by political bargaining and the result provided a more durable
legitimacy for the ongoing development process on the fringe.
Since Law No. 25 of 1999 on Regional Fiscal Balancing, municipalities/
districts have been conditioned to increase their reliance on local revenue in
executing their governmental functions (Law No. 25 on Regional Fiscal
Balancing, 1999). In practice, the political pressure to increase local revenue
often undermined peri-urban environmental and sustainability issues, since
their impacts were less apparent at the local level or could not be easily
‘localised’. Therefore, regardless of the strong resistance from both inside and
outside the local parliamentary arena, the urban development project in
Punclut was finally approved, although with some limitations and
preconditions.

6.4 Discourse and institutional analyses

The methods for analysing discourses used in the current study tend to
depart from formal discourse analysis, which mainly relies on policy
documents in reconstructing discourses. It is argued that, as most of the
ideas that constitute planning discourses are hidden from policy documents,
such textual discourse analysis cannot adequately represent the practice of
planning (Richardson & Jensen, 2003; Searle, 2004). Therefore, the current
chapter combines discourse and institutional analyses, whose task is, as
Vigar et al (2000, p. 224) suggest, ‘to locate policies in the social relations of
their production and consumption, and to “deconstruct” them to identify
their meanings, power and potential consequences in these contexts’. The
latter approach shifts from merely formal textual analysis towards the
analysis of the dynamics of governance practice around the formulation of
those formal texts. The analysis concerns ‘the ways meanings are made,
used, conveyed, disseminated and translated in the context of the
institutional relations which generate the interactive work expressed in the
discourses’ (Healey, 1999, p. 28).
The analysis first attempts to recognise the discursive debate around the
development planning project in Punclut and the revision of local land use
86 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

plan that followed. For this purpose, discourses are deconstructed into three
analytical levels: (1) linguistic representation; (2) story-lines; and (3)
discourse-coalitions. The linguistic level identifies the ideas, concepts and
arguments of different respondents (and/or their organisations) and how they
were interconnected with each other. On the basis of this ‘linguistic’
interconnection, the story-lines are identified. These story-lines evolved and
were reconstructed by different policy communities, constituted by those
respondents. According to Hajer (1995, p. 62), story-lines are defined as
‘narratives on social reality through which elements from many different
domains are combined and that provide actors with a set of symbolic
references that suggest a common understanding’. Through story-lines,
knowledge is clustered, actors are positioned, and, furthermore, coalitions
among the actors in given settings are created and maintained. Finally, the
analysis identifies how those story-lines reinforced, supported each other and
were coordinated and consolidated thus becoming coherent discourse-
coalitions that carried referential power for action. Discourse-coalitions refer
to the ensembles of sets of these story-lines and the actors who reproduce
them and the settings in which this discourse reproduction are based (Hajer,
1995).
The main operational method for deconstructing discourses is by
interpreting the transcripts of interviews and group discussions with key
informants who were directly affiliated or concerned with the project,
including government officials, politicians, planners, researchers, NGOs and
local leaders. As input for the analysis, the respondents were asked about the
planning ideas they advocated, their development and mobilisation, and the
ways those ideas were adopted or rejected during formal planning discussions
and hearings.
Furthermore, the analysis explains the extent to which the practice of
discourse formation in the case study has been used as a strategy for building
of institutional capacity, referring to the improvement of social legitimacy
for innovative planning action on the urban fringe. In line with Gidden’s
structuration theory, this institutional analysis identifies the extent to which
metaphors or phrases, as discourses’ surface that forms argumentative styles
and practices, have engaged with broader socio-cultural references, as deeper
and more stable institutional structure framing action (Healey, 1999). The
latter may include path dependence, local and national culture, modes of
governance, and social capital (Healey, 2007a). For this purpose, the
respondents were encouraged to elaborate further on the fundamental,
ideological, and contextual origins of their ideas and the extent to which this
situatedness had reinforced their capacity to influence the formal decision-
Discourse and institutional capacity 87

making processes. Further elaboration of the analytical methods for this

chapter is provided in Chapter 2.

6.5 Discourse formation around the urban development project

on the fringe

6.5.1 The ‘garden house’ discourse

Punclut entered the wider public debate from the early 1990s onward
because land development permits were issued for the locations that were
earlier designated by the regional and local land use plans as protected water
catchment area. However, the local planning discussions in response to these
legal violations were not started until 2003, when large sections of the land
had been reserved by the residential developers. More surprisingly, it was not
the issuance of the permits themselves that was formally discussed but
rather how to arrive at a compromise in the local land use plan. According to
the municipal executive, which was later reinforced by major factions within
the municipal legislative assembly, the former land use plan was considered
too idealistic and detached from reality as it was ‘less rational and less
dynamic compared to the city's inherent development potential and the
acceleration of economic and physical growth of the city’ (Interview 15).
The executive promoted a ‘planning is development’ story-line in which
it was not the development that should conform to the plan but the plan
itself that should be adaptable to urban land market demands. Given the
limited local public budget impacted by the 1999 fiscal decentralisation
policy, both the executive and the political factions argued that the plan
inevitably had to facilitate private investments around the city.
Consequently, minimised, flexible and adaptive rules in the plan were
required in order to accommodate the increasing roles of private parties in
urban development. These neo-liberal arguments provided the basis for the
revision of the one-year-old land use plan, which later became an important
legal justification for boosting the ‘garden houses’ project in Punclut.
In response to the claim that the project might violate major land use
plans and regulations, the municipal executive invited geologists to carry out
a study. The latter’s conclusion was that Punclut was unsuitable as a water
conservation area. Since the rocks beneath its soils are volcanic breccias, the
water only infiltrates to a certain depth and then flows downhill instead of
staying in the rocks. Nevertheless, as a hill, Punclut still functions as a buffer
zone for the lowlands. If there is a landslide on the hill, it will impact on the
lowlands. Therefore, the executive suggested keeping Punclut as a protected
88 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

area but with some possibilities for urban development, such as garden
houses
In line with the geologists’ analysis, the local people observed that
‘Punclut did not retain the flow of water but passed its course downhill’
(Interview 22). While many experts blamed the hill for causing floods and
drought in the lowlands, the local people countered by saying that, actually,
those who really run out of clean water were not the lowlanders but they
themselves who had to obtain their supply from the districts far away. From
the local people’s perspective, the poverty issue on the urban fringe had long
been neglected by municipal planning policies. As the result, there were no
legal land tenure, asphalt roads, basic schools and healthcare facilities, and
running clean water, all the amenities that were enjoyed by the people in the
city proper. Therefore, they developed a story-line that ‘the fringe was
marginalised’.
The local people supported their argument with the land tenure history.
According to the history, from the beginning, Punclut was designated by the
Dutch not as a protected forest but as a residential area for the former tea
plantation workers, most of whom have become the local residents:

‘For us, green means beautiful. We also want Punclut to become a green area
but, please remember that, becoming green doesn’t mean forest, because we are
not orang-utans, ... because for almost 60 years I live in Punclut, never has
Punclut been a forest’ (Interview 22).

Supporting the ‘garden houses’ project, the locals expected their story-
line to be adopted by the government for the first time:

‘They (the NGOs) said the people of Punclut would only become the spectators. I
said yes we could only see because there are housing estates … beyond what
these people can earn. But as long as we are allowed to see, we cannot leave the
land, meaning we are not thrown out of the land’ (Interview 22).

This statement implied that the local people also recognised that they would
finally be alienated because they were pawns used by the developers and the
municipal elites merely as a ‘political tool’ to show that there was indeed
public support for the realisation of the ‘garden houses’ project.

6.5.2 The ‘water catchment’ discourse

From the viewpoint of environmental experts and activists, improving the

green character of Punclut was crucial for the function of the Bandung Great
Discourse and institutional capacity 89

Basin as a water catchment area. The decrease in density of plants and trees,
as a consequence of the residential development project, might increase
floods in the city and the lowlands. That became evident when the project
started. Massive run-off down the hill caused floods on the city’s main
riverbanks, which had never overflowed before.

PUNCLUT GEDEBAGE TEGAL LUAR

LEMBANG BANDUNG

North Bandung Area:

70% DAMAGED!
South Bandung Area:
THREATENED!

Figure 6.3 Punclut, NBA and the Great Bandung Basin

This three dimensional map was prepared by the environmental advocates to illustrate the
critical ecological position of Punclut and NBA for Bandung Metropolitan Area
(Source: Suranto, 2008)

To the urban environmental advocates, due to its scale and geographical

proximity to the city, Punclut had become the emblem of planning
performance on the fringes around the northern part the city. As such, what
happened in Punclut would determine the fate of the rest of the fringes.
They predicted that if the developer was allowed to continue the
development in Punclut, others elsewhere and farther from the city would
follow. Therefore, regardless of the fact that the land tenure was still
uncertain, the fringe should be saved ecologically. According to this story-
line, whatever the consequence, the fringe should become ‘green first’. Later,
its socio-economic function as a tourism area could follow. Finally, the fringe
could be improved socio-culturally by encouraging participation and
providing the local people a better legal status upon the occupied land.
This environmental story-line was strengthened by the minority faction
within the legislative assembly. The political faction proposed Punclut as an
integral part of NBA, in order to promote the sustainability of the region.
Since the upland is shared by three other municipalities and districts,
90 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

Bandung Municipality alone could not make the decision about the fringe’s
transformation but it had to cooperate with the neighbouring municipality
and districts. As a specific reply to the executive’s proposal, the minority
faction commented that urban development planning should be integrated
and comprehensive, and not just to promote the economy. Urban
development is justified but it should be based on the vision of improving
the quality of the environment. Their story-line suggested that if the
environment is improved first, unnecessary costs such as pollution, floods and
drought will be avoided. As the result, prosperity, which is the main goal of
urban development, will indirectly increase in a longer-term perspective.
These arguments were reinforced by the urban planners and
academicians’ story-line that considered it essential to ‘keep Punclut green’
in the local land use plan in order to avoid uncontrolled urban development,
which might harm the function of water catchment. In opposing the land use
plan’s revision, they advocated that the plan by law could not be misused
merely to justify the issued land development permits. Instead, it should be
able to anticipate the trends of urban development in the future and provide
the interested and participating stakeholders legal certainty. The
anticipatory function of the plan becomes more crucial on the urban fringe
because it is more remote from public monitoring and control compared to
other parts of the city.

6.5.3 Exploring the capacity building potential of the water

catchment discourse

Since the scientific arguments had been undermined by the project’s

proponents, the environmental NGOs also developed their arguments based
on local templates. For instance, DPKLTS were aware that forests hold deep
meaning in Sundanese culture. They argued:

‘The Great Bandung Region, the Sundanese Lands, and thus the provincial
territory would progress if their forests were kept in a good condition. Forest is
not to be perceived literally, but as leuweung, which contains not only economic
resources but also socio-cultural, spiritual and other entities. Many scientists
defined forest as simply as “timber plantation”, whose value was in fact only 5
percent of leuweung’ (Interview 4).

Furthermore, they reconstructed the meaning of green space based on

this Sundanese cultural conception of leuweung. According to this
conception:
Discourse and institutional capacity 91

‘... the height of a mountain or hill is divided into three parts. The highest one-
third belongs to nature. It is called leuweung tutupan (forbidden forest). It is the
place where clouds are tied to and where it rains. In the middle one-third, which
is called leuweung titipan (entrusted forest), there is the living environment. Here
the plants and animals should not be disturbed. Its basis is biodiversity. In the
lowest one-third, which is called leuweung baladan (mutual forest), the humans
have the right to cultivate and develop the land. Here is the land for the dry
agricultural fields and settlements. So, in this Sundanese concept, never has the
top of a mountain or hill been transformed into urban settlements’ (Interview 4).

Although the ‘water catchment’ discourse-coalition was unable to force

the status quo at the local level to reconsider their ‘garden house’ discourse-
coalition, the extended planning debate had pushed the province to show
their proactive commitment to preserve NBA, considered as the region’s
main water catchment area suffering from declining environmental quality.
As a result, land use control legislation for the upland was drafted by
involving those who were concerned with the environmental quality around
Punclut. At the local level, urban environmental sustainability was also
increasingly becoming an important item on the political agenda. Learning
from the failure of preventing the project’s realisation, the environment was
used by a powerful candidate for the new mayor’s post as his major theme
during the election campaign.
In addition, the tough and lengthy debate around the project has fuelled
the evolution of a network of non-governmental organisations concerned
with the city’s environmental quality. Established by leading local
environmental NGOs, in the beginning, the network was named GALIB
(Gerakan Aktivis Lingkungan Bandung or Bandung Environmental Activists’
Movement). Its formation in 2001 was triggered by an earlier ‘garden houses’
project proposal in Punclut. The network actively disseminated and
mobilised the ‘water catchment’ discourse through research publication,
mass media opinion, lobbying, and demonstration against the ongoing land
development on the fringe. As the planning debate escalated, which was
marked by the municipal executive’s development project proposal and the
local land use plan’s revision in 2004-2005, the network enlarged and was
latter named KMBB (Komite Masyarakat Bandung ‘Bermartabat’6 or the
Committee for ‘Bermartabat’ Bandung Society).

6 ‘Bermartabat’ is an acronym for Bersih, Makmur, Taat dan Bersahabat (clean,

prosper, obedient and friendly). It was used by a Bandung mayor as a popular
slogan for the city’s vision in the 2004-2008 administration term.
92 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

The planning debate on the project’s controversy had substantially

transformed GALIB as a network of environmental scientists, observers and
activists into KMBB as a network of wider urban communities that was
concerned with broader and longer-term impacts of the city’s environmental
quality. The interesting point was that many of the communities which
actively advocated the urban environment actually came from outside the
environmental NGOs, including the disabled, traditional merchants,
labourers, the urban poor, cultural observers and artists:

‘They (the non-environmentalists) started to be interested in the project since

they looked at the fringe in a holistic, comprehensive way. What was the relation
between the project and the disable? It was related to their health’ (Interview
13).

As another example, the cultural observers worried about the loss of local
cultural values and an increase in socio-economic and spatial segregation
following the development of exclusive middle-class housing estates in the
fringe.

