Spatial impact of the Semarang old town revitalization: the emergence of formal and informal space

Abstract

Old Town is a historic area and also a highly prospective tourism destination in Semarang city. Beforehand, this area faced some problems such as tidal flood, costly building maintenance, and high building taxes. As a result, many historic buildings are abandoned by their owners and become unkempt. Responding to this, the government decided to revitalize the Old Town areas, focusing on physical improvements like fixing roads, drainage, and adding infrastructure. This revitalization transforms the area’s spatial use, allowing more activities convened on the site. However, this transformation also triggers irregular space usage and informal space. In this study, we emphasize the emergence of formal and informal areas due to revitalization. It is essential to find out the emergence of these spaces as part of spatial management. We start by identifying elements in the revitalization process, comparing the land and space utilization before and after revitalization, and analyze its impact on the emergence of formal and informal spaces. We will collect the data through field observations, interviews, and literature review, and we utilize descriptive analysis and geographic information systems as a method of analysis. The results show that revitalization is indeed changing space utilization. Informal activities such as illegal dwellings, cockfights, prostitution, illegal street vendors, and unlawful parking are no longer present in the Old Town area. Informal activities have changed into formal activities as Semarang City Government provides avenues for service providers, pedestrians, and traders to utilize the space.