CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides the context and background of planning studio. Afterwards, it proceeds to explain the goals and
objectives of planning, scope of the study area, and scope of work. The last part of this chapter describes the structure
of this handbook.
1.1 CONTEXT
Urban and Regional Planning is a process by which planners work together with various development actors to
allocate available resources while also taking the long-term environmental sustainability, socio-economic, and equity
components of development into account.  Peter Hall (2002) states that planning is “the making of an orderly
sequence of action that will lead to the achievement of a stated goal or goals with a spatial or geographical component,
in which the general objective is to provide for a spatial structure of activities (or of land uses) which in some way is
better than the pattern that would exist without planning.” Referring to this definition, it is clear that Urban and
Regional Planning is about prescribing spatial components of human living environment. This studio project allows
the students to demonstrate their capability as prescriptive practitioners in developing the basic knowledge of the
planning process, and their ability to understand the complex system of linkages that connects spatial elements with
other elements in the human living environment.

The main theme of this studio is the implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management towards Resilience in
Semarang City. There are at least three ongoing initiatives that are influential in showcasing the needed intervention in
the planning area, they are: (1) Beringin River Normalization Program initiated by the National Government, (2)
Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) program coordinated by the Central Java Provincial Government, and
(3) Water as Leverage (WaL) Program initiated by Special Envoy for International Water Affairs – the Netherlands in
collaboration with Netherlands Enterprise Agency. These initiatives stimulate innovative ideas related to the climate
resilient through a collaborative approach that are in line with the studio theme and scope. At the global level, this
theme is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and 13 (Climate
Action). Indeed, in promoting sustainability and quality of life, the environment and landscapes are as important
factors as economic and social development are.

1.2 BACKGROUND
About 140 million people – more than half of the country’s population - live on the island of Java, which only
represents 6.65% of the total land area of Indonesia (Handayani & Waskitaningsih, 2019). This makes the island as
one of the most densely populated places worldwide. The population of Semarang is almost 1.7 million inhabitants,
and it is still growing with a growth rate of around 1% (CSB Semarang, 2019). Geographically, Semarang is located at
the intersection of a dynamic water system from upland to lowland, and a growing economic corridor that stretches
along the coast, from east to west. The city is at a tipping point in its trajectory: current extractive processes lead to
significant aquifer depletion and land instability that increase the city’s vulnerability to flooding in lowland and
upland areas. This cycle of vulnerability is exacerbated by today’s shifting economy and climate change, further
increasing its impact on the most vulnerable communities and some of the city’s most significant economic assets
(WaL, 2019). In recent years, the rapid development of coastal areas has polluted the watershed water, affecting the
ecological environment of scenic wetland spots (Sun et al., 2019).

Located in the coastal area, Semarang has frequently been vulnerable to flooding, especially in the northern part of the
city. Floods and tidal floods are constant threats to the local population, affecting multi-risk environmental aspects.
Moreover, most of the coastal inhabitants belong to the lower-income class, resulting in the limited financial capital
sources to cope with coastal hazards. While the absolute sea-level rise in this region shows no significant trend, land
subsidence, on the other hand, leads to a measured increase of the relative sea level of about 10 cm resulting the
streets in low-lying coastal areas (22% of the city's area) resulting in frequent inundation by high tide up to 40–60cm.
In addition to the tidal floods, the annual mean precipitation of 2065 to 2460 mm/a strongly exposes coastal
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settlements to rain floods during the monsoon season from December to February (Marfai et al., 2008). Hence,
problems in Semarang coastal area are quite complex because it involves physical, social, and economic aspects.

The planning studio takes a case study located in the west of Semarang City, particularly in Beringin Watersheds
whose industrial and residential activities are considered high. Located in the West Semarang drainage area, with a
Tugu drainage sub-system, Beringin River has its fair share of responsibilities to flooding in Semarang every year.
Furthermore, the development of new settlements, factory construction, and other land-use changes in the upstream
part of the Beringin River has affected water catchment areas. As a result, much of the rainwater flows quickly to the
river, which in turn causes the river discharge of the Beringin River tributaries to increase. Massive surface runoff
caused by excess rainwater and small rivers overflow, along with the rivers’ narrow sections sedimentation due to
erosion in the upstream areas have been the main factors of the occurrence of flash floods in this region. Furthermore,
the downstream area in Tugu District, which also located in the coastal area, becomes more vulnerable due to the
impact from the coastal and watershed condition.