6.6 Discussion and conclusion

The tension between environmental improvement and urban development

issues has become a major challenge for planning on the edge of Bandung
City. This chapter shows that the interaction between the two important
issues can be explained by using discourse and institutional approaches. In
the case of the local planning project in Punclut, the ‘garden house’
discourse-coalition, glued by ‘planning is development’ and ‘the fringe is
marginalised’ story-lines, was effectively used by the municipal executive
and their allies to justify their predefined planning and development
proposals. Nevertheless, this interests-driven discourse tended to be coercive,
manipulative and its reproduction seemed to be linear, not reflexive thus
hardly contributing to the improvement of institutional capacity on the
edge. It could merely result in pseudo-connection with a broader socio-
cultural reference and produce a fragile, unsustainable coalition, as
illustrated by the pragmatic-opportunistic relationship between the
municipal government/the developers and the local people.
Discourse and institutional capacity 93

’GARDEN HOUSE’ ’WATER CATCHMENT’

DISCOURSE DISCOURSE
Biodiversity
‘The environment first!’
‘Planning is
development’ Spatial quality Sustainable development
Neo-liberal
Spatial justice Regional sustainability
Technical ‘The fringe is ‘Keep it green!’
marginalised’
history Community participation Rule of law
Urban green/
Social justice buffer zone

DISCOURSE(-COALITION)
‘Story-line’
Argumentative concept/idea

Figure 6.4 Dominant discourses in the integrated planning of Punclut

Meanwhile, in challenging this status quo’s discourse, the ‘water

catchment’ discourse-coalition, fastened by ‘the environment (and green)
first’ and ‘keep it green’ story-lines – although it was unable to resolve
immediately the main conflict at the local level, might better contribute to
the improvement of the institutional capacity for innovative planning on the
edge. This capacity developed in at least three aspects. First, it was initiated
by linking emerging argumentative ideas into structuring socio-cultural
reference, such as the Sundanese forest conception of leuweung, in an
interactive way. Compared to formal scientific arguments, such culturally-
embedded arguments were considered socially more acceptable as they
connected to the basic morals that framed the daily practices of the grass-
root audiences. As the environmentalists commented, when it comes to acute
urban environmental conflicts, ‘societies are not saved by science but by its
(socio-cultural) wisdom’ (Interview 4).
Besides, the ‘water catchment’ discourse-coalition attempted to bring
environmental issues into perspective in formal planning processes. While
these issues tended to be neglected in formal municipal policy formulations,
94 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

the discourse contributed to the building of local political awareness, which

could be seen during the mayoral election campaign, and stimulated the need
for more comprehensive action at the regional scale, as shown in the drafting
of provincial legislation for controlling spatial transformation in NBA. This
attractive capacity of discourse might weaken the perception that discourses
are an exclusive reproduction of knowledge (Richardson, 2002).
Finally, the ‘water catchment’ discourse-coalition also provided an
innovative reasoning for wider marginalised actors to join in and reinforce
the complex network of environment-concerned communities. This relational
building can be seen obviously in the evolution of GALIB/KMBB. This
mobilising capacity of discourse might undermine the claim that discursive
attack on the status quo tends to be reactive and, thus, fragmented and
powerless (Ockwell & Rydin, 2006). In short, these three functional aspects
of discourse to a large extent confirm Healey’s ‘institutional work’ of
discourse: justificatory, persuasive and coordinative functions respectively
(Healey, 1999).
 Chapter 7 Planning by opportunity: An analysis of peri-
urban environmental conflicts in Indonesia 7

7.1 Introduction

Attention to the notion of opportunity is currently emerging in research on

urban and regional planning and management. Building on the policy
window framework developed by Kingdon (1984), Buitelaar et al (2007)
illustrate that the interplays between institutional evolution (unintended
transformation) and institutional design (intended institutional set-up)
created moments of opportunity for the establishment of city-provinces and
land policy change in the Netherlands. Another study conducted in England
shows that the exploitation of the political opportunity structure, such as
the changing planning system, accounts for different results of planning
reform proposals (Cowell & Owens, 2006). Taking this into consideration,
Newman (2008) and Albrechts (2004) suggest strategic spatial planning –
which has so far influenced European planning theory and practice – to pay
more serious attention to this political factor in order to gain more success in
practice.
The studies cited tend to emphasise the external factors of opportunities,
looking at them as temporal resources and socio-political contexts that shape
strategies and chances for collective action. Both rational-historical analysis
in Kingdon’s approach and the structural analysis of political opportunity
treat opportunities as a ‘passive’ element in collective action. As such, little
attention has been given to the constructive potential of opportunities,
pointing to symbiotic interaction between structure (institution) and agency
(action). Meanwhile, Healey (1997, 2007b) suggests that the capacity to read

7 An earlier version of this chapter was presented at the International Conference on

Urban & Regional Planning to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Planning Education
in Indonesia: Positioning Planning in the Global Crises (PPGC), Bandung,
Indonesia, 12-13 November 2009 (Hudalah, Winarso, Woltjer, & Linden, 2009a).
96 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

and explore moments of opportunity may function as one of the critical

resources for effective institution building in a complex urban political and
institutional context, which is obvious in the planning of peri-urban areas
(Chapter 3 and Chapter 4). Clearly we need to know more about the
interactive, constructive dimension of opportunity and its institutional
capacity, referring to its ability to contribute to transforming governance
practices and consciousness hindering collaborative planning action.
The strategy of ‘making’ opportunity might be crucial for environmental
planners in Indonesia in order to improve the institutional capacity for
managing peri-urban change. For example in the North Bandung Area
(NBA) or Kawasan Bandung Utara (KBU), many policy instruments and
regulations have been frequently designed by governments in order to
harmonise urban growth and the protection of the eco-regional functions of
the peri-urban area as the main water catchment area for Bandung City and
its hinterlands. However, governance attitudes towards consistently
implementing agreed planning frameworks did not improve appreciably until
committed policy communities, both inside and outside the governments,
linked with each other to exploit political opportunities triggered by debates
on infrastructure and urban development projects affecting the future of the
peri-urban environment.
The chapter explores the constructive dimension of opportunities. An
emphasis is given to the active role of actors in seizing, prolonging and
extending opportunities by means of available knowledge and relational
resources, especially discourse and policy network. The objective of this
chapter is to understand the potential of opportunity as a strategic aspect of
institutional capacity. This conceptual understanding is applied in the field
of peri-urban environmental planning conflicts, with particular reference to
Indonesia. How did planners and other participating actors construct
opportunities and use them as an innovative strategy in dealing with
environmental conflicts and in protecting the peri-urban environment? How
did the practice of “constructing” opportunities contribute to the building of
institutional capacity in peri-urban area?
The basic arguments for this study are influenced by the concepts of
political opportunity structure in social movement theory and policy
windows in public policy theory. These concepts are framed by the
sociological institutionalism, resulting in a conceptual framework
emphasising the constructed dimensions of opportunity and its capacity-
building potential. Based on the contextual picture of peri-urbanisation,
planning and governance in Indonesia in general and in NBA in particular
(Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4), the method of institutional analysis is
Constructing opportunity 97

briefly introduced and then employed in two embedded cases of debate on

peri-urban environmental planning in NBA: the Dago-Lembang corridor and
Punclut fringe area. This analysis can support the discussion about network
and discourse approaches in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 respectively. The case
study analysis aims to apply the conceptual framework, which explains how
opportunities are constructed and how they contribute to the enhancement
of planning’s institutional capacity. Finally, a concluding section provides
the main findings and further remarks.

7.2 Political opportunity structure and Kingdon’s policy window

The concept of opportunity has been developed in at least two disciplines:

social movement and public policy. First, in social movement theory,
opportunity concerns the relationship between a group that acts collectively
and the contextual environment around it (Tilly, 1978). It generally refers to
constraints, possibilities, and threats originating outside the group, but
affecting its chances for successful collective action (Koopmans, 1999).
The theoretical development of opportunity as a social movement
approach has largely concentrated on the concept of political opportunity
structure. Tarrow (1994, p. 18) defines this structure as ‘consistent – but not
necessarily formal, permanent, or national – dimensions of the political
environment which either encourage or discourage people from using
collective action’. The main resources of opportunity are the state’s political
system, political allies and political elites. Tarrow (1994) argues that
opportunity for state-wide protests, lobbying or other forms of social
movements in a particular country appears if the state’s system changes,
influential allies shift or arise, or elites conflict with each other.
The concept of political opportunity structure has been used to explain
the surge and decline of various civil rights movements, the peace,
environmental and feminist movements, and national revolutions in modern
history all over the world (Tarrow, 1994). This structural approach has also
been used for cross-national comparisons of mobilisation patterns, strategies
and impacts of anti-nuclear movements (Kitschelt, 1986) and ecological,
solidarity and peace movements (Kriesi, 1992) in Western Europe.
Political opportunity structure has been able to provide historical
explanation on how opportunities evolve and shape collective action.
Nonetheless, it can be criticised for focusing on the political aspect as the
main resource of opportunity whereas social movement and other forms of
collective action may also be influenced by economic, cultural and other
broader societal aspects. Although the concept provides a powerful approach
98 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

for geographical comparisons, it is less helpful in explaining variations over

time (Koopmans, 1999). Meanwhile, it is argued that changing structures
within a place are more important to open the gates of opportunity than the
static differences between different places (Tarrow, 1996).
The dynamics of opportunity can be better observed by using Kingdon’s
policy window framework. Applying the bounded rationality of the garbage
can model (Cohen, March, & Olsen, 1972), Kingdon’s framework introduces
the logic of time as a unique and scarce resource for promoting policy
changes. The framework was originally used to explain the evolution of
health and transportation policies in the federal government of the United
States (Kingdon, 1984). The strength of this framework lies in its ability to
explain how policy agendas and alternatives are chosen under conditions of
ambiguity by assuming a temporal order in which the adoption of specific
policy alternatives is dependent on when policies are made (Zahariadis,
1999).
Central to Kingdon’s idea is the role of multiple streams and coupling
(Zahariadis, 1999). There are three separate streams flowing through policy
systems: problems, policies, and politics. Each stream is relatively
independent of the other with its own dynamics and rules. Policy windows
function as moments of opportunity for policy entrepreneurs to couple all
the three streams together (Kingdon, 1984). The windows are opened by
dramatic changes in problem and/or political streams, for instance, disasters,
crises, policy implementation feedbacks, swings in national mood, elections,
changes of administration and pressures from interest groups. The coupling
can dramatically enhance the chances for the proposals flowing in the policy
stream to receive serious attention from policymakers.
In comparison, the political opportunity structure sharpens the meaning
of geographical variations as a relatively stable context for social movement
whereas the policy window stresses the unique role of time as a dynamic
resource in the policy process. Both approaches emphasise opportunities as
spatial and temporal resources external to actors, namely, contextual factors
working beyond the control of participating actors. The approaches
currently may be helpful in explaining how and when critical situations
come about, but they cannot sufficiently suggest how actors can make,
prolong or extend them (Gamson, 1996; Koopmans, 1999).
Furthermore, applying the political opportunity structure approach
directly to environmental planning conflicts might be problematic. First, the
problems are not as structured or as radical as that in most social movements
but they are more dynamic and flexible. Moments of opportunities in
environmental planning conflicts are also more complex than policy windows
Constructing opportunity 99

because the three streams cannot be simply restricted and isolated but are
evolving and interlinked with each other. In addition, capacity building in
environmental planning entails not just pursuing short-term common
political interests or policy proposals but also contributing to gradual
transformation of governance practices and consciousness.

7.3 Towards a new institutional approach to opportunity

In order to provide more room for actors and to further solve the planning
application problem identified in the preceding, this chapter considers an
integration of the two existing approaches with the sociological
institutionalism. This type of new institutionalism refers to the sociological
theory dealing with the cognitive and cultural analysis on the interactive
relations between institutions and action (W. W. Powell & DiMaggio, 1991).
In this approach, as emphasised in Chapter 1, institutions include not
just ‘visible’ structural properties constraining behaviour such as
organisational bodies, rules, procedures or norms such as constitutional
writings and political and policy systems. Away from this formal definition,
emphasis is rather given to those institutions including abstract templates
such as routines, local knowledge, social symbols and cultural values that
function not just to constrain but to enable, frame and legitimise action
(Hall & Taylor, 1996). Furthermore, such institutions are not necessarily
predetermined but socially constructed in daily practices. There is a
mutually constitutive process between institutions (structure) and action
(agency) in which the reproduction of institutions influences and is
influenced by action (Giddens, 1986).
The sociological institutional thinking has increasingly influenced the
theoretical development of the political opportunity structure and the policy
windows. It is suggested that the policy windows do not just constrain but
guide and give meaning to action (Zahariadis, 1999). Furthermore, the
opportunities may provide an interactive link between structure and agency
(Koopmans, 1999). They are not necessaryly passive and structured since
people actively construct them. In fact, according to Gamson (1996, p. 276),
opportunities are contestable, vulnerable, often representing ‘a locus of
potential struggle, not a leaden reality to which we all must inevitably yield’.
This thinking implies that the concept of opportunity should shift its
attention from comparative and state-cantred analysis towards dynamic and
agency-centred analysis.
Such thinking implies that the concept of opportunity should shift its
attention from comparative and state-centred analysis toward dynamic and
100 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

agency-centred analysis. It is not the opportunities per se but the actors who
‘do the work’ (Lowndes, 2005). Opportunities need to be framed and
mobilised in order to be able to function as an effective resource for
institution building (Gamson, 1996). The historical, political and structural
dimension of opportunity needs to be linked with discursive, cultural, and
relational resources that are more embedded in the daily life of participating
actors (Koopmans, 1999). In Tarrow’s typology of the political opportunity
structure, this variant might be close to ‘group-specific opportunities’,
focusing on how specific groups mobilise and extend their knowledge and
relational resources by linking them with emerging opportunities that shift
over time (Tarrow, 1996).
Based on these theoretical arguments, the conceptual framework for this
chapter combines the political opportunity structure and the policy window
framework under the umbrella of the sociological institutionalism (Figure
7.1). It particularly attempts to retain the strengths of spatial and temporal
contextual factors provided by the two established approaches. These
external factors are represented by structure of opportunity and moment of
opportunity respectively. The former represents relatively consistent, stable
factors such as national political system and domestic political culture
whereas the latter refers to dynamic, less predictable, emerging factors such
as catastrophic events and opponents’ decision and action.
In addition to these contextual factors, knowledge and relational
resources are treated as key factors internal to actors that play a proactive
role in exploring, capturing, and translating the external factors into
powerful opportunities. Furthermore, the performance of constructing
opportunities can be assessed by its contribution in improving peri-urban
institutional capacity. This capacity can be seen in three major aspects:
mobilisation of knowledge (discourse) and relational (network) resources,
empowerment of weak entities and focusing of key actors’ attention.
Related studies have shown us that the collective process of constructing
structures and moments of opportunity carries several aspects of peri-urban
institutional capacity building. The first aspect can be seen in how, in
collective action, opportunities co-evolve with mobilisation of knowledge and
relational resources. First, opportunities trigger an innovative mobilisation
of these resources. As Healey (1997) argues, moments of opportunity
represent a crack in power relations or a situation of contradiction and
conflict. Such critical situations encourage people to recognise that they need
to work with different people (to build relational capacity)and to evolve
different arguments (to build knowledge capacity). On the other hand,
mobilisation of discourses and organisational networks builds new strategies
Constructing opportunity 101

and influences others to respond or participate thus expanding groups’

opportunities (Tarrow, 1996). While the structures and moments of
opportunities play as the external factor, in our framework, the knowledge
and relational resources are treated as key factors internal to actors that play
a proactive role in exploring, capturing, and translating the external factors
into powerful opportunities.

