Reimagining “Nusantara” Smart City
Indeed, the development of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) is inevitable. Government has a robust faith for bringing into reality that mega project. Even Minister of Investment, Bahlil Lahadalia, shouted the Nusantara construction is harga mati or non-negotiable and should keep progressing. Such optimism shored-up by a claim that foreign investment stream is owned and ready to materialize one of the President Jokowi’s legacy. Although public pessimistic is still ranging.
It is reasonable when the Nusantara discourse keep trundle. This is national agenda that will affect future Indonesia. Pros-cons is just a normal way to express the concern as citizen. Nusantara is shadowed by the flop of relocating capital city such as Naypyidaw and Brasilia due to the legibility. Quoting James Scott, it is an ability to read and understand the problem clearly. The problem root of government’s mega-project flunk is caused by the absence of ability to identify the issue’s complexity in depth and wisely.
Evidently, the vision that poured on the bricks for Nusantara construction is colored by techno-utopianism. It believes that technology becomes determinant factor for the future and through technology development, we can access the entrance to the prosperity. This is reflected by the grounded slogans, Industry 4.0, Society 5.0, Metaverse, Blockchain to Smart City. Such a prominent flavor for Nusantara as future city. Of course, we hope those noble vision is not an ephemeral, simply following a trend that will evaporate without having a significant impact.
Smart City Imagination
Human tendency on transforming the civilization into higher level becomes one of the robust motivations on the birth of Smart City concept. The first idea of Smart City emerged in the book of The Republic created by Plato in the 375 BC so-called Platonic Utopia. How Plato craved a Just City, the city concept that referred to justice for bringing peace and prosperity to its inhabitants. Smart City interpretation continue to growth following the people imagination. For instance, Sir Thomas More’s Utopia (1516), Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City (1898), Le Corbusier’s The Radiant City (1920), Frank Lloyd’s Broadacre City (1935) to The Futurama (1939). All of them have the same point, how the concept can bring the human civilization to a better life through city development.
Such spirit has inspired Nusantara’s mega project. Writ large on Act №3/2022 article 3, clause 2, point g, the construction and development of the Nusantara Capital City is conducted based on the smart city principle. However, misconception on translating the smart city occurs frequently. Such as the city with fully technology based or installing many CCTVs minimally. Indeed, smart city is not only about CCTV. It should start from the needs of its society.
Anthony M. Townsend (2013) on his book, Smart Cities, assumed smart city is a city that shored up by an advanced technology in which triggered by two kinds of myth. Technology drives social change and technology provides neutral & objective solution to social problem. Technology is often seen as silver bullet to address all social problems while encouraging change for the better. In fact, precisely, it is not appropriate and even put the community into confusion. It seems reasonable while Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani, express her exacerbation on 24.000 ministry apps that not all of them are operating. Hence, for developing Nusantara Smart City, we need to shift the paradigm from technology-oriented into people-oriented.
People Oriented
It cannot be denied, human is a heart of all modernization. Not only as a subject, in terms of Nusantara Capital City development, society should also become the object of development. Ideally, the target of economic growth on the IKN establishment is not the main goal. But, social development for prosperity and life improvement should be take into account.
Those development based, according to Ben Green (2019) on his book The Smart Enough City, possibly realized by ensuring three provision: People “Desirable”, Business “viable”, and technical “feasible”. The context of desirable is not only about the immigrants’ desire to settle down, but also includes the condition of the local community that will be shaken by socio-cultural changes. The heated competition tensions with local resident while 60.000 civil servants occupy the Nusantara at the end of 2023 is inevitable. Inclusiveness becomes a crucial issue. We cannot let the social disparity and marginalization of indigenous Betawi from accessing social, economic, and political resources in Jakarta repeated in the Nusantara.
In the end, Nusantara smart city is not only friendly to immigrants. But also promising place to grow for the local community. Thus, the dream of an inclusive Nusantara Capital City is not just a dream. Just like William Shakespeare said on The Tragedy of Coriolanus, “what is the city but the people?”
P.S. This article becomes one of the author’s contemplations after becoming YSEALI Smart Cities Fellow Alumni back in 2021.
