Local Elites and Public Space Sustainability: The Local Elite Roles in the Presence and Usage of Public Space in Malang Raya, Indonesia

Abstract

Public space has become a major concern in urban area development due to its close relation with human security issues such as socio economic, health, and environmental security. In the development of urban area in Indonesia, decentralization system giving greater authority and power to the local government has increased the dynamics of local political constellation. Consequently, the presence and usage of public space in urban area cannot be separated from the interest of local political elites. This study investigated the roles of local political elites in the presence and usage of public space in urban area in Indonesia‘s decentralization era. The focused areas were Malang Municipality, Batu Municipality and Malang Regency that commonly known in Indonesia as the Metropolitan Malang Raya. The result of this study revealed that local political business elites frequently influenced economical and political decisions to steer a public space utilization in order to defend and expand their wealth and power. In this case, lobbying and negotiation among elites had big influences. Moreover, the access to the local mass base such as the Aremania soccer fans society seems to be significant to their strategies. The results of this study revealed that the utilization of public spaces as a part of human security fulfillment is often defeated by business and political interests.