Explorations of Young People’s Sense of Place Using Urban Design Qualities in Surabaya, Indonesia

Setyo Nugroho,Junyi Zhang

doi:10.3390/su14010472

Abstract

This study aims to assess a sense of place in the context of an Indonesian city through real-time walking experience. With rapid urban development, the cityscape may change, leading to a lack of a sense of place. Here, the sense of place was measured by utilizing individual reactions to different urban design qualities and perceptual qualities during walking. Previous methods on visitors’ evaluation of places, walking experience and photographing, were adapted by adding two more stages: in-depth interviews and a workshop, obtaining participants’ opinions and behaviours. The analysis results showed that the participants experienced the sense of place through physical and non-physical features corresponding to walking speed. While the old buildings and ornament details attracted participants’ attention, this study demonstrated that the two-way interaction with residents also strengthened the sense of place. The major finding was that the participants were concerned about improving pedestrian infrastructure and the conservation of old buildings in the area. With the assistance of in-depth interviews and a workshop, participants’ perspectives were visually reflected in a comprehensive way. This study may be helpful for urban planners to manage the sense of place in historic city centres under the pressure of rapid urban development.

Highlights

With roughly 151 million people, or over half of its population living in towns and cities, it is unsurprising that Indonesia has more than 20 cities with populations of over half a million people [1]
A total of 1410 photographs were collected during the walking session
In the context of the Bubutan district, we found that the participants shared the physical aspects through mentioning the narrow streets, the shopping arcade and sidewalk with trees, visual richness including the chaos, activities and objects at the human level that contributed to the development of imageability, which made the place unique, legible, and impressive

Summary

Introduction

With roughly 151 million people, or over half of its population living in towns and cities, it is unsurprising that Indonesia has more than 20 cities with populations of over half a million people [1]. Rapid urbanization has put an enormous strain on the urban infrastructure, urban transportation systems [2] To address these shortfalls, Indonesia’s government has embarked on several sustainable transport strategies, including the development of mass transit systems in six metropolitan areas under the National. The tendency has been to develop roads for the sake of motorists, without due consideration for other aspects such as impacts on local business, safety, and landscapes. The impact of these trends is largely unknown because there is still very little research on walking in Indonesia’s cities.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion