Study of recreational function quality of public green open space around Jakarta’s East Flood Canal

Abstract

Public Green Open Spaces (GOS) play a significant role in urban sustainability. These places should provide high-quality recreational experiences for urban residents. However, they are often overused. The area around the East Flood Canal (Banjir Kanal Timur) in eastern Jakarta, Indonesia, was transformed into a natural recreation area. An on-site survey among public GOS visitors reveals that most of them consider the area to be overcrowded on Sundays or public holidays. They also report a perceived increase in visitor numbers over recent years. All users of the public GOS report perceptions of higher crowding. A significant proportion try to avoid these crowds, relying on behavioural coping strategies such as interarea displacement. While urban renewal has provided an attractive recreation area, urban densification around the green space appears to have reduced its recreational quality. Monitoring recreational quality indicators, such as crowding perceptions, seems to be useful for sustainable management of urban green space and city planning. This study uses a qualitative approach to seek information and public opinion about the existence of a GOS that was developed as a public open space, as well as information from stakeholders and other relevant agencies.