Moment of
opportunity

Knowledge and Constructed Structure of

relational resources opportunity opportunity
Empowerment of

actors’ attention
Mobilisation of

weak groups

Focusing of
resources

Institutional
capacity

Figure 7.1 An opportunity approach to institutional capacity building

As another aspect of capacity building, opportunities also imply more

institutional space and fewer constraints thus empowering structurally weak
and disorganised groups to participate (Gamson, 1996). The emergence of
opportunities opens the possibility for the resource-poor entities to better
contribute in institution building.
Finally, the constructed opportunities help establish priority (Kingdon,
1984) and raise actors’ awareness on particular policy issues. In this respect,
opportunities act as an ‘attractor’ that focuses actors’ attention on the issues
in the conflicts.
102 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

7.4 Institutional analysis

The institutional capacity for peri-urban planning and governance may be

tested and evaluated when episodes of debate between urban growth
coalition and environmental advocates emerge. An episode of debate is a
series of interconnected discussion, conflict and strategy and decision making
that embody capacity-building potential and are situated in particular socio-
political contexts. A rich history of these episodes can be found in the peri-
urban area of NBA. As Healey (2007b) argues, the rise of these episodes is
often triggered by moments of opportunity, or the ‘crack’ in power relations.
For this reason, the case study analyses are based on two such moments of
opportunity: (1) the Dago-Lembang road development proposal and (2)
integrated plan of Punclut.
In both embedded study cases, the institutional analytical approach is
used to understand the dynamics of governance processes and to recognise
their transformative potential. According to Healey (2007a), this
methodological approach may follow several analytical levels of
structuration and power: specific episodes, mobilisation, cultural
embeddedness and wider contextual processes. We are interested here in
analysing the interactive dimensions of opportunity, i.e. understanding how
actors proactively construct opportunities. Therefore, the analyses will focus
on the mobilisation level where open and inclusive knowledge and relational
resources play a significant role in promoting the capacity-building process.
Their main task is to track the process of constructing opportunities and its
potential contribution to the building of institutional capacity for managing
peri-urban environmental change in NBA.
For the main data collection, semi-structured interviews were conducted
with key informants in both episodes of debate, comprising government
officials, politicians, NGOs, experts and planners. Here the main researcher
played the role of not just a passive interviewer but also a close observer of
the debate for around half year, in which he followed relevant discussions
and meetings. The information resulting from the interviews was analysed
using standard qualitative analytical techniques and compared with other
supporting data such as field observation, official documents, minutes of
meetings and articles in recognised regional newspapers. Further details
about the data collection and analytical methods are provided in Chapter 2.
Constructing opportunity 103

7.5 The case of Dago-Lembang corridor

7.5.1 Dago-Lembang road development proposal

Lembang is a tourist town located at the heart of NBA, 15 kilometres to the

north of Bandung City. Currently there is only one major road – Jalan
Setiabudi – connecting Lembang and Bandung City. The provincial
government has long argued that the capacity of the existing road was
unable to meet the transport demand along the Bandung-Lembang corridor.
Therefore, an alternative road was frequently suggested by the province in
order to solve the traffic jams along the road. The road development idea
was also aimed at reducing the fragmented, sporadic and uncontrolled road
development by private developers. Furthermore, since Lembang functions
as the main tourist destination in BMA, the road development was also
expected to further stimulate economic growth and regional development.
The province’s discourse to build the alternative road began since 1976.
However, it was never realised into a detailed project proposal due to
resistance from the environmental society, lack of budget and leadership
transitions in the provincial executive and legislative bodies (Hardiansah,
2005). The discourse was revisited in the early 2000s and the first formal
proposal was delivered to the provincial legislative assembly in 2002. Later
the government also identified seven possible trajectories for the proposed
alternative road. Those trajectories made use of the existing networks of
local roads. The government wanted to transform one of those networks into
a new major/regional road.
In a further attempt, a feasibility study (Kajian Rencana Pembangunan
Jalan Alternatif Bandung-Lembang, 2002) was prepared by the province’s
Regional Development Planning Board (Bappeda) in direct consultation
with LPPM, a business company owned by ITB – a leading research
university in the region. The study was aimed at suggesting the most feasible
alternative among the seven possible trajectories. Included in the study were
environmental, accessibility, regional, social, and cost-benefit analyses.
Based on this technical study, Trajectory 5 (Lembang-Tahura-Dago-
Bandung) was selected as the best alternative. It was considered as the
shortest route with the least socio-economic costs.
Subsequently, the provincial executive resubmitted the road
development proposal to the assembly, to be included in the province’s
annual budget of 2004. Paralleling with this formal procedure, the executive
also actively made public statements, conducted information session, and
held meetings with a number of NGOs and experts. These informal sessions
104 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

and meetings were an attempt to gain public support and clarify the position
of the project within the broader society.

7.5.2 Exploring moment of opportunity, political structure and

capacity building potential

Following the executive’s moves, public debate as a response to the proposed

plan expanded rapidly. This provided a moment of opportunity, as
introduced in Figure 7.1, for actors opposing the project proposal to create
societal awareness on more fundamental issues, including the preservation of
the ecological functions of NBA and the improvement of planning’s
institutional capacity.
The exploration of moments of opportunity started from outside the
parliamentary arenas where major environmental NGOs built counter
discourse and lobbied the assembly to object the plan:

‘Actually lobbying was not in terms of calling for support but the opportunity to
speak up ... Actually all people knew precisely which ones were right or wrong.
The difficult thing was to create interactive and continuous dialogue that
constructed new comprehensive understanding. That was what we did’
(Interview 4).

First they deemed the project unnecessary, since the traffic jams along the
existing road could be solved by better traffic management along the
corridor’s critical points. Furthermore, they accused the road development
plan of facilitating the private developers, whose uncontrolled action might
worsen floods in the city and harm the ecological function of NBA as the
region’s main water catchment area. Their particular opposition to the
selected Trajectory 5 was because it would pass through the Great Park of
Juanda (Tahura), a major buffer zone and wildlife preservation in the region.
In line with the NGOs’ position, the environmental experts and planners
placed more attention on the lack of institutional support for implementing
environmental planning frameworks in NBA. It was exacerbated by the gap
between the government’s plan and society’s aspirations that had
characterised governance practices in the region. The gap was evident in this
debate where the government maintained its focus on the expected economic
impact of the road development while parts of society were concerned with
the long-term ecological functions of NBA. To the experts and planners, the
controversy surrounding the project served as a crucial moment of
opportunity to bridge this persistent gap by building better communication
and connection channels with the government and NGOs.
Constructing opportunity 105

The legislative assembly and its members claimed they were not involved
from the beginning of the preparation of the annual budget plan. Their
involvement only started after the draft was ready. They were not well
informed about the wider consequences of the project on the environment
until the debate outside the parliamentary arena escalated. The escalation
helped the politicians to realise that they were misinformed. It provided a
moment of opportunity for them to push for more inclusiveness and
transparency from the early stages of planning and decision-making process.

Table 7.1 Key actors and their motivations in the debate on Dago-Lembang road
development planning proposal

Key actor Motivation directing the moment of

opportunity
Project supporters
Provincial government Regional economic development
Developers Transport accessibility
Project opponents
Environmental NGOs Environmental conservation, sustainable
development
Experts and planners Linkage between government’s proposal
and society’s aspirations
Opposition political leaders Transparent and inclusive planning
process

In response to the increasing resistance within society, as a standard

procedure, the legislative assembly formed a research team, consisting of a
proportional number of representatives of existing political factions. The
task of the ad hoc team was to study the issues around the project, assess
public sentiments and, finally, formulate recommendations for the assembly.
Due to this strategic task, the formation of the research team functioned as a
major political opportunity structure for NGOs and experts to reshape
opinions of the politicians and society at large and to gather sufficient
support to reject the road development project.
Another important opportunity structure was the role of opposition
factions in the legislative assembly. As part of political reality, not all of the
politicians actually backed the executive proposal. In fact, several legislative
members and their political factions in the research team were genuinely
concerned about sustainable development, thus helping the resistance groups
to closely influence other members and factions from within the team:
106 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

‘... they (members of the legislative assembly) also concerned – for those who
really concerned with sustainable development. However, since parts of the
legislative members supported the investors and others, the most important
thing for us was how to use the opportunity. For us, the opportunity was due to
that they didn’t have mass power ... I objected, I gave arguments ... resulting
from research’ (Interview 5).

The politicians’ concern might have also been strengthened by the

national legislative and presidential election following that year. If they kept
supporting the project proposal, they would potentially be judged as an
‘enemy’ of the environment and sustainable development, which might lead
towards their loss in the next election. In addition to the freedom of speech
and an independent press system resulting from the democratic transition of
the post-Soeharto era, the peri-urban environmental discourse was also
facilitated by the assembly’s protocol that provided the opportunity for
relevant environmental activists and experts to speak up in legislative
hearings.

Table 7.2 Political opportunity structure for rejecting the Dago-Lembang road
development planning proposal

Political structure Opportunity

Formation of ad hoc research Reshaping assembly’s political position
team supported by rational investigation
Political factions Expanding policy network into the
legislative assembly
Legislative hearings Reshaping politicians’ opinions and their
political positions
Freedom of speech and Constructing and reshaping the opinion of
independent press society at large
National election Focusing politicians’ attention

The capability to use and expand such moments and opportunity

structure was crucial in thwarting the project proposal. For instance, as a
strategy of directing the research team, the environmental activists, experts
and politicians linked with each other, building a policy network through
which they exchanged information, constructed ideas and mobilised
discourses (see also Chapter 5). They disseminated their opinions through the
research team’s members, legislative hearings, informal forums, news
articles, public speeches, as well as demonstration. The network promoted
interactive and continuous dialogue with different actors and organisations
in order to construct new comprehensive understanding about the project
Constructing opportunity 107

proposal and the environmental planning of NBA. As a result, the research

team found that the executive’s proposal entailed more negative impacts
than positive ones. Based on these findings, the assembly recommended not
following up the project proposal.
Referring to the three aspects of capacity building potential shown in
Figure 7.1, it can be argued that the debate on the road development
proposal contributed to the empowerment of environmental activists,
experts and planners, as the weak actors in the formal decision making
process, and the mobilisation of policy network as an innovative relational
resource for capacity building. In addition, it also can be argued that the
debate helped to increase the decision makers’ attention on environmental
issues affecting the sustainability of NBA.
Prior to the road development debate, the government paid little
attention to peri-urban environmental issues, which could be reflected in its
annual budget plans. During the early processes of designing and legalising
the budget plans, the road development project and other urban
development projects were among top priority. The environmental policy
network stressed that the maintenance of such pro-growth policy attitude
might threaten the sustainability of the peri-urban and regional physical
environment in the long term. Yet, the policy makers and politicians did not
seriously take into consideration this new perspective until the debate
expanded and escalated. Since then, the pro-growth discourse was gradually
marginalised by the peri-urban environmental discourse. This discursive
shift provided an opportunity for other politicians to change their
perspective and join in the emerging policy network. Finally, protecting the
peri-urban environment became the priority among the politicians in the
research team, leading towards the assembly’s political statement that it
would reject the proposal which was followed by the executive’s decision to
call off the project.

7.6 The case of Punclut fringe area

7.6.1 Integrated Development Planning of Punclut

Punclut is an urban fringe divided by two different local administrations:

West Bandung District (582 hectares) and Bandung Municipality (268
hectares). Since the 1980s, the fringe has transformed into one of the city’s
important recreation parks and tourist attractions. Punclut, which in
Sundanese literally means ‘peak’, has been associated with a hill and its
lower surroundings located around 10 kilometres to the north of the city
108 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

centre of Bandung. During the late colonial era of the 1940s, the area mainly
functioned as a tea plantation owned by a Dutch company.
Following the nationalisation of Dutch assets in the early independence
era, the land tenure and the future orientation of Punclut became uncertain.
The tea plantation was gradually replaced by scattered kampongs
(informal/irregular settlements) and agricultural fields on which crop
rotation was carried out. Most of the local people had lived for generations in
these kampongs and their population was almost 12,000 in 2000 (Laporan
Hasil Kerja Tim Koordinasi Penyelamatan dan Revitalisasi Kawasan Punclut
(Kep. Walikota Bandung No. 593/Kep.522-Huk/2004), 2004). Many are poor
and mostly work on an irregular basis as construction workers and farmers.
In addition to the uncontrolled squatting and kampongs, as a result of
the 1990s property boom in Indonesia, more than 40 percent of the land
under Bandung Municipality has long been reserved by at least three private
residential developers. Yet, only a portion of this land has been developed.
The municipal executive (Laporan Hasil Kerja Tim Koordinasi
Penyelamatan dan Revitalisasi Kawasan Punclut (Kep. Walikota Bandung
No. 593/Kep.522-Huk/2004), 2004) argued that the unexecuted land
development permits had largely contributed to the increase in erosion,
sedimentation and air temperature, the deepening of the groundwater level,
and the decrease in vegetation. Therefore, in 2004, the executive proposed a
land development planning project aiming at increasing the economic
potential of Punclut as a residential and agri-tourism area while, at the same
time, revitalising its ecological function as a buffer zone for the city. This
integrated project consisted of physical planning, land consolidation and
certification, and greening, complete with monitoring and control measures.
According to the planning report (Laporan Hasil Kerja Tim Koordinasi
Penyelamatan dan Revitalisasi Kawasan Punclut (Kep. Walikota Bandung
No. 593/Kep.522-Huk/2004), 2004), two main urban development concepts
propelled that project. The first was land consolidation and certification of
the scattered kampongs, which provided the existing indigenous people a
legal basis to cultivate the land. The concept was expected to increase the
people’s ‘sense of belonging’ to the land thus assuring the sustainability of
the greening programme. The most important concept was integrated
tourism development, which tried to combine the agri-tourism and ecological
functions with residential development. The latter was a strategy to
accommodate the execution of the private residential development
proposals. The concept adopted the developers’ idea of ‘garden-houses’
(rumah kebun), implying low-density houses (with at maximum of 20 percent
building coverage ratio) surrounded by vegetation (Studi AMDAL Rencana
Constructing opportunity 109

Pembangunan Kawasan Wisata dan Hunian Terpadu Punclut Kota Bandung:

Analisis Dampak Lingkungan (ANDAL), 2005).
From the beginning, the project was considered controversial by major
environmental NGOs, experts and planners in the region. It was argued the
project’s concept of promoting active partnership with private housing
developers had deviated from earlier government commitments of promoting
community participation. It was also inconsistent with the local land use
plan (Municipal law no. 2 concerning the land use plan of Bandung
Municipality, 2004), which designated the area as a green area. Most
importantly, the project ignored the governor’s decrees and the provincial
land use plan that banned any new residential land development in NBA, as
the region’s main water catchment area.
The resistance increased when the developers started to build the main
road connecting Punclut and existing road networks. In fact, in the face of
growing public awareness on the project’s controversy, the municipal
executive proposed to revise a one-year-old local land use plan, allowing the
lengthy debate to reach its peak. The revision process was deemed to be
dominated by political bargaining and the result provided a more durable
legitimacy for the ongoing development process on the fringe.

7.6.2 Exploring moment of opportunity, political structure and

capacity building potential

The project controversy provided moments of opportunity for the

environmental activists and experts, politicians and planners to improve the
institutional capacity for peri-urban environmental planning in NBA. The
exploration of moments of opportunity was exercised at both the local as
well as regional levels.
First, Bandung Municipality has been criticised for its lack of policy
commitment on the provision of green space. With the proportion of green
space of less than 5 percent, the loss of any portion carried considerable
implications. Particularly Punclut’s role was considered very important since
it was the largest area of green space located near the city. For these reasons,
the debate on urban transformation in Punclut was used by the
environmental advocates, including the opposition faction in the municipal
legislative assembly and wider urban communities, as a moment of
opportunity to endorse green policies on the edge of the city. The role of
green space on the edge was perceived to be critical in order to improve the
quality of urban life by reducing the impact of air pollution and stabilising
the micro climate. It might also provide some measure of security from
110 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

natural disaster (especially floods) and promote sustainable urban

development.

