Looking Back, Peering Forward: A Journey of Reflection and Anticipation
On the 17th of July, the Center for Southeast Asia Social Studies conducted the first CESASS Talk Series with the topic of Urban Future Development in Southeast Asia. There are four speakers for this Talk Series, The Director of CESASS UGM, Prof. Dr. Rini Rachmawati, S.Si., M.T., CESASS Researcher, Dr. Arif Akhyat, M.A., Secretary of Asian Urban Research Association, Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania, Prof. George Pomeroy, Ph.D., AICP and Senior Lecturer at Vietnamese-German University and Organizing Team of 16th Asian Urban Conference, Dr. Le Thi Thu Huong, moderated by CESASS Researcher, Drs. Muhadi Sugiono., M.A.. The event was conducted online through Zoom, with over 40 participants joining eagerly.
The first speaker, Prof. Dr. Rini Rachmawati, S.Si., M.T., bring up the topic of Urban Geography and Urban Development in Southeast Asia. Prof. Dr. Rini’s presentation focuses on four aspects, an overview of Urban Development, the Regional Geography of Southeast Asia, Cities in Southeast Asia & Smart Cities, and Urban Future Development in the region. Urban development, from the presentation, can be described as an effort to achieve better conditions for cities and solve their urban problems through Urban Planning with Sustainable Urban Development as its end goal.
Prof. Dr. Rini dives into the effort of ASEAN in creating smart cities with the establishment of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) in 2018 with the primary goal of improving the lives of ASEAN citizens, using technology as an enabler. Focusing on the people, it adopts an inclusive approach to smart city development that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms. The networking of Smart Cities across ASEAN also contributes to enhancing mutual understanding across cultures.
Prof. Dr. Rini highlights the four critical factors for Urban future development: Linkages among cities in Southeast Asia, making cities in Southeast Asia more liveable, achieving Smart cities in Southeast Asia, and the end goal of smart sustainable urban development in the region.
The second speaker, Dr. Le Thi Thu Huong, discusses Sustainable Urban Development in Southeast Asia. Dr. Huong opens her session by highlighting six critical concerns for sustainable urban development: efficient land use by effective land management, precautionary environmental protection, socially responsible and affordable housing, sustainable urban mobility management, development of local economy and participation, and regional cooperation. Dr. Huong also outlines that despite numerous urban settlement theories, they shared one central idea and ultimate goal: “achieving maximum development with minimum resource consumption and environmental impacts to ensure the well-being of both humans and the Earth.”
Dr. Huong then talks about the criteria for creating a sustainable city, where she goes on to mention several factors, such as creating a sustainable society that should push for “social coherence and solidarity” and a “stable eco-system” for a sustainable urban environment. A sustainable society is essential to sustain human development that promotes social equity and social safety & security. While on the other hand, the stereotype of the most significant threat to a stable eco-system that poverty is the main culprit needs to be debunked, according to Dr. Huong, as she believes that the rich is also responsible for environmental degradation, as can be seen through their use of resources, the tendency of overconsumption and emissions that they discharge.
The third speaker, Prof. George Pomeroy, enlightened the participants about Urban Planning in Southeast Asia. Prof. Pomeroy focuses his session on the present & projected numbers and the prospects & challenges in Southeast Asia’s Future Urban Development. Prof. Pomeroy started by highlighting that the nature of cities and urbanization in Southeast Asia is diverse; the region, like Asia at large, cannot be easily generalized, for example in 2020, Singapore was 100% urban while Cambodia is only 24.2%, according to Envisaging the Future of Cities: World Cities Report 2022.
Prof. Pomeroy highlighted Southeast Asia’s challenges regarding future urban development from two sources, according to James Tyner & Andre Ortega and Arfanuzzuman & Dahiya. The commonality between the two sources is the environmental challenges Southeast Asia might face in its future urban development. Other challenges, according to Tyner & Ortega, continued challenges with traffic congestion and housing, Superficial changes (appearance of global franchises) with increased incorporation in the global economy, and more profound structural changes from the infusion of foreign capital, including the emergence of a consumption-driven middle class. On the other hand, Arfanuzzuman & Dahiya see the challenges include urban spatial growth, pressures on green space per capita, and groundwater depletion.
The prospect mentioned by Prof. Pomeroy is the prospect for dynamic growth through the emergence of a creative economy. Creative economy is seen by Richard Florida (“The Creative Class”) through the “3Ts of economic development,” which then led to the Global Creative Index. The 3Ts of economic development are Talent, Technology, and Tolerance. In his final word on his presentation, Prof. Pomeroy highlighted selected key findings & key messages from Envisaging the Future of Cities: World Cities Report 2022, where among the “key issues that should be addressed in the transition to more sustainable futures” are Inequality & social exclusion, and cultural diversity and also, he mentioned that securing a greener urban future, including climate action is something that tends to be overlooked and needs to be taken into consideration.
The last speaker, Dr. Arif Akhyat, M.A., talks about the Urban History of Southeast Asia. Titled “Paradox in the City: Cities in Colonial Java,” Dr. Arif starts by classifying the differentiating interest that the Colonialist has with cities in colonial Java, that is, political interests and socio-economic interests.
Dr. Arif then highlighted the emergence of landless social groups, which resulted in changes in the social structure–from farmers to workers: growth of migrant groups to the cities looking for jobs–which caused rising social tensions. In contrast, on the other side, a new city elite appears; this is seen as Dr. Arif as paradoxes in the city at this time. Dr. Arif used Colonial Semarang as an example of the paradox at that time, where it is an arena of social class segmentation
Dr. Arif ended his presentation by highlighting that the failure to seize urban social class, in addition to modernization, has closed the process of vertical mobility for farmers (urban dwellers). The important thing is that farmers (Urban dwellers) cannot move beyond the boundaries of the agrarian tradition that once raised them. Being a marginal and subsistence community is the result of a collective process that does not have to be removed from the city, even though modernity has alienated and marginalized them.
The four speakers brought up exciting and timely topics that got the audience reflecting on the history of Southeast Asia and peering forward to see what the future holds for the region’s future development, the challenges and prospects for a better Southeast Asia, and how to get there. The CESSAS Talk Series #1 was closed with fruitful discussions between the audience and the speakers during the Q&A session.