YOGYAKARTA – Densification or density of buildings in urban areas of Yogyakarta is dominated by the change from the average building density classes to high density. Land area that experienced densification has declining trend, meaning that the presence of tall buildings densification only occurred in the period after the ring road of Yogyakarta was functional or occuring in the period before the economic crisis. Buildings densification’s directions in urban areas in Yogyakarta in 1994-1996 was to the east, in the period 1996-1998 to the southwest, and after 1998 tended to the north and northeast.
Thus was explained by Drs. R. Suharyadi, M.Sc. in his doctoral promotion exam in the UGM Faculty of Geography, Friday (18/3). The promoter was Prof. Dr. Hartono, D.E.A., D.E.S.S., co-promoters Prof. Dr. Dulbahri, and Prof. Dr. Hadi Sabari Yunus, M.A.
In front of the team led by prof. Dr. Suratman, M.Sc., Suharyadi said building densification generally occured at a distance of between 3000-4000 meters from the central urban areas, occuring in areas that have good accessibility, i.e. at a distance of approximately 1,000 meters from the main road. Densification of buildings decreases in line with the distance from the main road. "At a distance of 2500 meters from the main road, building densification is relatively very small," he explained.
In his study, buildings densification rate in the period 1996-1998 in Yogyakarta reached 457 hectares per year, with building densification dominant on the average-high density building. Meanwhile, the lowest speed average occured in the time period 2003-2006, which was only 22 hectares per year. "The average rate of buildings densification in urban areas of Yogyakarta for 12 years, during 1994-2006, amounting to 181 hectares per year," said the lecturer of the Faculty of Geography.
In his dissertation, Suharyadi said the development of urban areas is influenced by the level of accessibility, urban areas that have a relatively good accessibility tend to grow faster. However, buildings densification results in the decrease in open and vegetated land. The result felt by urban executive is the impediment of the environmental regulation because the land has already been occupied by urban buildings.
According to Suharyadi, environmental arrangement of the developed land is uneasy because it will bring many social problems. This problem arises not due to the accelerated population growth in urban areas, but due to the general problem, namely the scarcity and underdevelopment of data about the characteristics of the densification of buildings and the acquisition method of the data. "The availability of data densification characteristics of the building quickly and accurately becomes the immediate needs of urban executives," he said.
Yogyakarta urban areas have the relatively heterogenic building density appearance and the phenomenon of its urban areas growth is suitable to represent the appearance of urban areas in developing countries, namely the urban areas with high population growth, the developed areas growth is relatively high and expansion of the developed region is all the way through city’s administrative boundaries.
Suharyadi said the utilization of remote sensing can be used to understand the densification of buildings in urban areas and some factors influencing the pattern, direction, and speed of buildings densification. One model that was developed by Suharyadi is a hybrid interpretation technique of remote sensing image by combining the visual interpretation for the delineation of building objects and digital analysis for the introduction of building density.
Prof. Hartono said the result of the research is very important to be developed in urban areas in Indonesia. He said the current development policy is more concerned with the construction of a comfortable residential area with tall buildings, but lacking of adequate green facilities.