Why live in one of the world's most populated capital cities if you continue to get evicted because the local government says you are occupying its land illegally?
Despite being there since the 1970s, how can you live there comfortably knowing your children's future is at stake, with no fair access to primary life services?
These are some profound questions for those living in Kampung Akuarium (Aquarium Village), Penjaringan, north Jakarta, one of the 21 kampung prioritised for revitalisation under Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.
Kampung Akuarium has two interesting histories.
First is the Indonesian independence 76 years ago. During the independence commemoration, the village was known as a meeting place for founding fathers Soekarno and Muhammad Hatta, after returning from their exile.
Second is the conflict between residents and the government in the past five years that began under former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok.
On April 11, 2016, residents who have been living by the sea since the 1970s were evicted as Ahok planned to build sheet piles and embankments in the coastal area to prevent flooding in Jakarta. This forced some of the residents who were evicted to move to unwanted places, while others chose to survive among the ruins of their former residence.
Yet construction was not carried out until Ahok stepped down in 2017, when evicted residents returned to live there in makeshift tents and pursued legal action to sue the DKI Jakarta provincial government.
During the Jakarta governor election in 2017, Anies Baswedan won 58 per cent of votes to Ahok's 42 per cent. In his campaign, Anies promised to reorganise Kampung Akuarium as he believed eviction was not a good solution.
Immediately after becoming governor, Anies began dialogues with Kampung Akuarium residents, implemented regulations that complemented the community action plan and involved residents in the new design for their home.
After struggling for four years, on the 76th Indonesian Independence Day on Aug 17 this year, Kampung Akuarium residents felt the true meaning of freedom when they received the "keys" to the new building that was constructed a year earlier.
Some residents moved into their new homes a week after Anies inaugurated the first phase of the new Kampung Susun Akuarium. The management of the building is handled by residents themselves under the coordination of community cooperatives.
Built on 1ha of land, the first phase consists of two five-storey towers with 107 units, while the three towers still under construction will bring its total capacity to 241 units. It will be home to 700 residents and work is expected to be completed by year end.
The project, with a total cost estimated at 62 billion rupiah, is financed under a developer obligation fund from PT Almaron Perkasa, a subsidiary of PT Lippo Karawaci.
Based on the governor's decree, permitted developers must build and finance the conversion of buildings for some public projects.
Residents agreed on a split-level vertical building design, with staggered floor levels. It was designed with the help of a professional consultant to allow people to live in close proximity, like a kampung.
Residential blocks take up 40 per cent of the total area, with the remaining dedicated to green spaces and common areas, like a park, basketball field, amphitheatre, mosque and urban farms, including a waste management system.
Each block has a basement dedicated to public services, such as clinics, libraries, local cooperative offices and warung.
The design meets fire safety standards of Jakarta's Building Experts Team, including having emergency stairs. Located near cultural heritage sites such as the Maritime Museum and Hexagon Fish Market, the project is designed to blend in with its surroundings, which can emerge as a new tourist destination.
The restoration of Kampung Akuarium can be an example for efforts to restructure villages with similar problems, especially in a city as dense as Jakarta, which has 10.5 million inhabitants.
In terms of historical or cultural heritage, I believe Anies thinks the Kampung Akuarium community will work with the government not just to preserve the village, but also to bring economic benefit through good environmental stewardship, which can help locals support themselves.
With the government facilitating the development of the village for the local residents, Anies believes the principles of unity and social justice were fulfilled. He said this during the inauguration on Independence Day.
Gembong Warsono, head of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle faction of the Jakarta Regional Parliament, said Anies had violated a regional regulation as the village was in a red zone and should be used for government affairs.
He believed that integrating residences into historical tourism areas and giving them "cultural heritage" status was a form of deception and could lead to issues in the future.
In 2019, Gembong asked Anies to return to the original plan for Kampung Akuarium, which was to make it a historical tourist site.
Part 2 tomorrow: Transition to vertical living
The writer is a medical doctor who teaches at the LSPR Communication & Business Institute in Jakarta
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times