Table 7.3 Key actors and their motivations in the debate on the Integrated
Development Planning of Punclut

Key actor Motivation directing the moment of

opportunity
Project’s supporters
Local government Urban economic development, local
revenue
Developers Legal justification, public support
Local people Improved basic services and urban
infrastructure
Project’s opponents
Environmental NGOs Environmental conservation, quality of
life
Experts and planners Linkage between technical planning
process and political process, consistent
planning implementation
Local opposition leaders Sustainable urban development, rule of
law
Provincial government Inter-local coordination, regional
sustainability

Furthermore, to the environmental activists and experts, Punclut had a

unique position as the only green part of NBA located within the
municipality’s jurisdiction8. As such, to the environmental advocates, the
quality of the environment around Punclut served as the last frontier,
symbolising the performance of environmental planning in NBA as a whole.
A member of opposition factions in the legislative assembly emphasised:

‘One of our fortresses was Punclut. If it is broken through, the northern part of
Ujung Berung and other Bandung’s upper land will also be broken through,
because other developers will follow’ (Interview 14).

8 In Indonesia, local governments are divided into municipal governments and

district governments. Municipal government (pemerintah kota) refers to urban
government, thus, in general, having a better institutional capacity in managing
urbanisation than district government (pemerintah kabupaten), which refers to rural
governments.
Constructing opportunity 111

This meant that the failure to restrain urban transformation in Punclut

would become a precedent for other developers to transform other parts of
NBA located farther from the city or in districts into new urban functions.
With the unique position of Punclut, the debate was used as a moment of
opportunity by the advocates to improve environmental planning’s
performance in NBA.
In mobilising the moments of opportunity, the environmental NGOs,
experts, and planners formed a policy coalition framed by a water catchment
discourse. The discourse was built on arguments linked to scientific
knowledge as well as local-cultural templates such as leuweung – the
Sundanese cultural concept of green space. The arguments attempted to raise
the awareness of society, policy makers and politicians about the critical
condition of the environment and green space in Punclut. Based on these
arguments, the ‘green’ story-line and ‘environment’ story-line were
constructed to rediscover the meaning of prosperity and quality of life by
revitalising the ecological functions of Punclut and NBA as a whole.
Through research dissemination, public speeches, social networks and press
releases, the broad objectives of the story-lines attracted wider communities
which had no direct interest in the environment, including the disabled,
traditional merchants, labourers, the urban poor, cultural observers and
artists, to join in with the coalition.
Throughout the debate, several political opportunity structures were
exercised by the environmental advocates. A modest one could be found in
the system of local legislative assembly, which allowed the existence of
opposition faction. The existing opposition faction actively pushed the
adoption of peri-urban environmental issues onto local policy agendas. The
democratic societal system of the reform era, which recognised the freedom
of speech and an independent press system, also provided the opportunity
for the environmental advocates to expand the water catchment discourse in
order to reach wider audiences.
Apart from these nationwide political factors, a major opportunity
structure was also inherent within the local political system, especially
through direct mayoral election. The debate on urban development in
Punclut had increased not only the environmental advocates’ aggressive
moves but also local opposition leaders’ and people’s awareness. It was
apparent that following the assembly’s approval of the local spatial plan
revision, environmental and sustainability issues increasingly influenced the
popular political arena. As an illustration, for the first time, environmental
improvement and sustainable urban development had been adopted as the
112 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

main theme in the political campaign by one of two nominated candidates

for the post of mayor:

‘We proposed Trendy (the candidate) as part of the efforts. The portion of
environment was 50% because it implied long-term impacts. If the environment
is improved and the traffic jam is reduced, the long-term prosperity will
indirectly increase’ (Interview 14).

Table 7.4 Political opportunity structures for rejecting the Integrated Development
Planning of Punclut

Political structure Opportunity

Political factions Pushing peri-urban environmental issues
onto local policy agendas
Freedom of speech and Expanding the water catchment discourse
independent press to wider audiences
Direct mayoral election Bringing peri-urban environmental issues
into local political agenda
Provincial government tier Framing peri-urban environmental
planning and management at the
regional level

A crucial political opportunity structure for building peri-urban

institutional capacity was also practised at the provincial level. Punclut is
administratively divided and managed by several local governments whereas
environmental planning of NBA is clearly a regional (inter-local) issue.
Therefore, with the non-existence of effective regional institutions,
coordination of local environmental policies in NBA became an undisputable
domain of the province 9. In this respect, the case of Punclut helped the
province to refocus its policy attention on the environmental planning of
NBA. In doing so, the environmental activists and experts pushed the
province to enact a law on spatial development control in order to enforce
the implementation of governor’s decrees, studies and plans on NBA. It was
remarkable that the environmental advocates, whose arguments were
considered weak at the local level, were finally heard and involved actively
from the beginning of the formulation of the provincial law. The law itself

9According to Law No. 22 of 1999 – later was replaced by Law No. 32 of 2004 – on
regional administration, the authority to manage inter-local issues that
municipality/district is unable to tackle should be given to respective province
(Government of Indonesia,Law No. 22 on Regional Administration, 1999; Law No. 32
on Regional Administration, 2004)
Constructing opportunity 113

set the rules and procedure for permit issuance, local land use plan’s
evaluation and granting of land tenure in NBA (West Java Province,
Provincial Law No. 1 on Spatial Development Control in North Bandung Area
2008).

7.7 Conclusion

Institutional capacity building is crucial for managing peri-urban

environmental change in NBA. This chapter argues that the process often
involves not only the mobilisation of actors’ internal resources but also
depends on the actors’ capability to reconstruct moments and structures of
opportunity as the contextual factors for collective action.
Moments of opportunity refer to the dynamic, emerging factors of
opportunity. In the cases presented earlier, they were represented in major
decisions and actions of a pro-growth coalition including governments and
private developers as the opponents of environmental NGOs, politicians,
experts and planners who advocated the importance of peri-urban
environmental conservation and regional sustainability. Two moments of
opportunity are explored in this chapter: the Dago-Lembang road
development proposal and integrated development planning of Punclut.
Political opportunity structures consist of relatively consistent, stable
factors of opportunity. In both embedded case studies, these are inherent in
the national and local political culture and system, parliamentary design,
democratic societal system and Indonesia’s decentralised government
structure.
The case studies indicated that these contextual factors carried power as
the committed environmental advocates in the region actively reconstructed
meanings out of the perceived opportunities. Although they might have
different motivations, they were connected with each other by a shared
common objective: to improve planning’s institutional capacity in NBA. The
process was expanded by means of available knowledge and relational
resources. While actors’ motivation functioned to fuel the capacity-building
process, the knowledge and relational resources provided the infrastructure
to reach the capacity-building objectives.
We have also illustrated three major aspects of institutional capacity
resulting from the practice of constructing opportunities. First, the
opportunities helped to mobilise discourse and policy network as relational
and knowledge resources for collective action. This was particularly reflected
in the development of environmental policy network in the Dago-Lembang
case and the formation of the water catchment discourse in the Punclut case,
114 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

as discussed in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6. The opportunities also empowered

the position of the environmental advocates who initially began as the weak
actors in the decision-making process affecting the peri-urban area. Their
performance can be seen for example in their active involvement in the
formulation of the provincial planning law on NBA. Finally, the
opportunities also guided decision makers and politicians to focus their
attention on peri-urban environmental quality and regional sustainability,
which have so far been marginalised in local political and policy processes.
The impacts were reflected in the provincial legislative assembly’s rejection
of the road development proposals around the protected area and the
emergence of peri-urban environmental discourses and agendas in local
politics.
 Chapter 8 The building of peri-urban institutional capacity

8.1 Introduction

This study has provided several institutional perspectives on peri-

urbanisation and its planning processes. First, it deals with the institutional
factors for peri-urbanisation and planning policy around Indonesian
metropolitan cities. Based on this contextual understanding, it further
explores how planning responds to the unique challenges of physical divides,
social exclusion, and institutional fragmentation in the peri-urban areas.
Particularly, under the theoretical umbrella of sociological institutionalism,
it analyses the potential of network, discourse and opportunity approaches
as innovative strategies for managing peri-urban environmental conflicts
and for improving institutional capacity in the planning of peri-urban areas.
In earlier chapters, we have presented the results of multi-level case
studies conducted in East Asia, Indonesia and, more specifically, North
Bandung Area (NBA). In this final chapter, we draw conclusions from the
results of these case studies. First, it revisits the findings of each case study
analyses and attempts to synthesise the findings. It then identifies the
practical implications for the planning professional practice, the planning
policy system and regional planning in Indonesia. The last section outlines
some unresolved issues for further study.

8.2 Urban transformation, planning and institutions in peri-urban areas

This section summarises and synthesises the findings of the analyses in the
previous chapters. It first explains the institutional factors for peri-
urbanisation in Indonesia and explores how these factors influence planning
policy formulation affecting peri-urban areas. Furthermore, it links the three
approaches/strategies of network, discourse and opportunity emerging from
the peri-urban environmental conflicts in NBA. The building of institutional
116 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

capacity is seen as a deliberative ethos of transforming undesirable

governance styles and cultures in peri-urban areas by linking networks,
discourses and opportunities interactively.

8.2.1 The institutional factors for peri-urbanisation, planning and

governance

This study views peri-urbanisation, while it is contextually shaped, as a

global phenomenon. Therefore, prior to examining the emerging approaches
to peri-urban environmental conflicts and capacity building, it is important
to know how global and domestic, indigenous institutional factors have
influenced the uniqueness of the peri-urbanisation phenomenon, planning
and governance in Indonesia.
In order to assess the impact of globalisation on peri-urbanisation,
especially the planning and governance system and practice in Indonesia, we
analytically differentiate between exogenous (global) institutional factors
and endogenous (domestic) institutional factors. Exogenous institutional
factors focus on the global neo-liberal political-economic systems and ideas.
Endogenous institutional factors can be divided into formal and informal
institutional factors. Formal institutional factors are centred on managerial
and organisational structures of government reflected in formal rules and
regulatory frameworks, while informal institutional forces are rooted inthe
basic features of political and governance culture.
We have seen in Chapter 4 that both endogenous and exogenous
institutional forces attempt to reshape the basic characteristics of the
Indonesian planning system. First, the formal institutional forces have
resulted in the comprehensive goals and scope and universal structure of the
planning system, while the informal institutional forces have maintained the
role of the central government in the planning institutional structure.
Finally, the influences of neo-liberal ideas tend to be partial and can be seen
in the development of binding approaches, the growing necessity for
metropolitan/regional planning, removal of government participation and
the introduction of zoning instruments.
In a similar manner, Chapter 3 analyses how institutional changes at
domestic and global levels have underpinned urban development and
planning practice in East Asia’s peri-urban areas. The multi-level
institutional changes discussed in the analysis include the growing influence
of global capitalism and markets, the rise of middle-class culture, the
reinforcement of clientelist governance tradition, and the weakening of
formal and centralised governance and legislation. Such institutional changes
 117

have not yet been adequately accommodated in the current domestic

planning systems. Therefore, regardless of its potential contribution to the
improvement of regional economic performance, peri-urbanisation still
entails undesirable consequences, including spatial segregation and
fragmentation and reduction of rural productivity and environmental
sustainability.

Master plan
wilayah kotamadya (80 Ha)

Kabupaten Kotamadya

68 Ha

80 Ha

Figure 8.1 The Master Plan of Punclut Integrated Tourism Area

(Source: BITA, 2004)
This private-led housing development project in North Bandung Area (NBA) provides
an obvious example of the impact of institutional fragmentation on peri-urbanisation.
The highlighted southern part of the project area (right), with total area 80 ha, is
administered by an urban government (kotamadya). Meanwhile the remaining 68 ha
(left), the northern part, is administered by a rural government (kabupaten).

It is found that the undesirable implications of spatial transformation in

peri-urban areas have reflected the fragmented institutional landscape
prevailing in these areas. As transitional zones between rural and urban
administrations, those areas face a weakened governing power (for an
illustration, see Figure 8.1). While the central government is too remote to
reach those areas, the local governments have an inadequate capacity to
formulate and implement required planning policies. At the same time,
118 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

regional authorities are still poorly established. Ineffectiveness also occurs as

fragmented rural authorities are pushed to adapt to an early urbanisation.
All these institutional conditions encourage the private enterprises, which
have strong links with global capitalism and the markets, to take over parts
of physical development and planning, which are often uncoordinated at
higher levels.
By comparing the analytical results of the two chapters, it can be
inferred that the comprehensive planning system and formal institutional
arrangements face the challenges of global neo-liberal ideologies and
persisting clientelist governance tradition, which increasingly frame the
urban development and planning practice in peri-urban areas. For example,
the 1945 Constitution requires the government to redistribute the cultivation
of land and space at a considerable level but this requirement has been
undermined by the global neo-liberal tension to withdraw government
participation in urban and infrastructure development. In practice, it is
difficult for the government to redistribute such vital resources since they
lack institutional as well as financial capacity to control them. Besides, the
normative, comprehensive and blue-print planning styles are unable to deal
with the pragmatic, discretionary, and acute clientelist governance practice
largely operating in peri-urban areas.
It can be concluded that global as well as domestic institutional factors
have shaped the current peri-urbanisation, planning and governance in
Indonesia. Furthermore, the complexity of these institutional contexts has
created a substantial gap between urban development and planning practice
and the planning system affecting peri-urban areas, in which the transition
in the planning system and other formal institutional arrangements is still
unable to effectively address the undesirable consequences of reinforced
clientelist governance culture and unanticipated global neoliberal ideas that
have largely contributed to the uncontrolled transformation in peri-urban
areas.

