Space Utilization in Vertical Residential Complex (Rusunawa) in Jakarta, Indonesia

The rapid growth of cities, including Jakarta, encourages the conversion of non-built-up areas into built-up ones. It can threaten their sustainability. To overcome a decreasing trend of green open spaces, the Government of Jakarta (GoJ) has established a policy stipulating that urban areas must have at least 30% green open spaces. Therefore, the vertical residential complex can be a solution to reach it, especially in Simple and Low-Cost Apartment Buildings (Rusunawa). Based on previous issues, this paper analyses their surface and whether it reaches the regulation. Moreover, this paper identifies factors influencing the surface. We study 30 of 32 Rusunawas in Jakarta. Then, we conducted descriptive spatial analysis by interpreting high-resolution satellite imagery to find space utilization patterns in the Rusunawas. The findings are that: only 20 % of Rusunawas (6 of 30 Rusunawas) have reached a minimum of 30 % green open space of the total area, indicating challenges to meeting the regulation. Based on in-depth interviews with the management of Rusunawa, the findings are that: the land availability of Rusunawas' complex is limited, green open space competes with anthropogenic-living space use, and the initial site plan is not designed to meet the regulation. Moreover, in the case of Rusunawa located near the coastal area, water, and land salinity are obstacles.