Kebayoran Baru

Kebayoran Baru is a district (Indonesian: kecamatan) in the administrative city of South Jakarta, Indonesia. The name was derived from a planned satellite city of the same name which was developed in the post-war period. Kebayoran Baru was the last residential area to be developed by the Dutch colonial administration. The urban planning was laid in a concept of the Garden city movement, consisting of a well-planned residential area, a shopping center, and a business district, supported with civic facilities such as schools, places of worship, hospitals, and parks. Today, the district is home to many important government institutions, such as the Indonesia Stock Exchange building, the ASEAN Headquarters building, the National Police headquarters, and the City Hall of South Jakarta. Sudirman Central Business District is also located in the district.
The literal meaning of Kebayoran Baru is "New Kebayoran". The word kebayoran itself is derived from kabayuran, meaning "stockpiles of bayur wood (Pterospermum javanicum)". Kabayuran or Kebayuran refers to the name of a settlement Kampung Kabayuran (older Dutch spelling Kamp. Kabajoeran), located outside Batavia on the west bank of Grogol River. The settlement was located near an area where stockpiles of timber (including bayur wood) were established to be transported to Batavia via the river. Bayur wood is known for its strength and resistance to termite attack. The Kampung Kabayuran settlement thrived in the early 19th-century but has since been urbanized. This settlement was located roughly on what is now the Kebayoran Railway Station.
As a district, the area of Kebayoran Baru is larger than the historic Kebayoran Baru satellite city, including the southern area of Kebayoran Baru and the Sudirman Central Business District to the northeast. The rough boundaries of Kebayoran Baru district are Sudirman Avenue to the northwest, Gatot Subroto Road to the northeast, Krukut River to the east, Cipete Utara Road - Haji Nawi Road to the south, and Grogol River to the west.
The district of Kebayoran Baru is divided into ten kelurahan or subdistricts:
This subsection focuses on the area of Kebayoran Baru that was once the Kebayoran Baru satellite city.
The development of Kebayoran Baru satellite town was very quick. The 730 ha land in Kebayoran was initially planned as a new airport, established to replace Kemayoran Airport (1940) whose location blocked the development of Batavia eastward. This plan was replaced with a plan for a satellite town for Batavia, the Kebajoran. The first idea for the satellite town was started in July 1948 and was immediately approved in September 1948. The new satellite town is located relatively close to Tanah Abang - Serpong railway line, enabling the transport of building construction material to the Kebajoran.
Following the approval of the plan, the colonial government began the land acquisition process for Kebayoran satellite town. On January 17, 1949, the land acquisition process for Kebayoran was completed. In February 1949, the first draft of the town's master plan was completed by Moh. Soesilo. Construction of the master plan followed immediately in March 1949, just a month later. Moh. Soesilo was an urban planner in the Centraal Planologisch Bureau and a student of Thomas Karsten, a renowned Dutch engineer who contributed to the urban planning and the development of architecture in colonial Indonesia. Soesilo designed the master plan for Kebayoran Baru and Pejompongan in 1948; these are the first urban center in the country to be designed by a native Indonesian.
The first laying of the stone was done on March 18, 1949. The first area to be designed is now located around Kebayoran station, on the east side of Grogol River. The construction was done by a specially-established Central Foundation for Reconstruction (Dutch: Centrale Stichting Wederopbouw, CSW), whose office was established near the current Attorney General building (Kejaksaan Agung) on June 1, 1948. The development of Kebayoran Baru satellite town was completed in 1955. The satellite town was connected to the center of Jakarta via Thamrin and Sudirman, both constructions started in 1949 and was finally opened in 1953. Before the completion of these roads, car access to Kebayoran Baru was via Jalan Palmerah Utara and Jalan Palmerah Selatan (now Jalan Asia Afrika).
Kebayoran Baru is designed following the principle of a garden city. Kebayoran Baru is a well-planned district, both in term of its urban planning and its infrastructure. Sudirman Avenue is the main road, which connects Kebayoran Baru to the city center in Central Jakarta. The southern quarter of the Semanggi Interchange is located in Kebayoran Baru.
The total planning area is 730 ha, with about 45% was allocated for the residential area, 16% for green space, and 14% for shops and other buildings. The remaining 25% of Kebayoran Baru area was allocated for roads.
Kebayoran Baru is divided into several blocks (Indonesian blok) from A to S. Today the block names of Kebayoran Baru has been largely forgotten, however some of the names linger in the name of the public facility within the urban block. Below is the list of Kebayoran Baru blocks and its landmarks.
Despite the lavish urban planning and design that involved the state government and the former Dutch East Indies colony, there are some inevitable concerns about the deviation from the initial master plan. Many scholars hold the view that Kebayoran Baru may not develop into the town its planners and architects envisioned. More recent arguments regarding this matter have been specified by Colombijn & Kusno (2017): According to widely held view at the time, a satellietstad (satellite town) was to be built at least 15 kilometres from the city centre to be a feasible new town; however, in practice, the length between the city centre and the newly built satellite town was only eight kilometres long, and the new connecting highway was immediately filled with ribbon developments on both edges, hence losing its standing as a satellite city.
Another criticism that depicts the difficulties of putting planning into practice was made by Roosmalen (2003). She explained that one of the principal regulations defining and ensuring the new town's autonomy and self-sufficiency proved difficult to follow. The construction of any structure along the connecting highway between Batavia (City Centre) and Kebayoran Baru is prohibited. From both an intellectual and a pragmatic standpoint, breaking restrictions like this jeopardised the plan's initial layout. Furthermore, according to Handinoto (1954), after Kebayoran Baru was finally completed in 1945, it did not achieve the intended goals. Only 4,720 homes were constructed out of a total of 7,050; and public facilities such as local markets, schools, mosques, and a church also didn't meet the intended outcome, with only 162 built out of the expected 352 public amenities.
