MANAGING PUBLIC SPACE: THE CASE OF MALIOBORO COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR, YOGYAKARTA - INDONESIA

ROEDY FAHRIZAL, Giuliano Mingardo, M.Sc.

2011 | Tesis | S2 Magist.Prnc.Kota & Daerah

Penggal jalan Malioboro merupakan kawasan perdagangan yang terletak di pusat kota Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Sebagai bagian dari sumbu utara-selatan pada perkembangan pembentukan kota Yogyakarta di tahun 1756, saat ini Malioboro merupakan kawasan yang mengakomodasi beragam kegiatan: pemerintahan, komersial, kebudayaan, dan sejarah. Sebuah ruang publik, idealnya, terbuka dan dapat diakses oleh semua orang. Kegiatan pedagang kakilima di Malioboro dapat mengurangi aksesibilitas ruang publik yang ada di kawasan tersebut. Seumumnya, kebijakan yang diterapkan oleh pemerintah di banyak kota adalah merelokasi dan melokalisir aktifitas perdagangan informal kakilima ke kawasan pasar yang lebih formal, dengan alasan menjaga keindahan dan menerapkan ketertiban di ruang publik perkotaan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memahami bagaimana para PKL dan organisasinya menggunakan ruang publik yang terbatas itu, dan sekaligus untuk mengeksplorasi peran mereka dalam proses mengelola ruang publik, termasuk bagaimana pemerintah mengelola ruang tanpa merelokasi PKL yang ada. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode eksploratif berupa observasi lapangan dan wawancara kepada beberapa narasumber kunci dengan dibantu data-data pendukung berupa dokumen peraturan pemerintah, organisasi PKL, dan surat kabar elektronik. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa pemanfaatan ruang publik oleh para PKL telah diatur oleh pemerintah kota Yogyakarta melalui beberapa peraturan yang telah mengalami beberapa kali revisi dan penyempurnaan dalam rangka mengakomodasi kondisi yang berkembang di kawasan tersebut selama hampir dua dekade. Disarankan agar PKL dan organisasi komunitas kawasan Malioboro dapat mengubah perilaku mereka dalam menyikapi peluang yang ada, khususnya yang berkaitan dengan upaya pemerintah mengikutsertakan komunitas yang ada di Malioboro dalam mengelola kawasan. Inisiatif dan sikap pro-aktif dari mereka akan mampu mengubah pandangan publik terhadap keberadaan mereka di kawasan tersebut.

Malioboro corridor is a well-known shopping street located at the centre of Yogyakarta (Indonesia). It was part of the north-south axis of the initial development of Yogyakarta in 1756. Today, Malioboro serves as a place that accommodates various types of activities: administrative, commercial, cultural, and historical. It also has become an icon of Yogyakarta for tourism. The expression of “you have not been in Yogya before visiting Malioboro” strengthens its position. A number of important historic buildings and government buildings were located in the corridor, such as Keraton (the Sultan palace), Kepatihan (the governor's office), and the Legislative building of Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. However, what has made Malioboro unique was the street vending activities in the corridor. Street vending activity has become one of the tourism attractions in Malioboro for both local and foreign visitors. They have become the trademark of Malioboro. A public space, ideally, was open and accessible to all people. Street vending activities at Malioboro might hinder the accessibility of the public space. It was a common policy taken by the authority in many urban areas – due to the beautification and maintaining order in urban public space – to relocate and localize the street vendors to a formal market area. However, the authority of the city of Yogyakarta acknowledged and accommodated the street vendors in Malioboro corridor. This was the initial intention of this research to explore and highlight important issues occurred in managing the Malioboro public space. This research used an exploratory method to understand how the street vendors and their formal association share the limited public space and what their role were in the process to manage the public space, as well as to assess the way local authority manages the public space without relocating the existing street vendors. Field observation was conducted; a number of key respondents – from the government institutions and community organizations – were interviewed regarding their involvement in managing the Malioboro public space. At the same time, a number of legal documents and local news were used as addition to the findings and analysis. A number of variables were developed to support the research framework regarding the government-community interaction, including space, time of use, networking, concession, image of place, safety issues, regulation and its enforcement, investment, maintenance, and coordination. The research concluded that street vendors and their organizations - as one of the stakeholders in Malioboro corridor - shared the use of Malioboro public space arranged by the city of Yogyakarta. It was based on a gradual improvement in the regulations to accommodate the growing condition happened in that area. It was the result of the interaction of community and government for over two decades. Networking built among the communities in Malioboro was seen as an important strength for sustaining the balance for utilization of the existing public space. However, compared to the elapsed time to maintain their legitimacy in Malioboro public space, the response and commitment of street vendor community to support the government policy in managing Malioboro public space were not as expected. The research also concluded that the regulation set by the city of Yogyakarta for Malioboro area was accommodative to the growing demands in Malioboro, proven with the development and revisions made from the previous regulations. It gave two interpretations. On the one hand, it could be viewed as a decline in the government top-down approach; while on the other hand, it was a way of government to manage and accommodate the community in their urban policy. The partnership concept in managing the public space in Malioboro regarding the establishment of UPT Malioboro and LPKKM can be viewed as government’s ideal approach in managing the public space. The role of government would be less dominant and the community awareness as well as their better understanding on the public space became the counterweight to the government policy. The research suggested that the opportunity provided by government for Malioboro communities, as the partner in managing the Malioboro public space, should change their current attitude. They should take initiative and proactive action to demonstrate their commitment through significant actions – started from their internal organization - to improve the quality of public spaces. This will also build positive impression on the informal sector communities since they have contributed in building the image of Malioboro. The research also suggested that the recent established institutions in managing Malioboro (UPT Malioboro and LPKKM) should not be interpreted solely as a delegating the burden of managing the public space in Malioboro. Identification of stakeholders and interests were important to develop a priority at the early stage to overcome the heterogeneity of activities and stakeholders. Therefore, the government need to take further steps to carry out various approaches towards the different stakeholders – formal and informal community. Further research was suggested to help identifying stakeholders (their interests and their role) along with the identification of government institutions to be accommodated in the collaboration scheme of the management.

Kata Kunci : ruang publik, pengelolaan ruang publik, Malioboro, PKL, kolaborasi