The Department of URP Undip Collaborates with UGM and Radboud University to Host Summer Course about Urban Transformation Issues

by M Rusmul Khandiq | May 13, 2023 | News, Summer Course

(8/5) The Department of Urban and Regional Planning (URP) Undip in collaboration with Universitas Gadjah Mada and Radboud University hosted a summer course titled “International Joint Course 2023”. The theme that was chosen in this summer course is “Learning Urban Transformation: Ensuring Sustainability in a Changing World”, where this theme was chosen to provide experiences for the participants in understanding urban transformation that currently occurred in two big cities in Indonesia, namely Semarang and Yogyakarta. This summer course was held in a hybrid form and was taken by students who are currently pursuing master’s degrees both at those three universities above and from other universities. The opening ceremony was held in the Theatre Room, the Department of URP Undip.

Prof. Dr-Ing. Wiwandari Handayani, S.T, M.T, MPS, the Head of the Department of URP Undip, had the opportunity to give opening remarks. In her remarks, she welcomed the participants who joined the event which has been held for five times. She also hoped that this collaboration will not only stop at this summer course but also on other matters. “Welcome to the City of Semarang and please enjoy this event. Thank you for the support from all the parties involved,” she said.

The same thing was also expressed by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Ir. M. Agung Wibowo, M.M, M.Sc, PhD, where he gave full support to the Department of URP Undip in hosting this summer course. “I am supporting this program because it not only provides benefit for our students, colleges, and faculty, but also this program can strengthen international relations with the related parties,” he said.

Arwita Mawarti, S.T, M.T from the Regional Planning Agency (BAPPEDA) of Semarang City also welcomed the participants. As one of the partners in this summer course and also as a part of the Semarang City Government, she expressed how the Semarang City Government really welcomes the participants in learning everything related to the city planning that has been implemented in Semarang. “Semarang is an interesting city to be researched by the students. And we welcomed the arrival of these participants in the City of Semarang,” she said.

The summer course will last for 9 hari, in which the first 5 days will be held in Semarang and 4 days will be held in Yogyakarta. The participants were invited to visit several institutions in the City of Semarang such as BAPPEDA of Semarang City and Jatibarang Landfill, and several interesting destinations such as Mangunharjo Coastal Subdistrict and Kandri Tourism Village to learn directly about the strategies of the locals of Semarang in surviving the climate change and carrying out sustainable development in their city.

The participants gave positive feedback for this event. M. Deriel Ari Pranata, one of the participants from Undip, said that this event gave him an opportunity to meet various people from other sides of the globe and discuss existing urban issues. “For me, this event is really interesting because here I’m not only learning and exploring new things but also gaining new experiences related to urban area management,” said Deriel who currently taking a master’s degree in URP Master Program in Undip.

Muhammad Fahad Malik, one of the participants from Pakistan, was impressed with this event. For him, this summer course gave him a lot of experience regarding how different urban management in Indonesia is compared to that in his country. “I’m quite impressed by how the city governments in Indonesia manage its city.  This summer course has given me an impressive experience for me.”

EXPLORING CITY AND COMMUNITY PROBLEMS IN SEMARANG, THE DEPARTMENT OF REGIONAL AND URBAN PLANNING HELD A SUMMER COURSE WITH THE THEME “SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES”

by Harum Sintawati | Jul 13, 2022 | News, Summer Course

(4/7) Semarang – Monday, July 4, 2022, is the first day of Summer Course activities by the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Undip, in collaboration with the University of Hawai’i at Manoa – USA. This Summer Course was held offline, hybrid and online and was attended by several international participants and students from the IUP class. International participants included Associate Professor Ashok Das, M.Arch., M.A., Ph.D. (University Hawai’i at Manoa – USA), Damian (James Cook University – Australia), Vivian Feranil Gapido (Philippines), Mahmood Taha (Yemen), and others who followed online. On the first day of the summer course opening, there was an opening and a briefing attended by Prof. Ir. M. Agung Wibowo, MM, M.Sc., Ph.D. (Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Undip), Dr. -Ing. Wiwandari Handayani, ST, MT. MPS (Head of Urban and Regional Planning Department). After that, classes and discussions were held in the Theater Room, DURP Undip, regarding Social and Environmental Issues in Informal Settlement, SDGs Concept to Improve Quality Life in (Informal) Settlement, Overview of Semarang City & Governance for Achieving SDSs in Semarang City, People Empowerment in Disaster Risk Management. 

(5/7) Semarang – Tuesday, July 5, 2022, there were first and second Field Visits to places that were case studies in this summer course, including Tambak Lorok and Kampong Bustaman. The visit to Tambak Lorok raised the theme “Resiliency and Adaptation toward Flooding” because Tambak Lorok is a sub-district in North Semarang that is often affected by tidal flooding when the sea is at high tide. In this session, the participants, divided into four groups, conducted observations, interviews, and documentation of the environment and residents around Tambak Lorok. After the activity, each participant made a presentation. From the presentation, the most significant problems experienced by the residents of Tambak Lorok are tidal flooding and waste management. The floods are unpredictable, so residents have to raise their houses every year. However, there are still many of them who do not carry out such renovations due to the lack of existing income, and it has an impact on an unhealthy environment. There was a group that proposes a solution to build a Mangrove Cultivation Center as mitigation from tidal flooding. However, the area has many challenges and changes, but it isn’t easy to sustain due to urban activities. 

The next destination in the second Field Visit was Bustaman Village which is famous for its goat curry because it is usually used to slaughter goats which will be processed into a curry. This village was developed by Hari Bustaman, who also sparked the Gebyuran culture about nine years ago and received an award from Raden Saleh. Residents who live in Bustaman Village have mixed ethnicities, including Chinese, Indian, and Arab. Bustaman village also has many MSMEs using biogas as the primary fuel in the production process of MSME products since 2006. Bustaman village is also famous for its hospitality because it always receives guests with a smile which is the village’s icon. However, the slaughtering activity in the village became a discussion among the participants about the impact on the health of the residents around the village. 

(6/7) Semarang – Wednesday, July 6, 2022, the third and fourth Field Visits aimed at Jatibarang Reservoir and Kampong Malon. In Jatibarang Reservoir, participants visited the Management Office to learn about the reservoir area geographically. In addition, the participants also visited one of the communities in the Jatibarang Reservoir to get information about the development of the reservoir. “The construction of this reservoir has gone through many processes, starting from changing jobs from agriculture to tourism,” said one member of the reservoir community. At the next destination, participants visited Kampong Malon, which is famous for its batik production center using natural materials. Here, the participants learned about the use of sawdust and leaf waste to become natural dyes for batik. In addition, the participants also saw firsthand the process of making batik. 

After the Field Visit, the participants would have another discussion in the next few days. With this summer course, it is hoped that participants from within and outside the country can learn about environmental conditions, settlements, and communities and can be used as a study and analysis for the improvement of the destinations they have visited through Urban and Regional Planning.