8.2.2 Peri-urban planning approaches and institutional capacity

building

The previous section implies that the key planning issues that should be
dealt with have been related to the acute clientelist governance culture and
the increasing influence of global neo-liberal urban development ideology.
These problems of governance and development processes require planning
to put more attention upon implementation, execution and realisation rather
than on plan formulation aspects. It is argued that a large part of planning
 119

implementation issues can be addressed by focusing on the political

dimensions of planning, including organisational and institutional aspects
(Louis Albrechts, 2003a, 2003b; Alexander, 2005; Kitchen, 1997; Meyerson &
Banfield, 1955). As such, our focus on applying institutional approaches can
contribute in bridging the gap between plan-making and its implementation.
Guided by sociological institutionalism, we have explored the potential
of network, discourse and opportunity in producing innovative approaches
to peri-urban planning. As briefly reviewed in earlier chapters, historical
institutionalism, Foucauldian approaches and post-modern planning theories
have long emphasised the structural formation of policy network, discourse
and opportunity (Flyvbjerg, 1998; Huxley & Yiftachel, 2000; Immergut,
1998; P. M. McGuirk, 2001). Meanwhile, our analyses show that these social
resources are not necessarily structured by history but, at the same time,
they have been reconstructed throughout planning and governance processes.
For example, the debates on the Dago-Lembang road development and
Punclut could not instantly become important moments for building
awareness on preserving NBA but committed environmental advocates and
planners actively reconstructed meanings out of these perceived moments.
Although they might have different motivations, they were connected with
each other by shared common objectives: to improve planning’s institutional
capacity in NBA. The process was expanded by means of discourses and
networks. While actors’ motivation functioned to fuel the capacity-building
process, discourses and networks provided the infrastructure to reach the
capacity-building objectives.
Policy network, discourse and opportunity function not only to resolve
peri-urban environmental conflicts but to contribute to the building of
institutional capacity in peri-urban areas. The notion of institutional
capacity implies the ability of governance not to merely reduce unnecessary
transaction costs or constrain undesirable actions but, more importantly, to
promote social acceptance and legitimacy of emerging, innovative planning
ideas, strategies, frameworks, and action affecting peri-urban area.
Moreover, the focus on opportunity, network and discourse implies that the
building of institutional capacity does not always start from the formal
planning process set up by the government and professional planners but can
emerge from informal day-to-day practices involving wider participants
outside the formal planning community.
As illustrated by Figure 1.1, past studies have been inclined to emphasise
the building of institutional capacity as mobilisation of discourse and policy
network as the main resources internal to agency’s action (Gualini, 2001;
Healey, 1998; Rydin, 2003; Vigar, et al., 2000). Meanwhile, our case study
120 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

analyses imply that the internal resources in the forms of discourse and
policy network need to be coupled with moment and structure of
opportunity as a resource external to actors in order to make institutional
capacity building work (Figure 8.2). Such coupling may be able to reinforce
the earlier agency-centred approach, which has been criticised for its limited
attention on the role of broader institutional settings reflected in the state,
the economy and power (Huxley & Yiftachel, 2000; P. M. McGuirk, 2001;
Tewdwr-Jones & Allmendinger, 1999).
A clear example of this coupling would be the urban environmental
discourse-coalition in the Punclut project and the environmental policy
network in the Dago-Lembang project. The network and coalition were able
to minimise or to marginalise the growth coalition hegemony by exploring
strategic moments such as debate escalation on protecting the
watercatchment area, shifts in societal moods (growing societal interests on
quality of life and regional sustainability) and natural disasters (floods
affecting the city, landslides in peri-urban areas). In addition, they also drew
on the political structures in the forms of local and regional elections, local
and regional political coalitions, elites’ constellations, government
organisational structure, and the institutional arrangements of Indonesia’s
democratic society.

External resources

Moments and structures of opportunity

Regional and Improved

local actors’ institutional
motivation capacity

Planning policy networks – discourses

Internal resources

Figure 8.2 A peri-urban institutional capacity-building process

 121

Network, discourse and opportunity strategies function in support with –

rather than as substitutes of – each other in managing conflicts in peri-urban
areas (Figure 8.3). First, the opportunities helped to mobilise discourse and
policy network as relational and knowledge resources for collective action.
This was particularly reflected in the development of the environmental
policy network in the Dago-Lembang corridor case and the formation of
water catchment discourse in the Punclut case. In the former, the network
was used as an ‘infrastructure’ through which the discourse of preserving the
ecological functions of NBA was constructed and mobilised (Chapter 5). In a
similar fashion, in the latter, the ‘water catchment’ discourse also provided
an innovative reasoning for wider marginalised actors to join in with and
reinforce the complex network of environment-concerned communities
(Chapter 6). This relational building is clearly evident in the evolution of
GALIB/KMBB.

Opportunity

Network Discourse

Figure 8.3 The interactive relationship between opportunity, network and discourse
in the peri-urban institutional capacity building

In the context of the open, democratic and fragmented Indonesian

society, the case studies presented in Chapter 5, Chapter 6 and Chapter 7
imply that the contribution of network, discourse and opportunity to the
building of peri-urban governance’s institutional capacity can be assessed
according to three criteria:
1) Strategic inclusion: network, discourse and opportunity should be able to
involve peri-urban and regional stakeholders as strategically (corporatist)
and as inclusively as possible in the decision-making process.
In the case studies, this can be seen in the empowered position of the
environmental advocates, the planners and the political opposition
factions as traditionally weak and vulnerable actors in the decision-
making process affecting the peri-urban area. Their empowered position
was demonstrated by, for example, their active involvement in the
122 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

formulation of the provincial planning legislation for controlling urban

development in NBA.
2) Facilitation of the weak: network, discourse and opportunity should be able to
raise, accommodate, focus and channel stakeholders’ awareness on important
yet neglected peri-urban issues and agendas.
In the case of Dago-Lembang, this can be seen in the shift of the decision
makers and politicians’ focus of attention favouring peri-urban
environmental quality and regional sustainability. Meanwhile, the
‘water catchment’ discourse in the Punclut case contributed to the
building of local political awareness, reflected during the mayoral
election campaign.
3) Legitimated mobilisation: network, discourse and opportunity should be able
to consistently and deliberately realise and deliver agreed environmental
planning ideas, strategies, frameworks and policy outcomes.
In anticipating the peri-urbanisation pressure in NBA, series of planning
and development legislations have been repeatedly enacted (see
Appendix A Regulations and Plans Concerning North Bandung Area
1982-2004). However, they could not significantly restrain the
uncontrolled issuance of land development and building permits as well
as the physical development by private developers. This is due to weak
governmental implementing capacity resulting from, among others,
acute discretionary, clientelist and corrupt practices. In this situation,
the practice of creating opportunities, building informal policy networks,
and forming discourses has contributed to refocusing governance’s
awareness on the necessity of promoting regional sustainability and peri-
urban environmental quality by consistently encouraging the
enforcement of available planning and development legislations.

8.3 Peri-urban planning system and practice

The aim of this section is to transform the research findings into practical
implications for planning system and practice in Indonesia. It first identifies
key issues in transforming the planning system to be more adaptive to the
complexity of peri-urban socio-economic and environmental changes.
Furthermore, some major consequences for professional planning practice
are indicated. These consequences are focused on the role of peri-urban
planners as activists, social mobilisers, and institution builders by learning
from the practice of building networks, discourses and opportunities in the
case study. Finally, it illustrates how the practice of institution building can
be fostered at the regional scale.
 123

8.3.1 Towards a transformative planning system on the edge

In the context of global pressure exerted by neo-liberalisation and

democratisation, peri-urbanisation has become an inescapable feature of
Indonesia’s metropolitan transformation. It is no longer relevant to uphold
the old planning principle of maintaining the separation between cities and
their countryside. It is not always productive to judge living on the edge (of
cities) as being unfavourable for sustainable development. Instead, living on
the edge needs to be accepted and transformed into an essential element in –
rather than a source of problems for – spatial plans and strategies concerning
cities and metropolitan regions.
In order to address the challenge of peri-urbanisation, the current
integrated-comprehensive-like planning system needs to be adjusted. Land
use and comprehensive plans emphasising rigid standards and norms at
micro levels can be adapted into those promoting flexible rules and
conventions at higher levels. For example, the building coverage ratio
(BCR), as an important element in the Detailed Spatial Plans (RDTR) and
the Zoning Regulations, can be up-scaled from the individual (building) level
to area level. Such rescaling can better accommodate the dynamics of the
physical environment and actors’ creativity in the development process. It
can also reduce the impact of institutional fragmentation and facilitate
development control in the long term.
Besides, the emphasis on rational-technical processes and formal
hierarchical structures and procedures in the current Indonesian planning
system seems to be no longer applicable. Instead, in the face of rapid spatial
change and weak and fragmented formal institutional arrangements in peri-
urban areas, environmental planning and management requires innovative
ideas and action. These can emerge once the system allows informal day-to-
day routines and governance practices – in the forms of discourse, network,
and opportunity formations – to feed the planning process. In doing so, the
system could provide more opportunities for professional planners and key
participating actors to be involved not only in the technical processes of
plan-making, but also in the socio-political processes of plan realisation and
development control. This democratic planning process can be started
through, for example, holding regular legislative hearings and public
consultations throughout the planning and development processes. As
another example, the local government can initiate and support the
formation of independent plan monitoring and development control
124 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

committees in peri-urban development planning projects by involving local

people, private sector, interest groups and experts.

8.3.2 Peri-urban planners as institution builders

In the face of fragmented formal institutional arrangements and governance

structure, which featured prominently in the case studies, the planners and
policy makers in peri-urban areas cannot continue to merely sit back ‘in the
face of power’ (Forester, 1989), enjoying their traditional positions as
technocrats and mediators. The case studies show that such passive positions
per se could not significantly contribute to the transformation of non-
conducive governance styles and cultures. For this reason, the planners need
to look closely ‘into the mouth of power’ relations (Moulaert & Cabaret,
2006, p. 67) where the challenges of managing conflicts and resolving
institutional divides become their everyday life.
It would be efficacious if the peri-urban planners took on the role of
activists, social mobilisers, and institution builders whose task is not merely
mediating short-term interests and promoting planning frameworks but
transforming the governance conditions hindering a plans’ implementation
and control. In governance transformation, the planners take part in a
gradual process of producing and distributing new cultural and institutional
values in society. In their actions, planners should not always be restricted
by the rigidity of formal political and policy systems. Instead, they need to
contribute to transforming those systems continuously in order to respond
more effectively to the challenges of rapid and unforeseen physical change,
spatial divides, social exclusion and institutional fragmentation in peri-urban
areas.
As institution builders, planners require innovative strategies in order to
gain easy access into the deeper structures of governance. In doing so, they
could participate in informal political and decisionmaking processes (Louis
Albrechts, 2003b). These processes include the building of policy networks
and discourses and linking of these social resources with the structures and
dynamics of available opportunities. Here the planners are not just
conditioned to be aware of the existing networks, discourses and
opportunities but, moreover, are encouraged to reproduce, engage with and
transform those social resources in order to improve the social legitimacy of
their ideas and actions.
Based on the cases of peri-urban environmental planning in NBA, as
analysed in the current study, it is revealed that the building of policy
networks tends to start with person-to-person relationships instead of inter-
 125

organisational coordination and cooperation. The cases also imply that

planners’ socio-political position can be strengthened if they build networks
with committed and motivated people from organisations emphasising
horizontal and voluntary relationship in their institutional development.
Furthermore, in the policy networks, planners can act strategically as a
‘bridge’ by building loose-coupled and diverse relationships with other
actors. Another important characteristic of the network is the building of
trust and mutual and reciprocal exchange of resources. Each actor could
better able to play a specific role in the network, depending on their unique
capacities.

Legislative consultation Demonstration

Greening campaign Workshop/ discussion

Figure 8.4 Major activities and social mobilisations organised by GALIB/KMBB

(Source: Suranto, 2008)

As discourse participants, planners could extend their ability to

positively utilise different types and sources of data and information, which
flow through not only formal sources but also mass media and informal
networks, in order to influence their counterparts and broader audiences
126 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

about their ideas and solutions. Planners could also manage competing
discourses likely to occur in managing peri-urban change. Based on the case
studies, it is found that tough discursive competitions generally arise
between, on the one hand, urban transformations, economic development
and neo-liberal discourses and, on the other, environmental protection,
regional sustainability and local-cultural discourses. Inclusive and socially
legitimate discourses, as illustrated by the environmental discourses in the
case study, tend to be grounded in day-to-day ordinary languages and
embedded within existing cultural templates and local knowledge.
Finally, as opportunity managers, planners could connect different
problems as well as connect these problems to the dynamics of external
forces. As can be found in the case studies, planners generally transform
unpredictable events such as debate escalation on protecting the water
catchment area, shifts in societal moods (growing societal interests on
quality of life and regional sustainability) and natural disasters (floods
approaching the city, landslides in peri-urban areas) into moments of
opportunity to make their actions work. They also read the socio-political
structures of governance relations and use it to create room for pushing their
ideas and alternatives onto the table. As the cases have shown, important
structures that could potentially reshape governance relations in peri-urban
areas take the forms of local and regional elections, local and regional
political coalitions, elites’ constellations, government organisational
structure, and the institutional arrangements for democratic society.
If institutional fragmentation in peri-urban areas is to be addressed,
more planners need to seek a role as embedded activists and political leaders
within governmental structure or members of social movements across non-
governmental organisations. With this strategic but flexible position,
‘planners have the courage to leave the formal planning arena, or to
commute back and forth with the real world, and step into fields of action to
ally with socio-political movements that seek to mobilise sufficient (counter)
power to stop, for example, devastating real estate led policies or
environment threatening actions’ (Moulaert & Cabaret, 2006, p. 67). It is
therefore important for such transformative planners to be equipped with
sufficient communicative, political and institutional intelligence. The
building of this intelligence can form a new area of concentration in graduate
academic programmes and professional training programmes in planning
schools.
 127

8.3.3 Managing peri-urban change at the regional scale

With continuing decentralisation euphoria, the political position of the local

government in Indonesia is still very strong. In fact, the local government is
currently the only tier that closely deals with peri-urban spatial and
environmental change. Such local-scale institutional arrangements cannot
match the scale and magnitude of spatial and environmental dynamics in
peri-urban areas since the process is a cross-jurisdictional issue rather than a
simple, clear-cut localised issue. Moreover, most sustainability issues in peri-
urban areas have major implications for urban/metropolitan regions.
Therefore, institutional capacity building should be emphasised at this
regional scale.
Regional institutional development in Indonesia currently faces the
challenges of post-authoritarian euphoria. The national and provincial tiers
have no longer clear authority upon planning and urban development at the
local level. Meanwhile, the district and municipality consider themselves as
the most authorised tiers in their regions. Reinforcing this tendency, many
laws and regulations have been enacted favouring decentralisation trends at
the local level. In order to avoid a radical confrontation with this euphoria,
it would be better for regional institutional development to emphasise the
transformation of and multi-level coordination among existing local,
provincial and national governments rather than the design of any new tier.
This implies that flexible and bottom-up regional institutional building is
more favourable than a rigid and top-down one.
With the lack of comprehensive and long-term commitment among
regional actors, it can be suggested that an incremental approach to
institutional building could respond more effectively to the unforeseen
spatial, socio-economic and institutional change in peri-urban areas. In this
approach, institution building can be perceived as a gradual, evolving
process of overcoming actual and pressing problems that emerge in specific
areas or policy sectors (for example environment, water, transport etc.). In
the case of BMA, for instance, regional institution building could be started
in the water management sector, by focusing on revitalising the function of
water catchment and conservation areas of NBA.