On the other hand, despite these several pieces of evidence about the deviation from its planning vision, Kebayoran Baru also contributed positively to the future of planning theories and practices in Indonesia. A notable example of these positive outcomes is the fact that this new town has a considerable density compared to most post-World War II new cities across the United Kingdom. According to Silver (2008), Kebayoran Baru was expected to have a capacity of about 50,000 and 100,000 residents, in comparison with the UK which only projected for 25000 inhabitants. Even more, the core area's density in Kebayoran Baru was relatively close to 500,000 residents when completed. Additionally, the plan for this satellite city also has significant contributions to research in urban planning and future development of new towns in Indonesia generally and in Jakarta specifically. Sumintardja (2010), demonstrated this point clearly by stating that the human settlement study in Indonesia became significant soon after WWII ended and was included in the planning for the construction of Kebayoran Baru in 1948.
Moreover, Silver (2008) also added by stating that the master plan of Kebayoran Baru illustrated the garden city scheme so eminently that it inspired the planning and development principles for Greater Jakarta in 1952. In other words, it was the garden city idea that was written in the larger context of metropolitan Jakarta. In Indonesia's post-independence era, Kebayoran Baru drew much attention and served as a model for constructing new cities (Colombijn & Kusno, 2017).
In the face of all the critiques about how the development of Kebayoran Baru did not turn out as the intended plan, this satellite city has proved to be a significant example of early planning practice in Indonesia, especially in a post-World War II reconstruction era. Unlike the rigorous construction process seen anywhere else in the state, Kebayoran Baru was created at an astounding speed of implementation, from design to mass housing construction (Colombijn, 2014). Since the plan's approval in September 1948, it only took five months to acquire the entire land area, finalise the master plan, and start construction.
Kebayoran Baru today is no longer a separated city as initially envisioned but rather an essential part of Greater Jakarta in general, particularly one of the activities centres in South Jakarta. As quoted by Roosmalen (2005): “Kebayoran Baru today in many parts and ways is a pleasant district where spacious residential areas with abundant green spaces and busy business areas alternate in an enjoyable way and it's considered the centre of Jakarta by many” (p. 21).
Most buildings in Kebayoran Baru were designed following the principle of functionalism, that is making use of the latest building material (reinforced concrete) and taking into consideration the principle of tropical design - to maximize natural lighting while minimizing the heat without the use of electricity. Post-war modernism style e.g. the so-called Yankee-type or Jengki style were popular in Kebayoran Baru, so called because of its heavy influence from the American post-war modernism. For example, middle-class houses in Kebayoran were designed with a square or rectangular layout, but the first floor is tilted forward to protect the facade of the lower level from the sun. Lower-level official houses in Kebayoran make use of front patio. Larger villas in Kebayoran were usually designed by well-known Indies architects at that time such as Job & Sprey and Liem Bwan Tjie. The current Kebayoran Baru district also includes some villages which is not part of the original plan. These additions are now located in Radio area, Gandaria Utara, and Cipete Utara.
Being a design older than 50 years, Kebayoran Baru is considered a cultural heritage (Cagar Budaya) according to Law no. D.IV-6099/d/33/1975. New modern international style developments in the area has been a threat to the historic tropical residential character of Kebayoran Baru.
To the southwest of the residential area of Kebayoran was the Radio Kebajoran, a radio broadcasting station located just to the west of Block A. The area of radio broadcasting station has never been fully developed, however the name lingers in the name of the streets Jalan Radio Dalam (inner Radio street) and Jalan Antene ("Antennae" street). Jalan KH. Ahmad Dahlan was formerly named Jalan Radio (Radio Street), the street that leads to the Radio Kebajoran complex. The entire area planned as Radio Kebajoran complex is now located in Gandaria Utara Administrative Village.
Kebayoran Baru is one of the most affluent areas of Jakarta, where many wealthy citizens reside. Many prominent Indonesians live in the district, including Jusuf Kalla (Vice President of Indonesia and business tycoon), Guruh Sukarnoputra (son of Sukarno and an artist) with his mother Fatmawati, Hary Tanoesoedibjo (Indonesian media tycoon), and Tomy Winata (businessman and the owner of Artha Graha Bank), among others. Kebayoran Baru, and the district of Menteng, is the most expensive residential districts in Indonesia, having very high land prices per square foot.
Although Kebayoran Baru, in the Sukarno era, was solely a residential area, the district now harbors many commercial ventures, is known for its lifestyle businesses. The southern part of the neighborhood is filled with large mansions with lots ranging from 500 square meters to 6000 square meters. The northern part of the city is dominated by luxury apartments and office buildings. Senayan is notable for its large concentration of businesses run by Korean expatriates in Indonesia, a trend which began as early as 1982.
Because it was conceptualized as a satellite city from the early times, all the facilities that support a community can be found in Kebayoran Baru.
There are also several puskesmas (health clinic) that mainly serves the lower middle class society.
Markets (pasar) managed by the Jakarta Provincial Government (under PD Pasar Jaya) in this sub-district includes:
Along with the development of the city, shopping centers that are managed by the private sector have also emerged. There are also trading centers for specialty goods, although some are not well planned, such as:
There was once a flower and ornamental fish market in the Barito Park area but since late 2007 the location has been moved to the Radio Dalam area because Barito Park is designated as an open green area.
As a planned community with the principle of a garden city, Kebayoran Baru have numerous major and minor city parks (taman kota). Here are the list of city parks on Kebayoran Baru.