KAMPONG AND URBAN PHYSICS CHARACTERS
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360 definite kampong territories apparently. Kampong basically is the
integration between spatial organization territory and social organization. Obviously territory boundaries which are created by
the framings strengthen kampong dwellers identification as a community. In one side, the bound gives an exclusive image of
the kampong in city dwellers’ perspectives, but on the other side, it also creates a perception in kampong dwellers’ minds that the
city is not their territory. The f
rame makes us realize of the segregations “here” and “there”, public and private, friend and enemy, inside and
outside. On the other hand, circulation pathways connect the segregations with entrances which noted the boundaries of it. The
entrances clarify that there are differences between kampong parts and the other particular parts surrounding them and also
play roles symbolically to forbid or control the accesses that connect those two parts. Therefore, the permeability of framing is
a prerequisite which should be owned by a block of a city.
The entrance road is connected to the kampong road systems. In West Java it is known by the term of “jalan jajahan”
which is actually a soil pathway used by pedestrians to access an area. In the studied kampongs, it can be recognized that the jalan
jajahan is apparently an important element in the forming of kampong space configurations. The routes of jalan jajahan are
formed by some factors, i.e.: the boundaries of land possessions farms or ranches, the easiness and the convenience of
pedestrians.
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Kampong roads are determined by the evolution of jalan jajahan which have been there when the kampong are still
relatively not occupied. Kampong dwellers really pay attention to the jalan jajahan when they have to do dividing of the lands.
The role of the jalan jajahan is not the determining factor that forms kampong space configurations in the beginning, but
mostly is the factor to determine the start and ending points of circulations origin and destination. Kampong dwellers can
change the routes of jalan jajahan to be continuous. The changes are usually done according to the possessions of the lands or the
positions and orientations of their homes.
Kampong space configuration systems are formed incrementally by individual buildings. There are no global forms
which are planned before, hence basically the configurations are determined by houses positioning versus the existing houses by
not closing chances of physical accesses to other buildings. The existence of social harmony values among the kampong dwellers
make it possible to happen. It clarifies what has been stated by John Lang that an organic growth process as such is assured to
be controlled by a set of rules or social realities Lang, J., 1994:2.
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The pedestrians always bring bearers with weights, guide cattle, even carts for delivering agricultural crops.
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361 Kampong space configurations really depend on
kampong dwellers’ decisions individually or collectively in positioning their houses. However, their actions of building
houses cannot be apart from guidelines or rules which subconsciously guide them in building and positioning the
houses. Differ from the formal planned space configurations, circulation patterns in kampongs do not determine the building
locations and orientations but, on the contrary, are the results of building arrangements which are completely controlled by
kampong dwellers. 7. SPATIAL LINKAGES BETWEEN KAMPONG AND CITY
The spatial linkages between kampong and city is a connection between the “inner” and the “outer” of city blocks.
From empirical studies of the three kampongs, framing processes of city blocks really determine the integration of kampong spaces
in the city. The correlation is able to be understood as a “part to whole” relation.
Framing process
The kampong framing process which occurs to the three case studies basically is determined by the transformations and
the changes of building in the “outer” city blocks. Based on the findings from the three case studies, framing process tends to
narrow kampong territories. However, it is very rare that framing process eliminates the access that can connect kampong with city
roadscorridors. An access is a permeability attribute of kampong framing. Framing permeability is a condition that determines the
spatial linkages between the kampong and the particular city part surrounding it. The access to the kampong is a territory under
direct control from kampong’s residents, although the access lies on the frame zone. The control is expressed by building a gate on
the entrance road, even by narrowing it. The framing process and the control of kampong’s entrance causes kampong is equal to a
gated community which is recently very common developed in the exclusive real estate.
The framing process is usually followed by the penetration of formal buildings in the “outer” city blocks into
kampong. The penetration causes the alterations of land possession rights from kampong territory to the city. This process
is called kampong formalization. The resistance from kampong community to the land right alterations was very logical because it
would cause the decrease in territory and kampong community members. Sociologically, it could be understood because the
power politics of a marginal group under privilege often relied on the extent of occupied territories and the number of group
members. The resolution that happened was that kampong dwellers asked for compensations to provide or improve public
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362 infrastructures facilities in addition to the payments that were
given to the kampong lots’ owners. It showed that the framing process is a mediation process between social strength
kampong and capital strength city.
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The framing tends to instigate segregations social and spatial, which have been
existed, to become more.
“Part to whole” relation
The “part to whole” concept sees the spatial linkages between kampong and city as a system. The relation is a concept
which stated that an element always exists in a bigger environment in a unity of a system which has a particular
arrangement. Kampong relation to the system of city goes on in two ways, i.e.: spatially and trans-spatially. Firstly, kampong
spatial-physically must be connected with the city. Secondly, kampong does categorical separations, i.e. conceptually the
kampong dwellers segregate between us kampong and them city. The trans-spatial relation enables the orientation of
kampong values to be realized in the use of space and social interactions outside kampong.
Kampong demolishment influences the city life system as it loses one of its elements. Even if it is demolished, kampong will
grow again because it is a self-regulating settlement and is needed by the city. Differ from a formal housing, kampong lives
because it has a self-ability. Like the city, kampong has complete social facilities; stalls, kiosks, salons, garages, tailor, etc. The
existence of a kampong in the city centre is inevitable. Physically, kampong is a low cost settlement in the city which is needed by a
part of city dwellers, while the city is a place to make a living. Formal settlements do not always try to be close to neither
business nor commercial districts. However, kampong has to be in a strategic location, close to the workplaces, as the kampong in
the village is always close to the farming land. It is different from urban village developments which are recently done in developed
countries which are usually located in suburban areas.