8.4 Further studies

This study provides an institutional explanation for peri-urbanisation and

potential approaches/strategies for its planning and governance. Yet, there
128 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

are many unresolved issues, opening up some routes for further studies in the
future.
First, most studies on peri-urbanisation in Indonesia, as reviewed in the
current study, have focused on the challenges and negative impacts of peri-
urbanisation such as environmental degradation, regional imbalance, social
segregation and so forth (Douglass, et al., 1991; Firman, 1996, 2000, 2004;
Firman & Dharmapatni, 1994; Leaf, 1996; Leisch, 2002; Winarso, 2005;
Winarso & Firman, 2002). Since peri-urbanisation is an inescapable
phenomenon in the current societal transformation, it would also be
important to explore the positive aspects of peri-urbanisation, for example its
potential contribution to regional development and economy.
The empirical analysis of institutional capacity building in the current
study uses the cases of North Bandung Area, as an integrated part of
Bandung Metropolitan Area. It would be useful to conduct comparative
studies with other peri-urban areas in Indonesia’s fast-growing metropolitan
regions such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Surabaya in order to clarify and
enrich the findings.
The present study gives an illustration of how knowledge, relational and
contextual resources in the forms of discourse, network and opportunity
respectively can be transformed into approaches/strategies for peri-urban
institutional capacity building. It might be interesting to explore more
specific forms of discursive knowledge (e.g. indigenous knowledge) and
informal network (e.g. epistemic community and policy coalition) in the
process of peri-urban capacity building. Other possible research directions
involve examining alternative forms of social-institutional resources, for
example cultural symbol and visioning. Alternatively, in addition to these
resource-based approaches to institution building, it might also be significant
to analyse the role of actors’ motivation since it underlies any action and,
thus, governance capacity formation.
The urban and environmental debates presented in this study help to
track the institutional capacity-building process in peri-urban areas.
However, it is important to test its analytical validity by, for example,
further investigating its applicability to other planning issues prone to
fragmentation, conflict, and exclusion, for example regional transportation,
water management and waste management in peri-urban areas.
This study also underlines the emerging role of planners as activists,
social mobilisers and institution builders. They tend to work in the ‘mouth’
of complex institutional environment characterised by fragmentation,
conflict and exclusion as can be found in peri-urban areas. It might be
valuable to investigate further how and the extent to which this role may
 129

work in practice. What capacity do the planners need in order to contribute

better in transforming governance? How can the planning system facilitate
their action? What ethical issues will be involved and how should these
issues be dealt with?
This study emphasises the ‘soft’ dimension of peri-urban institution
building – that is the informal and dynamic aspects of institution building in
peri-urban areas through constructing network, discourse and opportunity.
Emphasis on the soft dimension might be useful in starting up peri-urban
governance transformation but it is not sufficient to build a stable peri-
urban institutional arrangement in the long term. Therefore, further study
can focus on the ‘hard’ dimension, identifying appropriate formal forms and
structures of regional institutions to deal with peri-urbanisation. First, it
might be fruitful especially to study the potential of incremental approaches
in regional institutional design. Such approaches may match the complex,
dynamic and unforeseen characteristics of spatial and socio-economic
changes in peri-urban areas. Another route for further study may emphasise
the role of leadership in regional institutional design. Good leadership could
play a significant role in guiding governance transformation in the face of
ineffective institutional arrangements in peri-urban areas. The latter also can
be seen as an attempt to accommodate and capture the benevolence-
obedience tradition of the Javanese political culture.
As a final conclusion, this study has shown that global neo-liberalisation
and domestic institutional arrangements have characterised the peri-
urbanisation, planning system and practice around large cities in Indonesia.
The main challenges for planning in the peri-urban areas are associated with
physical divides, social exclusion, and institutional fragmentation. In
responding to these challenges, this study has focused on understanding the
building of peri-urban institutional capacity as a deliberative ethos of
transforming undesirable governance styles and cultures in the peri-urban
areas by interactively linking policy network, discourse and moment and
structure of opportunity. It can be seen from the analyses that the process
does not always start from the formal planning process set up by the
government and professional planners, but can emerge from informal day-to-
day practices involving wider participants beyond the formal planning
community. In order to make institutional capacity building work, the social
resources internal to actors in the forms of discourse and policy network need
to be coupled with moment and structure of opportunity, which function as
a resource external to actors. The performance of this institutional capacity
building can be accessed through three broad criteria: strategic inclusion,
facilitation of the weak and legitimised mobilisation. Turning this conceptual
130 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

understanding into practice, this thesis suggests that planners and policy
makers in Indonesia should accept the peri-urbanisation phenomenon as an
inescapable reality and a potential for planning, seek a role as activists,
social mobilisers and institution builders, and focus on incremental and
gradual governance capacity building at the regional level.
 Appendix A Regulations and Plans Concerning North
Bandung Area 1982-2004 10

Year Regulation/Plan Notes

1982 Governor’s Decree No. • The decree planned to reserve 25 percent of

181.1/Sk.1624-Bapp/1982 land in NBA for conservation forests, 60
on the Protection of the percent for dry farming, and only 15 percent
Northern Part of Greater for wet farming convertible into settlement
Bandung • Not operational because of the map scale of
1:50.000. Such scale is not accurate enough to
map the protected areas and their land use
boundaries.
• Not yet translated into detailed plan with
scale 1:5,000.
• Due to a growing trend of regional autonomy,
this policy had not been significantly adopted
in local spatial planning policy.

Governor’s Decree No. • This decree was enacted to protect, monitor

640/SK.1625-Bapp/1982 on and improve coordination and selection
the Issuance of process in the issuance of development permits
Development Permit in the in NBA.
Northern Part of Greater • The decree had not been effectively
Bandung implemented since there were no clear
implementation guidelines.

Governor’s Decree No. The committee did not work effectively and did
146/SK. 1626-Bapp/1982 not produce the expected plan.
on the Term Extension and
Completion of the
Membership of Committee
for North Bandung
Detailed Plan Preparation.

10 Adapted from Natalivan (2004).

132 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

1989 Bosscha Observatory A non-statutory plan prepared by the Regional

Detailed Spatial Plan Development Planning Board, West Java
Province

1993 The Deregulation Package • This package provided incentives for the
of 1993 issuance of location permits in the district/
municipality by the Land Administration
Office under mayor’s recommendation
• The governor could no longer directly control
the permit issuance in West Java Province
(including in North Bandung Area).

Governor’s Instruction No.

593/4535-Bapp/1993 on
Land Use Control in North • The Governor instructed the Head of the
Bandung Area ( 30 Regional Land Administration Office of West
November 1993) Java to order the Local Land Administration
Offices of Bandung District and Municipality
1994 Governor’s Instruction No. to temporarily postpone the issuance of new
593/1221-Bappeda on Land development permits in NBA until a thorough
Use Control in North research was conducted by the Provincial
Bandung Area (22 April Development Planning Board. The enactment
1994) of this governor instruction marked the
beginning of the status quo for NBA.
Governor’s Instruction No. • The next governor’s instruction and the
593.82/1174-Bapp/1994 on Governor’s Decree enacted in 1994 were very
Location Permit Proposal effective in controlling the issuance of new
and Land Acquisition in development permits in NBA.
North Bandung Area. • Nevertheless, this effectiveness only lasted
Governor’s decree No. until 1999, when the law on regional
660/4244/Bappeda/1994 on autonomy was first enacted. Following this,
the Protection of the the issuance of permits in NBA continued to
Northern Part of Greater increase again.
Bandung (31 October 1994)

Regent Instruction No. • The instruction was not supported by land

15/1994 on the registration and planning advice guidance
Postponement of Location • This policy has functioned effectively until the
Permit Issuance in North law on regional autonomy took effect in 1999.
Bandung Area

1995 Decree of State Ministry of • The regional EIA needs to be prepared by all
Environment No. stakeholders participating in the development
B755/MENLH/5/1995 on within the boundaries set by the Governor’s
Regional EIA requirements Decree of 1982.
for North Bandung Area • The technical procedure is coordinated by the
provincial government and assessed by the
Regional EIA Committee regulated in Decree
of State Ministry of Environment No. B-
 133

1073/MENLH/6/1994.
• The decree was fairly effective and followed up
by the preparation of regional EIA by West
Java Province.

Zoning and Building Code A non-statutory plan enacted by Spatial Planning

for North Bandung Area and Settlement Department, West Java Province

Bandung District Law No.

49/1995 on General Spatial
Plan of Lembang 1994-
2004

1996 Governor’s Instruction No. Compared to those enacted in 1994, this

912/333-Bappeda/1996 on governor’s instruction provided clearer guidelines
Response to the with the aim of reducing the development
Development Activities in opportunities on behalf of national or government
North Bandung Area interests.

1997 Regional EIA of North A non-statutory plan drawn up by the Regional

Bandung Area Development Planning Board, West Java
Province

1998 Bandung Municipal Law This regulation needed to be adjusted to the

No. 14/ 1998 on Building special function of NBA as a water catchment
Code area. In 1995, the provincial Spatial Planning and
Settlement Department enacted a special building
regulation for NBA but its implementation was
difficult as it was prepared by a sectoral
department and had no strong legal foundation

General Spatial Plan of A non-statutory plan enacted by the Regional

North Bandung Area Development Planning Agency, West Java
Province

2001 Bandung District Law No.

23/2001 on General Spatial
Plan Revision

2002 Detailed Policy of General A non-statutory plan enacted by the Regional

Spatial Plan of NBA Development Planning Board, West Java
Province

Detailed Spatial Plan of Prepared by the Local Spatial Planning

Lembang Department, Bandung District
134 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

2003 Cimahi Municipal Law No.

23/2003 on General Spatial
Plan of Cimahi
Municipality

Detailed Spatial Plan of

Area A and B Cimahi
Municipality

Provincial Law No. 1/2003

on General Spatial Plan of
West Java Province

2004 Governor’s Instruction No. This is a relatively new policy thus its
650/1704/Bap on Land Use effectiveness on the ground could not yet be
Control, 14 August 2004. evaluated.

Governor’s Instruction No.

650/2530/PRLH on Land
Use Control, 18 August
2004.

Bandung Municipal Law

No. 2/ 2004 on General
Spatial Plan of Bandung
Municipality

Evaluation on Land Use in A non-statutory plan prepared by the Regional

NBA Spatial Planning and Settlement Department,
West Java Province
 Appendix B Chronology of the Dago-Lembang project
proposal 2004 11

Background

Year Event
1976 For the first time the provincial government discoursed to build an
alternative road connecting Bandung-Lembang
1978 The Provincial Government proposed to select Dago-Punclut corridor for
the alternative road, which could not be realised due to strong resistance
from the society
1982 The Governor decreed to protect NBA as a water catchment area for the
region of BMA
2002 The Provincial Government revisited the discourse to develop an
alternative road connecting Bandung-Lembang and further invited
LPPM ITB to conduct a feasibility study, with the Provincial
Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) playing the leading role
Early 2003 New governor was elected by the Provincial Legislative Assembly
The end of The budget for the road development project was approved by the
2003 provincial legislative assembly, which was then included in the Provincial
Annual Budget Plan of 2004

The episode of proposing Trajectory 5 (Dago-Tahura-Lembang) in 2004

Date Event
March 2004 The result of the LPPM’s study concluded that the selected trajectory
(Trajectory 5; through Dago-Lembang corridor) was the most feasible
alternative road trajectory; Environmental NGOs started to publicise the
selected trajectory
5 April 2004 Legislative Election was held to elect new members of national, provincial
and municipal/district legislative assemblies

11 Adapted from Hardiansah (2005), abstracted from various media resources

136 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

7 April 2004 DPLKTS, the region’s leading environmental research NGO, argued that
the road development would negatively impact the environment; the
management of Bosscha Observatory rejected the road development
proposal, contending their views had never been accommodated
7 April 2004 The governor decreed that he would apply a disincentive mechanism to
impede the land development along the Dago-Lembang corridor
10 April 2004 PAN, a faction within the Legislative Assembly of Bandung Municipality,
pointed out that the Dago-Lembang Project did not comply with the
newly approved General Spatial Plan of Bandung Municipality
12 April 2004 The Bandung Municipal Executive alleged that they had never been
invited to the discussion on the project proposal
12 April 2004 The provincial executive stated that during the discussion meetings there
had never been any objection to the road development proposal
19 April 2004 The Bandung District Executive stated that the road development was
not included in the District General Spatial Plan
19 April 2004 FPLH planned to file a Class Action
22 April 2004 The first demonstration against the Dago-Lembang road development
plan
11 May 2004 The Bandung District Executive admitted oversight in granting the
development permit
12 May 2004 The Rector of ITB rejected the road development project
14 May 2004 The provincial executive stated that if the people continued to negatively
respond to the project, they would search for other alternative solutions
17 May 2004 A discussion between the provincial government and the local people
about the project facilitated by KPJB
17 May 2004 Prominent West Java figures planned to file a Class Action on the project
proposal
22 May 2004 Sections of the local people declared their support for the road
development project plan
24 May 2004 A dialogue on the road development plan was held in the building hall of
Spatial Planning and Settlement Department of West Java Province
25 May 2004 The Provincial Executive were invited by the Provincial Legislative
Assembly to discuss the issue of Dago-Lembang road development plan
and there were still differences in opinion between the executive and the
legislative
5 June 2004 A restricted seminar on "The North Bandung Controversy: A Study on
Dago-Lembang Alternative Road Case” was held in the Hall of the
Editorial Board of Pikiran Rakyat daily newspaper attended by experts,
NGOs, and members of the Provincial Legislative Assembly but no one
represented the Provincial Executive
8 June 2004 The Vice Head of the Committee for Spatial Planning of the Provincial
Legislative Assembly rejected the road development plan
13 July 2004 A research team was set up by the Provincial Legislative Assembly to
study the issues of Dago-Lembang road development plan
 137

6 July 2004 The Ministry of Forestry decreed that the Provincial Executive should
cancel the road development plan
27 July 2004 The Ministry of Environment would firmly reject the road development
project if it passed through the National Park of Tahura
30 July 2004 The governor promised to free 12 some land in NBA for conservation
objectives
30 July 2004 In a discussion meeting between the Research Team and 14 NGOs in
Bandung, 11 NGOs planned to file a class action sueing the legislative
assembly if the project was approved
31 July 2004 The Research Team found that 350 hectares land around the project area
had been occupied by private developers but the National Land
Administration Agency disputed the statement
1 August The Indonesian Real Estate Association supported the land acquisition in
2004 NBA by the government
4 August The governor decided he would postpone the realisation of the road
2004 development project
12 August The Research Team recommended the executive to cancel the road
2004 development plan
19 August The leading members of the legislative assembly voted to reject or to
2004 reconsider the selection of the Dago-Lembang corridor as the alternative
trajectory for the road
30 August New members of the Provincial Legislative Assembly period 2004-2009
2004 took office

12 According to Law No. 5/1960 on Basic Agrarian Administration, land acquisition by a

private institution shall follow two main steps. First, the interested institution needs to
membebaskan (or to ‘free’) the land, meaning to return its ownership to the government. Then,
this institution can sell the land to individual buyer(s) because only an individual (with
Indonesian citizenship) can obtain hak milik (rights of ownership). As an alternative, the
private institution can apply for partial rights that do not include rights to own the land, e.g.
building rights (hak guna bangunan), cultivation rights (hak guna usaha) and rights of use (hak
pakai). The partial rights valid only for certain period of time and can be extended.
 Appendix C Chronology of the Punclut project 2004-2005 13

