Smart Cities Offer Solutions for People’s Problems
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Interactions between people and between the public and the municipal administration cannot be replaced by technology. Human beings remain the focus of development efforts.
Improving the quality of life among its residents is the ultimate goal of smart cities, as defined by the Kompas Research and Development (Kompas R&D) in the 2018 Indonesian Smart Cities Index (IKCI) with reference to international smart city campaigner Boyd Cohen’s “smart cities wheel”.
The IKCI 2018 used this method used in its weighted assessment that ranked the top cities of four categories. The four cities are Surabaya in the metropolis category, Denpasar in big city category, Manado in the medium-sized city category and Padang Panjang in the small city category. Ninety-three autonomous cities were assessed according to the parameters Cohen developed.
The six dimensions of smart cities that were assessed were the environment, people, economy, quality of life, government and mobility. Under these six core dimensions, 18 sub-dimensions, 26 indicators, and 71 sub-indicators were developed. The strongest weighted dimension was “smart” people.
Sociologically, no city is inherently smart. “It is the people, not the city, that is smart,” University of Indonesia sociologist and IKCI 2018 juror Daisy Indira Yasmine said late last week. Kompas recognized 12 cities last Wednesday (1/9/2019) for their achievements as smart cities.
No matter how smart a city was, said Daisy, its residents should never neglect the spirit of unity. The spirit of a smart city lay not in the ease and reach of internet accessibility or the extent of using digital applications and platforms. “Information technology must be used to foster the communal spirit. Unity is the main capital of development,” she said. Without unity, urban development could not generate real solutions for people’s needs.
It was these solutions that were important in the sustainability of a city and its inhabitants. No matter how great a city’s programs and policies were, it would never become a smart city if it did not provide solutions or answer to the people’s needs.
The main criterion for a smart city was its people, as it was the people who truly felt the impacts of a city administration’s programs and policies.
In this era of rapid changes, regions were urged to adapt quickly. “There are always new challenges ahead and the demands are for the regions to have proper development plans,” said regional planning and engineering head Ridwan Sutriadi of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
Proper regional and urban planning must be accompanied by innovative technology use aimed at resolving public problems.
Public engagement
An important element of a smart city was the interaction between its and between its residents and administrators. “We always work together with the public to ensure the sustainability of a program,” said Denpasar Mayor Ida Bagus Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra.
The public was involved in local sanitation efforts, including river sanitation, and in cultural and creative economic activities, like the Denpasar Festival that also provided space for independent developers to disabled people.
Allowing space for creative expression among the residents of the multicultural city reflects the municipal administration’s commitment to developing its economy according to local knowledge and wisdom. “The Denpasar Festival is a medium for cultivating our culture and introducing it to the local people in an effort to preserve and advance it,” said economy lecturer I Gusti Wayan Murjana Yasa of Udayana University.
In Padang Panjang, residents can also feel the impacts of the city’s development programs. Apart from internet connectivity in public spaces, improvements have been made to roads and residential alleys. “The city’s roads used to be in poor condition. Now, the city center is managed properly. There are pedestrian sidewalks,” said West Padang Panjang community figure Syamsul Bahri, 67.
The city also serves as a destination for those wishing to study Islam at its pesantren (Islamic boarding school) or local cultures at the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) Padang Panjang.
The 53,000-strong city has an abundance of open green and cultural spaces, such as the area in front of the M. Syafei Building. There, different communities take turns performing on Friday afternoons and evenings.
“This year, we are planning to set up a command center,” said Padang Panjang Mayor Fadly Amran. The center would improve public services for the residents of the city, which was the birthplace of national historical figures Buya Hamka and H.R. Rasuna Said.
Meanwhile, Surabaya has metamorphosed over the last six years from a dirty and unsafe urban area into an orderly and comfortable city with many parks. “Garbage disposal areas are located close to residential areas, but they do not smell, as the garbage is collected daily,” said Wonokromo resident Yurika, 32.
Residents can seek immediate help through the East Java capital’s Command Center 112 for fires, crimes and traffic accidents.
More than 1,000 CCTV cameras monitor the 315-square-kilometer city. “Technology improves the impact and accessibility of public services,” said Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini.
Manado has also been implementing an integrated public service system called Smart Command Center (C3) since early 2017, after carrying out bureaucratic reform. The service is named. “We can monitor the city constantly and respond to public complaints quickly,” said Manado Mayor Vicky Lumentut.
(NIA/BOW/TAN/E07/COK/ZAK/ETA/SYA/GSA)