Currently, the National Government has carried out the river normalization projects in the mid-west and eastern part
of Semarang. However, in the western part of Semarang, the critical condition of these watersheds needs further
planning in order to effectively prevent flooding as in other Semarang areas. There is National Project that is expected
to improve the living condition of the area. According to Presidential Decree No. 79 of 2019 about Accelerating
Economic Development in Kendal- Semarang-Salatiga-Demak-Grobogan Region, there are at least four strategic
projects that are taken place in Semarang City, namely: Beringin River Normalization, Harbour Toll and Sea
Embankment, Bonded Zone in Wijayakusuma Industrial Estate, and Vertical Housing Construction. Those projects
are primarily focused on the coastal area management. Currently, Beringin River Normalization is an on-going
project, while the other projects are still in the planning phase. There are also collaborative projects involving several
institutions from the Netherland that are focused on water management in Semarang. The first is Water as Leverage
(WaL) Program which aims to formulate comprehensive (from upstream to coastal), integrative, and inclusive
approach that ensures the water issues are addressed appropriately in the community, neighbourhood, as well as in the
city level. The second is ICZM through NUFFIC program that aims to improve the capacity of the related
stakeholders on coastal management.

Several government projects above mentioned are expected to bring implications and challenges to the study area in
terms of environmental sustainability, community activities, land-use change, water demand, and many more. The
implementation of these projects involves many people and stakeholders. Thus, it brings more complexities to the
study area. Accordingly, to solve problems and issues in the planning area, this planning studio develops the concept
of Integrated Coastal Zone Management- Eco Disaster Risk Reduction. Importantly, such an approach is expected to
be able to simultaneously support the target in achieving Sustainable Development Goals such as Sustainable Cities
and Communities.

1.3 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

This report aims to formulate plans, policies, and strategies of actions to solve the problem and shape the future state
of Beringin Watershed with the context of Integrated Coastal Zone Management towards Resilience. Furthermore, the
objectives in this planning studio are:
 To identify and analyse the planning region, in the context of both current state and future or planned state in
macro, meso and micro level
 To formulate a development concept as the planning foundation in strengthening the resilience of the study
area
 To construct development strategies that comprise the direction or stages required to bridge the development
concepts and actionable programs

1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY AREA

The study area selected in this planning studio is divided into three planning area, namely: macro, meso, and micro
planning area. Semarang City is chosen as the macro planning area. Mijen, Ngaliyan and Tugu district which located
in Beringin Watershed are chosen as meso planning area. The selected micro-planning area only covers a small part of
the Mangunharjo sub-district (RW 1, 5) and Mangkang Wetan sub-district (RW 5, 6, 7). The selection is based on the
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development of micro-planning area potential whose land resources meet the environmental improvement related to
the ICZM Eco Disaster Risk Reduction concept. Accordingly, the planning studio put more focused on developing
planning intervention in the meso and micro area. Thus, the specified planning area is in the micro level. Figure 1.1
captures the map of planning area in meso and micro level.

Source: BAPPEDA Kota Semarang, 2015

FIGURE 1. 1 MAP OF PLANNING AREA
1.5 SCOPE OF WORK
There are three main stages in this planning studio, namely planning design, interim planning stages and planning
stage. However, this report only explains about the interim planning stage and the planning stage. In the interim
planning stages, it encompasses two activities including problem understanding and structuring, and planning concept
formulation. Meanwhile, in the planning stages, it includes activities such as formulation of development strategies
and programs, and recommendation for the follow-up activities. Figure 1.2 depicts the three main planning stages in
this planning studio.

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 FIGURE 1. 2 PLANNING STAGES

The studio activities explored the three issues in the context of ICZM-Eco DRR and resilience principles, in line with
the main theme of the studio namely: (1) Informal urban settlement, (2) Infrastructure planning, and (3) Disaster
management. The output of this study is planning product that comprises strategies, programs and actions plans, made
to build integrated management in watershed in Semarang and also to enhance the resilience of Beringin Waterhsed
towards possible future risks. The planning products are expected to be implemented for 20 years, while the time
bound is vary for each strategy and program.

1.6 STRUCTURE
This book consists of five chapters which provide explanation on how the planning prescription in Beringin
Watershed is formulated. Chapter one presents an introduction to the study area, planning objectives and the scope of
the study. This part illustrates general information about the background and book structure. Afterwards, chapter two
mainly explains about problems, potencies, and issues in term of spatial-environmental, socio-economic, demography,
physical, and institutional. Then, it is followed by chapter three which explains the planning concept related to
Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Eco Disaster Risk Reduction and its strategies, program, and actions to
implement the concept. As one of the goals of the planning, the meso and micro spatial planning are discussed in
chapter four. Finally, the last chapter provides several recommendations for follow-up activities from the planning.