Background

Year(s) Event
Before 1945 Punclut was a tea plantation estate owned by a Dutch investor
1945-1949 War of Independence
1940s Illegal settlements started to emerge in Punclut
1957 The Dutch investor handed over his land ownership in Punclut to the
Indonesian Government
1961 The State Ministry of Agrarian Affairs granted the rights of ownership on the
former tea plantation estate to 943 veterans of the War of Independence
1994 Bandung mayor approved PT. DUS’s location permit proposal for housing
development in Punclut
1997 The State Ministry of Agrarian Affairs retracted the rights of ownership
granted to the veterans and granted the rights to cultivate to PT. DUS
2000 Bandung mayor renewed the location permit and redesignated it for the
development of an integrated tourism resort (80 ha) in Punclut by PT. DUS
2003 New mayor for the period 2004-2009 was elected by the Municipal Legislative
Assembly
Early 2004 The General Spatial Plan of Bandung Municipality was passed by the
Municipal Legislative Assembly; Legislative Election was held to elect new
members of national, provincial and municipal/district legislative assemblies

The episode of involving PT. DUS 2004-2005

Date Event
17 June 2004 The municipal government started to plan the development of an agro-
tourism resort, garden houses and jogging track in Punclut with PT DUS as
the developer

13 Abstracted from various media resources

 139

20 June 2004 DPKLTS opposed the development plan and threatened to mobilise mass
action and to file a lawsuit against the mayor if the plan was realised
22 June 2004 DPKLTS identified instances of manipulation of the approved general
spatial plan map, in which parts of the green area around Punclut were
converted to residential areas; after a closed meeting with a number of
related municipal departments and local people’s representatives, the mayor
announced that the project would be continued and claimed that it was
supported by the local population
26 June 2004 Although members of the Legislative Assembly were sharply divided in their
opinions on the Punclut project, they agreed to ask the municipal
government to prepare Detailed Spatial Plan and to green the project site
prior to making the decision on the housing development project in Punclut

30 June 2004 The municipal government started to prepare a detailed plan for NBA
2 July 2004 The National Development Planning Board stated they would not
recommend the realisation of the project in Punclut since it clearly
functioned as a conservation and water catchment area for the region; the
Municipal Legislative Assembly realised there was an intended change by
the executive in the planning map, favouring the planned housing
development in Punclut; in one assembly's open discussion meeting, most of
the invited experts and environmental observers, including artists and other
public figures, did not agree with the Punclut project
3 July 2004 The Municipal Government set up the Coordinating Team for the
Redemption of the Punclut Development Planning Project (TKPRKP),
whose members included relevant municipal departments, members of the
local population and NGOs

9 July 2004 The National Legislative Assembly declared that they never agreed with the
Punclut project
10 July 2004 In an open discussion about the Punclut project arranged by the Editorial
Board of Pikiran Rakyat daily newspaper, which was attended by
bureaucrats, academicians, NGOs and representatives of the local
population, it was concluded that the major problem for the project was
poor land management and conflict of land rights
5 August 2004 New members of the Municipal Legislative Assembly for 2004-2009 took
office
27 October 2004 The Head of the West Java Office of the Indonesian Real Estate Association
argued that the spatial and environmental degradation in Punclut was
primarily caused by the informal settlements while the involvement of
private developers could in fact minimise this degradation

8 November 2004 The governor stated that the Punclut project technically and procedurally
did not comply with the existing plans and regulations
23 December 2004 Some local people were worried that the Punclut development would affect
their water supply and some others complained that it would be difficult to
find new livelihoods after their cultivated land was bought by the developer
24 December 2004 Tsunami hit Aceh and resulted in hundreds of thousands dead or missing
140 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

26 December 2004 The local residents demanded the Municipal Government to identify the
people whose land was eligible to be certified
27 December 2004 The developer started to build the main road connecting the project site and
the city
28 December 2004 The mayor urged the developer to stop the construction activities until the
development permit proposal was agreed by the government and the local
people and until the EIA was approved
29 December 2004 The developer continued the construction activities by arguing that they
had already obtained the location permit and the road construction was
considered part of the greening process
30 December 2004 The veterans’ families commented that the land certification policy for the
local residents could overlook their rights as the original land owners; the
mayor concluded that before the construction began, the developer should
actually obtain not only the location permit but also principal permit,
construction permit, land cultivation permit and EIA
31 December 2004 The construction activities in Punclut were stopped by the Municipal
Security Force
7 January 2005 The construction activities in Punclut continued after a meeting was
arranged between the developer, the legislative assembly and the Punclut
Coordinating Team
8 January 2005 Members of the legislative assembly and experts commented that the
construction activities had conflicted with existing development regulations,
which required an EIA and other related permits
11 January 2005 The mayor and the Legislative Assembly urged that the construction should
be postponed until all required procedures were fulfilled
12 January 2005 The Municipal Department of Public Works granted PT. DUS the land
clearance permit
13 January 2005 As long as the General Spatial Plan for BMA was not ready, the governor
requested that the development in Punclut should be postponed
14 January 2005 The mayor allowed the continuation of the road construction by arguing
that it was part of the greening activity
15 January 2005 The Punclut Coordination Team planned to relocate the local residents
affected by the construction
17 January 2005 The developer started to plant trees in Punclut
18 January 2005 The first demonstration was held in the front of the Legislative Assembly's
building and later on the project site, with 300 protesters from NGOs, CBOs,
artists, workers' associations and students; at least 12 members of the
legislative assembly threatened to use their interpellation rights to challenge
inappropriate procedure of land clearance permit, outdated development
permits and non-compliance with the General Spatial Plan
19 January 2005 In a joint meeting, the Legislative Assembly agreed to ask the government
to postpone the road development until they had reviewed the inappropriate
procedure and outdated permits granted to the developer
 141

24 January 2005 After his visit the local residents, the mayor claimed that they wanted the
road construction to continue
25 January 2005 Major groups of NGOs were united in a plan to claim legal standing against
the Punclut project while some others held a demonstration and press
conference to support the project
27 January 2005 NGOs and interest groups, coordinated by GALIB, mobilised a
demonstration in the front of the Legislative Assembly's building to oppose
the Punclut project; meanwhile, in a scientific discussion held by the
Indonesian Geologists Association (IAGI), it was argued that Punclut could
not function as water conservation area, thus the development with
restricted instensity could be allowed
29 January 2005 In a meeting hosted by DPKLTS, groups of experts, environmental
observers and activists suggested that although Punclut could not
effectively function as a water conservation area, it was essentially an
integrated part of NBA and, thus, needed to be protected
10 February 2005 The governor recommended that the mayor should postpone the project
until all the required procedures were met
11 February 2005 The Legislative Assembly and the Municipal Government agreed to
postpone the project activities until the EIA was prepared
3 March 2005 The mayor officially instructed the developer to postpone the project
activities
March 2005 The road construction continued regardless of the postponement decision by
the government
19 April 2005 Floods hit Punclut
30 April 2005 The Provincial Legislative Assembly planned to set up the Committee for
the Development Control Regulation on NBA
27 May 2005 The Legislative Assembly and the Municipal Government could not agree
with one another on Punclut’s future
11 August 2005 The Municipal Administrative Court rejected the application for legal
standing by DPKLTS
August 2005 The new EIA on the Punclut project was approved; the municipal
government submitted a proposal for the revision of the general spatial plan
to the Legislative Assembly
23 August 2005 Major environmental NGOs rejected the proposal for the plan’s revision,
deeming that it would become an instrument to legalise the controversial
project in Punclut
30 December 2005 The Municipal Legislative Assembly approved the revised General Spatial
Plan of Bandung Municipality
 Appendix D List of interviews

Date of
No Interviewee(s) Group Position interview
1 Drs. Muh. Politician - Vice Head of Budget 29 Sep 2004
Rafani Committee of West Java
Akhyar Province Legislative
Assembly
- Secretary of Dago-Lembang
Research Team, the
provincial legislative
assembly
2 Darius Dolok Politician - Vice Head of Committee B of 21 Oct 2004
Saribu West Java Province
Legislative Assembly
- Vice Head of Dago-Lembang
Research Team, the
provincial legislative
assembly
3 Thio F. NGO - Head of FPLH (Forum for 15 Jan 2005
Sethiowekti activist environmental protection)
- Secretary of FKKM (Forum
for forest society)
4 DR. Ir. NGO - Head of Experts Assembly, 19 Jan
Mubiar activist, DPKLTS 20058 Sep
Purwasasmita expert - Lecturer at Chemical 2008
Engineering Department,
Bandung Institute of
Technology
5 Chay Asdak Expert - Lecturer at Padjadjaran 1 Feb 2005
University (UNPAD)
 143

- Researcher at Lemlit
UNPAD
6 Wisandana Government - Head of EIA department, 8 Mar 2005
official Regional Environmental
Management Agency, West
Java Province
7 Daud Politician - Member of the provincial 7 Mar 2005
Gunawan legislative assembly

8 Ir. Harmein Expert - Lecturer at Civil Engineering 2 May 2005

Rahman, MT. Department, Bandung
Institute of Technology
- Team Leader of Feasibility
Study of Dago-Lembang
Road Development Plan
9 Utun NGO - Coordinator of GALIB 5 Mar 2005
Sundawan activist - Member of FK31

10 Ir. Denny Expert - Lecturer at Regional and 29 Aug 2008

Zulkaidi, MT. City Planning Department,
Bandung Institute of
Technology
- Team Leader of Bandung
Land Use Plan Revision
project (2003)
11 Petrus Expert - Lecturer at Regional and 1 Sep 2008
Natalivan, City Planning Department,
ST. MT. Bandung Institute of
Technology
- Planner of Bandung Land
Use Plan Revision project
(2003)
12 Titik Government - Staff of Physical and 5 Sep 2008
Sulandari official Infrastructure Department,
Local Development Planning
Agency, Bandung
Municipality
- Supervisor of Bandung Land
Use Plan Revision project
(2003)
144 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

13 Rahmat Artist, - Coordinator of KMBB 5 Sep 2008

Jabaril cultural
obeserver
14 Tedy Politician - Member of Ad Hoc 9 Sep 2008
Rusmawan/ Committee for Spatial Plan
Oded Revision, Bandung
Muhamad Municipality Legislative
Danial Assembly
15 Khairul Government - Head of Physical and 27 Sep 2008
Anwar official Infrastructure Department,
Local Development Planning
Agency, Bandung
Municipality
- Member of Coordinating
Team for the Punclut Project
16 Tedi Teacher, - Principal of Alam School 28 Sep 2008
Sunandar NGO - Member of Green Live
activist, Society
politician - Member of Justice
Prosperious Party (PKS)
17 Adi Suharyo Government - Head of Spatial Planning 7 Oct 2008
official Section, Spatial planning and
Housing Department,
Bandung Municipality
- Member of Coordinating
Team for the Punclut Project
18 M. Iqbal Politician - Head of Ad Hoc Committee 8 Oct 2008
Abdulkarim for Spatial Plan Revision,
Bandung Municipality
Legislative Assembly
19 Iwan Expert - Lecturer at Regional and 9 Oct 2008
Kustiwan City Planning Department,
Bandung Institute of
Technology
- Team Leader of Bandung
Metropolitan Plan Project
20 Yulia/ Isma/ Government - Staff of Spatial Planning 21 Oct 2008
Tita official Division, Spatial Planning
and Settlement Department,
West Java Province
 145

- Supervisor of NBA zoning

regulation project
21 Ir. Tony S. Community - Head of KPP 22 Oct 2008
Ardjo leader, - Director of PT Bhumi
expert Prasaja
22 Apih Local leader - Head of neighbourhood 24 Oct 2008
association

23 Nurrohman Expert - Planner of NBA zoning 24 Oct 2008

Wijaya regulation project
 Appendix E Interview protocol

The questions presented below were indicative. They were subject to further
exploration and elaboration during the interviews. Many of the questions have been
adjusted to the specific roles and functions of the interviewees in the projects. In
practice, the structure of the questions was also flexible, depending on the relevance
and settings.

1. Were you involved in the debate on Dago-Lembang/ Punclut project? When?

What was your (or your organisation’s) role and functions?
2. Can you tell me about the chronology of the debate/ project? How did it start?
What were the main issues? What were their backgrounds?
3. Who was involved in the debate/project? What were their interests? How were
they related to each other? What and where was your position?
4. Can you tell me what were your (your organisation’s) motivations/objectives to
be involved in the debate/project? How did you attempt to realise them?
5. What arguments did you exercise? What backgrounds and concepts were
involved? How did you develop your arguments? How did you influence other
parties with your arguments? And what were the results?
6. Did you also use social relations? What kind of relations did you have? How did
you develop them? How did you use them to realise your objectives? And what
were the results?
7. Were there any non-technical/external factors that could hamper and/or fuel the
achievement of your objectives? How did you deal with, use or develop them to
help achieve your objectives? And what were the results?
 Samenvatting

In deze studie wordt de institutionele kijk op peri-urbanisatie en de

ruimtelijke ordening ervan beschreven. Het is een poging antwoorden te
bieden op nieuwe, groeiende problemen die te maken hebben met snelle en
onvoorziene fysieke veranderingen, ruimtelijke scheidslijnen, sociale
uitsluiting, maatschappelijke conflicten en institutionele versnippering in
peri-urbane gebieden. Er wordt in de eerste plaats getracht de institutionele
context te begrijpen van peri-urbanisatie en het planbeleid met betrekking
tot het randgebied van Indonesische steden en om verder onderzoek te doen
naar nieuwe manieren om de institutionele capaciteit in deze gebieden te
vergroten. Allereerst wordt de institutionele context van peri-urbanisatie en
ruimtelijke ordening in Oost-Azië en in het bijzonder in Indonesië geschetst.
Benaderingen vanuit netwerken, discours en de optiek van gelijke kansen
worden aangewend om vat te krijgen op hoe om te gaan met de institutionele
krachten, en dan vooral vanuit een sociologisch en institutioneel perspectief.
Conceptuele kaders worden ontwikkeld om te begrijpen hoe ruimtelijke
ordening – in het licht van het onvermogen van de bestaande institutionele
praktijk dat te doen – antwoord zou kunnen bieden op peri-urbane
vraagstukken en zou kunnen bijdragen aan verbetering van de
bestuurscapaciteit. Empirische casussen van urbane en milieugerelateerde
conflicten in Noord-Bandung – een peri-urbaan gebied van Bandung en
omstreken – worden gebruikt om de conceptuele kaders te verduidelijken. De
gegevens die voor de analyses werden verzameld, bestaan uit eerdere studies,
officiële documenten, archiefmateriaal, interviews en observaties. De
analytische methoden besloegen onder meer inhoudsanalyse, institutionele
analyse, en standaard kwalitatieve onderzoekstechnieken (coderen-
interpretatie-conclusie).
Het grootste gedeelte van dit boek bestaat uit papers die op
internationale conferenties zijn gepresenteerd en artikelen die verschenen in
internationaal toonaangevende academische tijdschriften. In hoofdstukken 3
148 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

