Bambang Setioko

Transformation of form in the growth of modern Javanese house in Laweyan Surakarta

Javanese house tradition grows and develops along time. In the modern era, the development of materials technology, both from the Javanese community and from the European experts, has influenced the way to build a house among the Javanese community. Visible changes are so radical in the use of materials and structural system of the building that they influence the look and shape of the house. The purpose of this research is to study the form transformation in the growth of modern Javanese houses at Kampung Batik Laweyan Surakarta. Laweyan is the traditional Javanese kampung already existing in the Kingdom Pajang long before the birth of Surakarta. Morphological analysis was used to understand deformation of modern Javanese homes developed by the generations of batik entrepreneurs in the 20th century. Indicators of ‘the Javanese origin’ in modern Javanese houses are seen from the consistency of the traditional house configuration, indicated by spatial structure of pendopo, dalem, and gandok. The conclusion is that some Javanese principles still remain in developing modern houses in Laweyan, namely: (1) a house should always be developed creatively to give comfort and protection; and (2) a house should always give benefit and wealth to the owner.

The utilization characteristics of social facilities in the border area of Semarang city

The rapid growth of settlement in border areas is often considered as a problem of big cities in Indonesia, where people from rural areas prefer to move out and settle in the border areas of big cities due to the provision of better social facilities. Border areas generally do not receive adequate attention and are often overlooked by the local government. It is a common phenomenon in Indonesian cities, including in Semarang City. Increased number of settlements in the border areas in Semarang City is in linear with spontaneous urbanization processes which indicate the heterogeneity emerging of settlement areas. In the early stages of Semarang City spatial planning, the need for social facilities in border areas is included based on the regular standard which is commonly applied to the urban core. In a very short period, the numbers and types of existing social facilities are insufficient to fulfill the needs of the community. Nowadays, in the context of rapid urbanization, the growth of social facilities in border areas is very high. The intense growth of settlements in border areas is very high due to the low price of land in Demak Regency in compared to those of other areas in Semarang City. However, only a few developers involved social facilities as a part of housing estate construction. Consequently, most of the occupants utilize a limited number of social facilities provided by the municipal government, which are actually intended to serve the citizens of Semarang City. This research was conducted at Sendang Mulyo Village which is located in the border of Semarang municipal administrative area and included in Demak Regency. This paper discusses the utilization characteristics of social facilities in the border area of Semarang City, with the aim to get the trigger factors. The method analysis consisted of a statistical test and descriptive analysis. The utilization characteristics were formulated based on the relationship between neighborhood and human behavior. The settlements in the border area of Semarang City have different characteristics. The differences led to a gap of the utilization of facilities between people who live in the planned and unplanned settlement. Therefore, the social spatial concept is required to address the issue.