In 2020, the total urban population is estimated at 153 million people, or 57 percent of the total population of Indonesia. by 2035, more than 67 percent of Indonesia’s population will live in urban areas. Urbanization is considered a way to improve people’s standard of living.

This data was presented by the Minister of Public Works Basuki Hadimulyono who was represented by the Secretary-General of PUPR, Ir. Mohammad Zainal Fatah in The 5th International Conference Planning in the Era of Uncertainty (ICPEU), Monday (19/7/2021) online.

The development of metropolitan cities in Indonesia, including Surabaya, Semarang, Denpasar, Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Palembang, Banjarmasin, Makassar, and Manado, all of which will be supported by intra and inter connectivity infrastructure.

The metropolitan city that is feasible to live in must be able to improve the welfare of the city and region, create economic agglomeration to facilitate mobility, manage density, provide job opportunities, and increase income for its citizens.

Meanwhile, the smart city concept can be seen from aspects including, transformative to make its citizens smarter by improving the quality of life of its citizens, consistently preserving the environment, encouraging innovation to support productivity, while protecting the environment.

Another aspect is Adaptive for Better Future, becoming a smarter city and adapting to the future, not only accommodating today’s latest techniques and technologies but also designing and developing a better future infrastructure network, then there are solutions to urban problems by encouraging an innovation ecosystem. as a platform that changes people’s lives, inclusively embracing all citizens.

“With the diversity of regional characteristics and potential, urban and rural development must be carried out in an integrated and thematic manner so that rural and urban areas can perform optimally as growth engines,” he explained.

The Smart City and Livable Metropolitan concepts deserve to be realized and implemented as a solution for the development of Indonesia’s future cities. Elements of interdependence in rural and urban areas need to be further developed to find a balance that will ensure sustainable urban and rural development following the SDGs. (kanal24/mic)