Page 6 - Mediajaya 08 Edition 2020

TOP REPORT

Upgrading Slums

in Jakarta

If we neglect the slums problem, the quality of the poors will
remain unchanged.

6

he smell of something unpleas- are built with the walls sticking to the hard for blangwir (fire trucks, red) to
ant bursts out when we entered next ones; the street access are very get in. It will be worse if the flood hap-
TMuara Baru, Penjaringan, North narrow with minimum lighting; trash- pens, all the trashes will get here,” he
Jakarta. Motorcycles, open cars and es are everywhere. told Media Jaya.
large trucks were passing through, From what we get from the local Even when the kampung was not
carrying marine catch and its prod- residents, the settlement area was good enough for a settlement, Andre
ucts. Indeed, Muara Baru area is there since the early 1980. They be- and many people in that area seemed
known for its fishing industry. The fish gan to build improvised houses on the to be unwilling to move out. “We were
auction activities in this area has been area, previously a swamp, and soon it born and raised here. I wish it can be
started since long time ago in 1856. attracked more people and become revamped instead, just like Kampung
Behind the very hectic fishing ac- what it is now. Andre, a 28 year old Akuarium. I heard that this kampung
tivities, the area of Muara Baru pos- resident at Kampung Marlina revealed is on the list of the restoration pro-
sesses an unsolved annual prob- that both of his parents began to live gram,” said Andre, excited. Kampung
lem: urban settlements in slums like there since the end of 1970. That time, Akuarium is one of the densely pop-
Kampung Marlina, Kampung Elektro the Kampung Marlina—named after ulated settlements or slums which
and Kampung Gedong Pompa. Those one of the factories nearby—has not need to be restored and revamped by
three urban villages (kampung) are been densely populated like it is now. the Provincial Government of Jakarta
parts of RW (community unit) 17, with “It’s highly populated today. I’m afraid (Pemprov DKI), to turn it to be tiered
its densely populated neighborhoods when there’s fire, you’ll hardly survive. flats kampung with touristy concept.
and inadequate facilities. The houses Since the streets are narrow, it’ll be It is near from Kampung Marlina and