Small town urbanization and project experimentation in Pangandaran Region, Indonesia

Abstract

This article contributes to the debate of small centre urbanization and positions it amidst three emerging challenges: urban-rural transformation, economic experimentation, and disaster risk mitigation. To examine the entanglement of the three forces, we analysed the expansion of the Pangandaran urban area – a small urbanizing area in West Java. This expansion occurred as part of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project, in the form of a regional infrastructure plan including railway, airport, and harbour development to accommodate tourism flux. This study uses discursive and qualitative approaches to rural-urban transformation with data gathered through document analysis, mapping, and FGDs with local stakeholders. The results show that although urbanization was a complex process with promises of extensive infrastructure developments and national projects, little attention has been paid to the internal urban structure, utilities, and increasing vulnerability to natural disasters in Pangandaran. The study also addresses how urban theories and policies should deal with the complexities of small urban areas in Indonesia.

Coastal Scenic Assessment in Pangandaran District, West Java Province, Indonesia

“…Changes in the environment, both social and physical, may result from the development of tourist areas along the coast, and this is possible in the Pangandaran District. In general, studies that discuss the potential and problems of tourism in Pangandaran mostly focus on human parameters and legal aspects, such as information and marketing (Nugraha, 2019;Rudiana, 2018;Sujatna et al, 2019), rural tourism community development (Astuti, 2021;Damayani et al, 2021;Komariah et al, 2018;Subekti et al, 2022), tourism impact on nature reserves (Komsary, 2018;Panuntun, 2020), legal aspects (Kurniati et al, 2019(Kurniati et al, , 2020. In fact, the potential for marine tourism is influenced by the naturalness of the coastal scenery, and conversely, the development of marine tourism affects the coastal scenery.…”

Pengembangan Sistem Transportasi Masa Depan: Mobilitas Berkelanjutan dan Otonom di Jawa Barat

“…Sebagai contoh, pengembangan proyek infrastruktur, seperti proyek Kawasan Ekonomi Khusus (KEK) di Pangandaran, yang meliputi pembangunan rel kereta api, bandara, dan pelabuhan, dapat membantu mengakomodasi pertumbuhan populasi dan urbanisasi8. Namun, penting untuk mempertimbangkan struktur internal kota, utilitas, dan kerentanan terhadap bencana alam ketika merencanakan proyek-proyek tersebut (Astuti et al, 2021). Oleh karena itu, penanganan masalah-masalah tersebut telah menjadi prioritas utama bagi para pembuat kebijakan dan perencana kota.…”