Southeast Asia’s population will reach 740 million by 2035, according to the United Nations Population Division (UNDP). The region’s urban population will also increase from 280 million people to 373 million people, by 2030.
Fast-paced developments make cities increasingly unfriendly to people, with buildings and networks of roads dividing public spaces, putting pressure on communities.
Across the region, towns and suburbs are following in the footsteps of developing cities, growing rapidly and unevenly. What these cities and towns have lost are public spaces for people to form meaningful experiences with each other as well as their surroundings.
“The quality of urban life is clearly not measured by the scale of monuments, its shopping malls, its commercial extravaganza or its top-down officially regulated activities and festive celebrations, but by the liveable, vibrant and sustainable quality of the environment and the intensity of interactions by participating citizens,” wrote William Lim in his book, ‘Incomplete Urbanism: A Critical Urban Strategy for Emerging Economies’.
Connecting communities
According to Project for Public Spaces (PPS), “great public spaces are those where celebrations are held, social and economic exchanges occur, friends meet, and cultures mix.”
There is already a growing trend of urban regeneration and placemaking across cities in Southeast Asia, transforming spaces into beloved places to connect communities. Public areas are being reclaimed, either temporarily through marathon events or street concerts or long term by way of weekly farmers' markets and urban parks.
In Malaysia, Think City’s community-driven projects have, among others, activated underutilised spaces through events and programmes and supported community-driven initiatives through a public grants programme. Public spaces are also used to preserve cultural traditions at street level in Indonesia, where the “ludruk” or street performance is being revived as a total communicative event.
Adib Jalal, co-founder of Shophouse & Co, a placemaking studio, saw the potential of Telok Ayer Park in Singapore to become a meeting place in the middle of a dense city. Small tweaks of adding furniture, interactive art installations and a pit stop for food delivery cyclists had positive social and economic outcomes for the Singapore community. Singaporeans have also reclaimed Orchard Road as a street for everyone, albeit temporarily. Shifting the paradigm from vehicle to people has brought vibrancy back onto the streets where in 2014, participant flooded Orchard Road to practice yoga in one of many Pedestrian Night sessions.
The idea of placemaking is “about people in place, creating value, building social capital and networks that make a place unique and special,” said Robin Abad-Ocubillo, Senior Planner at the San Francisco Planning Department adding that its “the people, the stories and their histories that infuse the built environment with meaning.”
To support placemaking projects on a government level, one has to be strategic. “Trying to transform the bureaucracy, transforming the government culture from within you have to adopt a tactical guerrilla approach,” Abad-Ocubillo, a bureaucrat, told The ASEAN Post. He adds that “the approach and tool of placemaking must suit the community at hand. You have to engage the community by how they engage one another.”
For Manju George, getting placemaking activities into government policy is the ultimate goal. “If placemaking is already in the planning policy, then it will be easier to initiate,” said George, a senior program manager for ESAF, a pan-India NGO. George told The ASEAN Post that the challenge is “identifying the right department, and within the department, we have to identify the right person who is willing to support the program.”
In her work, she engages with both, the local community and policymakers to get the public space redesigned, renovated and maintained well towards becoming an inclusive space. Because placemaking programs must be derived from the community, “building awareness for placemaking among communities is also important to do through campaigns and awareness programs,” she said, adding that “one design will not fit another setting. It depends on which community you are catering for.”
“Sometimes you don’t need to have any design for the space. You need an open environment that encourages placemaking to happen organically.”
“The process of placemaking in the Philippines or Metro Manila context is problematic,” Paulo Alcazaren, who practices placemaking in the Philippines, told the media in an interview. This is due to officials who are limited by their three-year terms. “They all look for low-hanging fruit projects when the problems of sustainable urban placemaking are of a larger scale and longer-term,” he explained.
“It’s extremely, sometimes, impossible to change the bureaucratic culture from within,” Abad-Ocubillo told The ASEAN Post; adding that to change the system, “you have to form a relationship, create allies, to help you make things more efficient, more streamlined.”
But, what better way to transform bureaucracy than to lead it?
Ridwan Kamil, the former mayor of the Indonesian city of Bandung, was able to transform Bandung, a city facing the issues brought forth by rapid urbanisation, into a liveable and lovable city.
During his term, Ridwan set up initiatives such as the Bandung Creative City Forum, an organisation that supports the creative community, and the One Village One Playground concept. He also renovated 10 city parks to encourage social interaction.
Attesting to the power of creativity and collaboration, Ridwan initiated a series of groups according to the community's different interests such as the Smart City Council, Architecture Advisory Board, One Village One Architect programme (where architects assist local villages in micro-architecture projects) and cultural advisory groups. Ridwan also used social media to engage the grassroots in city planning and development. “I train my bureaucracy to be active on social media as well,” he once told the regional media.
Singapore recently published its national Draft Master Plan 2019 (DMP19) which focuses on planning for inclusive, sustainable, and green neighbourhoods with community spaces and amenities for all to enjoy.
Government support is vital, and without it, initiatives can rarely be sustained. What we can do is to help those in government understand better and identify the value of a people-first effort.
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