en 4 wordt ingegaan op de institutionele context van peri-urbanisatie en het

plannen in Indonesië. Beide hoofdstukken stippen een aantal van de grootste
vraagstukken aan met betrekking tot peri-urbane planning: de institutionele
dynamiek, cliëntelisme, en neoliberalisering de wereld over. Hoofdstuk 3
gaat in op de unieke kenmerken van peri-urbanisatie in Indonesië en in drie
ander Oost-Aziatische landen, met betrekking tot de afhankelijkheid van de
stedelijke centra, kapitaalverwerving en de dynamische co-existentie van
stedelijke en landelijke vormen van onderhoud. Ook worden de institutionele
factoren geïdentificeerd die peri-urbanisatie vormgeven in deze groeiende
economische regio. Er wordt vooral betoogd dat de ongewenste
consequenties van peri-urbanisatie, in de vorm van ruimtelijke scheiding,
regionale onmin en milieudegradatie, vooral de versnippering van
institutionele regelingen op regionaal niveau weergeven. De discussie wordt
afgesloten met een uiteenzetting over in hoeverre planmakers en de
bestuurspraktijk hebben gereageerd op het vraagstuk van peri-urbanisatie.
Het benadrukt onder andere hoe er verschuivingen optreden in benaderingen
van plannen en bestuur – van alomvattende bestemmingsplannen naar
private en gemeenschapsparticipatie en daarnaast nog regionale
institutionele capaciteitsopbouw.
Terwijl hoofdstuk 3 zich richt op de impact van wereldwijde en nationale
institutionele krachten op peri-urbanisatie en de planningspraktijk, is hun
impact op het plansysteem de focus van hoofdstuk 4. Het beschrijft eerst de
ontwikkeling van het plansysteem in Indonesië in de recente geschiedenis. In
het hoofddeel van de analyse wordt de huidige overgang in het plansysteem
besproken, die gekenmerkt wordt door een enorme productie van wetten en
regelingen, waaronder het opstellen van een nieuwe wet op de ruimtelijke
ordening. Beschreven wordt in hoeverre zowel de binnenlandse landelijke
praktijk als de wereldwijde neoliberalisering dit overgangsproces hebben
beïnvloed. Er wordt betoogd dat de versnippering in het stelsel het gevolg is
van neoliberale ideeën, omdat zij mogelijk botsen met bestaande
binnenlandse institutionele krachten. Een dergelijke botsing heeft een
aanzienlijke kloof gecreëerd tussen stedelijke ontwikkeling en ruimtelijke
ordening en het planningstelsel van peri-urbane gebieden. Hierbij is de
verandering in het planningstelsel en de institutionele praktijk niet in staat
om effectief de ongewenste gevolgen te ondervangen van de versterkte
cliëntelistische bestuurscultuur en de onvoorziene neoliberale ideeën die
wereldwijd opgang deden – beide elementen droegen veel bij aan de
ongecontroleerde transformatie van peri-urbane gebieden.
Aan de hand van een aantal casestudies van milieuconflicten in NBA,
worden in hoofdstukken 5, 6 en 7 drie benaderingen/strategieën voor het
 149

managen van peri-urbane veranderingen op milieugebied besproken:

benaderingen vanuit netwerken, discours en de optiek van gelijke kansen. In
hoofdstuk 5 wordt de opbouw van een beleidsnetwerk als belangrijk aspect
van capaciteitsopbouw onderzocht. In de casestudie wordt dit als strategie
aangewend om de functie van Noord-Bandung (NBA) te bevorderen als
belangrijkste afwateringsgebied voor Bandung en omstreken (Bandung
Metropolitan Area – BMA), dat steeds meer peri-urbanisatiedruk ondervindt
van de stad Bandung. Het beleidsdebat over het ontwikkelingsvoorstel voor
het Dago-Lembang regionale wegenstelsel wordt gereconstrueerd om te
illustreren hoe een beleidsnetwerk wordt opgebouwd en hoe het bestuurders
meer bewust kan maken van het feit dat zij meer rekening moeten houden
met (de kwaliteit van) het milieu en met duurzaamheid op regionaal niveau.
Netwerkrelaties kunnen worden uitgelegd aan de hand van aspecten van de
constructie ervan, waaronder complementaire kracht, informele, horizontale
en losse onderlinge communicatie en reciprociteit. De bijdrage van deze
strategie aan institutionele capaciteitsopbouw wordt weergeven in aspecten
zoals de mobilisatie van discursieve kennis, empowerment van zwakke
actoren en sociaal leren in besluitvormingsprocessen.
Voortbouwend op de discussie over beleidsnetwerken, wordt in hoofdstuk
6 onderzocht hoe discours kan bijdragen aan de opbouw van institutionele
plancapaciteit in peri-urbane gebieden. Een omstreden stedelijk
ontwikkelingsproject voor het beschermde randgebied van Punclut is
onderwerp van studie. Het discours richtte zich daar voornamelijk op
marktgerichte woningbouw en agrotoerisme enerzijds, en het milieu
verbeteren met groene maatregelen anderzijds, als strategieën om het project
respectievelijk te steunen en te bestrijden. In de analyse bleek dat de
discoursvorming door de gevestigde orde meestal enkel werd aangewend om
realisatie van het project zoals vooraf vastgesteld te kunnen rechtvaardigen
en dus weinig potentieel bood qua institutionele capaciteit. Het lijkt echter
wel uit te wijzen dat het discours gebracht door stedelijke milieubewegingen
beter zou kunnen bijdragen aan het opbouwen van institutionele peri-
urbane plancapaciteit door ideeën te verweven met meer uitgebreide sociaal-
culturele middelen, door mensen meer bewust te laten worden van
verwaarloosde kwesties en losse actoren in een versterkte netwerk onder te
brengen.
De discussie over middelen die actoren eigen zijn, te weten netwerk en
discours, wordt in hoofdstuk 7 gevoerd aan de hand van een combinatie van
theorieën over politieke kansen (political opportunity structure) en van
Kingdon (Kingdon’s policy window theory), die gebruikt worden om tot een
sociologische institutionele benadering van kansen te komen. In dit
150 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

hoofdstuk wordt geprobeerd ideeën over communicatieve planning en

capaciteitsopbouw bij collectief handelen uit te breiden door te stellen dat
momenten en structuur niet vastliggen in relatie tot kansen, maar door
actoren ‘maakbaar’ zijn. Momenten die kansen bieden (moments of
opportunity) refereert aan de hiermee samenhangende – nieuwe en
dynamische –factoren (factors of opportunity). De factoren die in de politiek
met kansen samenhangen zijn echter relatief onveranderlijk en stabiel. Deze
inzichten worden vervolgens toegepast op de twee ontwikkelingsplannen/-
projecten voor het stedelijke randgebied van het Indonesische Noord-
Bandung: het voorstel betreffend ontwikkeling van het Dago-Lembang
wegenstelsel en de Punclut integrale ontwikkelingsplan. In de analyse
worden drie aspecten van institutionele capaciteitsopbouw geïllustreerd die
gevolg waren van het creëren van kansen: de mobilisatie van
maatschappelijke middelen, empowerment van zwakke actoren en het
focussen van de aandacht van beleidmakers en politici.
Tot slot worden in hoofdstuk 8 de casussen onder een noemer gebracht en
worden er conclusies getrokken. Centraal staat hierbij het beschouwen van
peri-urbane institutionele capaciteitsopbouw als ethos waarbij in overleg
ongewenste bestuursstijlen en -culturen in het peri-urbane gebied worden
getransformeerd door een interactief beleidsnetwerk, discours en de structuur
en momenten die met kansen samenhangen te koppelen. Uit de analyses
blijkt dat het proces niet altijd begint met het formele planproces van
overheid en beroepsplanners, maar kan ontstaan uit de informele dagelijkse
praktijk waar veel meer mensen bij zijn betrokken buiten de officiële
planners. Om institutionele capaciteitsopbouw te doen slagen, moeten de
middelen die eigen zijn aan actoren, te weten discours en beleidsnetwerk,
worden gekoppeld aan momenten en structuren van kansen, die beschouwd
kunnen worden als een extern middel, niet eigen aan actoren. Er zijn drie
brede criteria waarmee de institutionele capaciteitsopbouw beoordeeld kan
worden: strategische inclusie, facilitering van zwakkeren in de samenleving
en gelegitimeerde mobilisatie. Tot slot stelt dit proefschrift dat wanneer deze
conceptuele ideeën in de praktijk worden gebracht, Indonesische plan- en
beleidsmakers zich moeten berusten in het onontkoombare fenomeen van
peri-urbanisatie en het potentieel ervan onderkennen bij het maken van
plannen. Ook moeten zij een activistische rol gaan spelen, de maatschappij
mobiliseren en instituten bouwen, alsook zich richten op geleidelijke,
stapsgewijze capaciteitsopbouw van het regionale bestuur.
 Summary

This study provides institutional perspectives on peri-urbanisation and

its planning. It is an attempt to respond to the emerging challenges of rapid
and unforeseen physical change, spatial divides, social exclusion and
conflicts, and institutional fragmentation in peri-urban areas. The main
objective is to understand the institutional contexts for peri-urbanisation
and planning policy around Indonesian cities and to further explore emerging
planning approaches in order to improve planning’s institutional capacity in
peri-urban areas. It first sketches out the institutional contexts for peri-
urbanisation and planning in East Asia, with a special reference to Indonesia.
In understanding how to deal with these institutional forces, it draws on
network, discourse and opportunity approaches, especially from a
sociological institutional viewpoint. It develops conceptual frameworks to
understand how planning, in the face of irresponsive formal institutional
arrangements, could respond to the peri-urban challenges and contribute to
the improvement of its governance capacity. The conceptual frameworks are
enhanced through the empirical cases of urban and environmental conflicts
in North Bandung Area (NBA), a peri-urban area in Greater Bandung. The
data collected for the analyses consist of past studies, formal documents,
archives, interviews, and observations. The analytical methods employed are
content analysis, institutional analysis and standard qualitative techniques
(coding-interpretation-making conclusion).
The main part of this book is presented as a collection of papers delivered
at international conferences or articles published in internationally
recognised academic journals. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 discuss the
institutional contexts for peri-urbanisation and planning in Indonesia. Both
chapters underline some key challenges for peri-urban planning: formal
institutional dynamics, clientelist governance, and global neo-liberalisation.
Chapter 3 presents the unique features of peri-urbanisation in Indonesia and
three East Asian countries in relation to dependence on the metropolitan
152 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

centres, capital accumulation and dynamic coexistence of urban and rural

livelihoods. It also identifies the institutional factors shaping peri-
urbanisation in this growing economic region. Particularly, it is argued that
undesirable consequences of peri-urbanisation in the forms of spatial
segregation, regional disharmony and environmental degradation have
mainly reflected the fragmented institutional arrangements at the regional
level. To close the discussion, Chapter 3 explains the extent to which
planning and governance practices have responded to the challenge of peri-
urbanisation. Among others, the chapter underlines shifts in planning and
governance adaptation from comprehensive land use planning approaches
towards private and community participation and, furthermore, regional
institutional capacity building.
Whilst Chapter 3 focuses on the impacts of global and domestic
institutional forces on peri-urbanisation and planning practice, Chapter 4
concentrates on the impacts of these forces on the planning system. It first
describes the development of the planning system in Indonesia in recent
history. In the main part of its analysis, it discusses the current transition in
the planning system marked by a massive production of laws and
regulations, including the formulation of a new spatial planning law. The
chapter explains the extent to which domestic institutional arrangements as
well as global neo-liberalisation have influenced this transition process. It is
argued that neo-liberal ideas have caused fragmentation in the system as
they might clash with the existing domestic institutional forces. Such clashes
have created a substantial gap between urban development and planning
practice and the planning system affecting peri-urban areas, in which the
transition in the planning system and other formal institutional
arrangements was unable to effectively address the undesirable consequences
of reinforced clientelist governance culture and unanticipated global neo-
liberal ideas that have largely contributed to the uncontrolled
transformation in peri-urban areas.
Taking the cases of peri-urban environmental conflicts in NBA, Chapter
5, Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 discuss three approaches/strategies to managing
peri-urban environmental change: network, discourse and opportunity
approaches. Chapter 5 explores the potential of policy networking as an
important aspect of capacity building. In the case study, policy networking
was used as a strategy to promote the function of NBA as the main water
catchment area for Bandung Metropolitan Area (BMA), which faces
increasing peri-urbanisation pressure from the main city of Bandung. The
case of policy debate on the Dago-Lembang regional road development
proposal is reconstructed to illustrate how a policy network is built and how
 153

it contributes to the improvement of governance consciousness to be more

responsive towards environmental quality and regional sustainability. The
network type of relationships can be argued based on the aspects of its
construction, including complementary strength, informal, horizontal and
loose coupling communication, and reciprocal forms of exchange. The
contribution of this strategy to the building of institutional capacity is
reflected in the aspects of mobilisation of discursive knowledge,
empowerment of weak actors, and social learning in decision-making process.
In relation to the discussion on policy network, Chapter 6 examines how
discourses can contribute to the building of institutional capacity of
planning in peri-urban areas. It uses a contested urban development
planning project in the protected fringe area of Punclut as the case study,
where discourses have concentrated around market-led housing and agro-
tourism development in contrast with green environmental improvement as
strategies to support and challenge the project respectively. The analysis
reveals that the practice of discourse formation by the status quo tended to
be coercively used merely to provide immediate justifications for the
realisation of the predefined project, thus it lacked institutional capacity
potential. Furthermore, it suggests that the discourses reproduced by the
environmentally concerned urban communities could better contribute to
the building of institutional capacity of planning on the edge by interlinking
ideas into broader socio-cultural resources, building awareness about
neglected issues, and cementing fragmented actors into a stronger network.
In supporting the discussion about the role of resources internal to actors
in the forms of network and discourse, Chapter 7 combines political
opportunity structure and Kingdon’s policy window in order to develop a
sociological institutional approach to opportunity. This chapter seeks to
extend the ideas about communicative planning and capacity building in
collective action, by arguing that we need to see moments and structures of
opportunity not simply as fixed, but as something that actors can ‘make’.
Moments of opportunity refer to the dynamic, emerging factors of
opportunity. Meanwhile, political opportunity structures consist of
relatively consistent, stable factors of opportunity. This insight is then
applied to two development plans/projects in the urban fringe in North
Bandung, Indonesia discussed earlier: the Dago-Lembang road development
proposal and integrated development planning of Punclut. The analysis
illustrates three aspects of institutional capacity resulting from the practice
of constructing opportunity: mobilisation of social resources, empowerment
of weak actors, and focusing of politicians and policymakers’ attention.
154 Peri-urban planning in Indonesia

Finally, Chapter 8 synthesises and concludes the results of all case

studies. It focuses on understanding the building of peri-urban institutional
capacity as a deliberative ethos of transforming undesirable governance
styles and cultures in the peri-urban areas by interactively linking policy
network, discourse and moment and structure of opportunity. It can be seen
from the analyses that the process does not always start from the formal
planning process set up by the government and professional planners, but
can emerge from informal day-to-day practices involving wider participants
beyond the formal planning community. In order to make institutional
capacity building work, the social resources internal to actors in the forms of
discourse and policy network need to be coupled with moment and structure
of opportunity, which function as a resource external to the actors. The
performance of this institutional capacity building can be assessed based on
three broad criteria: strategic inclusion, facilitation of the weak and
legitimised mobilisation. Turning this conceptual understanding into
practice, this thesis suggests that planners and policy makers in Indonesia
should accept the peri-urbanisation phenomenon as an inescapable reality
and a potential for planning, seek a role as activists, social mobilisers and
institution builders, and focus on incremental and gradual governance
capacity building at the regional level.
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