Main Migration Destinations Still Have Many Problems

The country’s main destinations for domestic migration have not been developed well. The 10 regions are still unable to provide an ideal livable environment for their 27.8 million residents.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

A corner of the capital city in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, Tuesday (2/5/2023). The Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta requires migrants to have guaranteed housing when processing population documents.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Livability in the country’s main migration destinations is still low as indicated by the livability index produced by Kompas Research and Development.

The index is based on evaluating quantitative data on the development of livable areas. The result shows that the 10 main migration destinations in 2021 have not reached the ideal as livable cities. These are the cities of Depok, Bekasi, Tangerang and Bandung, as well as the regencies of Bogor, Bekasi, Deli Serdang, Bandung, Tangerang, and Sleman.

This phenomenon is ironic because the migration destinations, which are also economic centers with relatively high wages and sufficient supporting facilities, are yet to provide a decent living environment for their citizens.

Almost all destinations of domestic migration are not ready to receive a mass arrival of migrants. Sporadic and uncontrolled development has sprung up, along with high-density areas, due to an invasion of migrants. Instead of living in peace and comfort, the local residents, including migrants, have to live side by side with a number of problems.

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According to Rudy P. Tambunan, an urban environment observer at the University of Indonesia’s School of Strategic and Global Studies, haphazard urban development had caused many problems.

“Urban areas in Indonesia have generally developed as an urban sprawl [random or unplanned]. Urban development is not supported by infrastructure in a timely manner, resulting in development delays, and many social and economic problems arise," Rudy said on Thursday (6/4/2023).

This problem needs to be addressed with mitigation measures. Muhammad Cholifihani, director of population and social security at the National Development Planning Ministry/National Development Planning agency (Bappenas), conveyed the importance of regional readiness in dealing with the phenomenon of domestic migration.

"It is important that cities and settlements are livable by developing infrastructure for, among other things, basic services, clean water, sanitation as well as other supporting infrastructure," he said.

FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Density of vehicles lining up to pay at the Cikampek Utama 2 Toll Gate, Karawang, West Java, Sunday (30/4/2023). More than 45 thousand vehicles entered Jakarta that day. The accumulated number of vehicles on the return flow of Idul Fitri in the last week was recorded at 505,429 units.

Livable

The livability index is composed of 16 indicators grouped into four main parameters, namely social conditions, economic conditions, environmental conditions and infrastructure facilities. Kompas used data from 2021 for each indicator. The parameter of economic conditions, for example, consists of the number of unemployed and the minimum wage. The environmental parameter is measured according to population density, number of disasters, and green open space.

The index has a rating scale from 0 to 1. The closer to 1, the higher the livability of an area, meaning that the surveyed area is able to meet its residents’ basic needs so they can settle down and live comfortably while remaining active.

Among for the 10 main destinations of domestic migration, Sleman regency scored the highest with just 0.59.

The study was carried out on 514 districts and cities in Indonesia. The results of the index found that all regions in Indonesia scored no more than 0.7. This means that most regions in the country are still unable to provide a livable space for their inhabitants.

Among for the 10 main destinations of domestic migration, Sleman regency scored the highest with just 0.59. Following Sleman, in order of the highest scores, are Bekasi (0.564), Tangerang (0.56), Deli Serdang (0.553), and the cities of Depok (0.551), Bekasi (0.539) and Tangerang (0.502). In addition, three other regions scored below 0.5, namely Bandung regency, Bandung municipality and Bogor, all in West Java province.

Inadequate

The city of Bandung scored lowest, with 0.46 points. Its economic parameter is the weakest, partly due to its high unemployment rate. The West Java office of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded that the unemployment rate in 2011 for the city of Bandung was 11.46 percent.

Idam Rahmat, the head of the Administration and Human Development Division of Bappeda West Java, said that to ensure that districts and cities in West Java were developed properly, the local administration had provided stimulus in the form of its healthy city program and village development index.

At the national level, Budi Situmorang, Area Development Expert Staffer to the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister/Head of the National Land Agency (BPN), emphasized the importance of realizing area development and spatial planning in an objective and dynamic manner.

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The portrait of problems in domestic migration destinations is a good lesson for looking at the design of the new capital city, which is expected to become a new destination for migrants. Cholifihani said that by 2045, it was estimated that between 1.8 million and 2 million people would live in the downtown area of the new capital city.

It is not impossible that the actual figure will be much bigger than projected. The development of the seat of government will be followed by developments in other sectors, such as education, housing, industry and services. The readiness of the local government is important, so that the hopes of urban residents and migrants for a better life are not merely wishful thinking. (KOMPAS R&D)

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.