We are heading towards one global city

By Dick van der Meij

Dr. Peter Nas is the enthusiastic Leiden "godfather" of urban studies. For the last 20 odd years he has been engaged in studying the city and the sociology and anthropology of the city with unremitting zeal. Recently he edited a new book entitled: Issues in Urban Development: case studies from Indonesia". It was published in 1995 by the Research School CNWS in Leiden and presents the fruits of a workshop organized by the Research Association on Urban Development in Developing Countries (WUOO) which was held under the auspices of the CNWS in 1993.

Q.: What are urban studies? From the multiplicity of contributions to your book it appears that quite a few different approaches and disciplines shelter under this umbrella. This is shown not only in this book, but also in your previous book on the Indonesian city of 1986. To the layman it would seem that anything goes.

Nas: Actually yes. The urban arena is so complex, with so many different aspects which are all worth studying that anything does indeed seem possible. If you look at a city as a total combination of varying populations and their interaction (or lack of it), of multiple lifestyles, different architectures, a waste system, administration, and each with its symbolism, just to mention a few elements, you will understand that a city is an entity composed of many features. In order to understand the city you will have to start somewhere and where the choice falls is dependent on the practical and theoretical interests of each individual researcher.
I myself am interested in urban sociology which comprises many of the topics already mentioned. In the old days there was a trend study individual cities, but nowadays studies are conducted within the specific framework of globalization. Now we look at New York as the global city of investments; Tokyo as the exporter of finances; and London as the global town of auditing. Looked at from the global level, these features show that individual cities no longer stand apart but should be analysed in a wider context. This has lead certain urban sociologists to deny the urban part of it and to pursue the study of the global system only. I am not in favour of this. I believe urban sociology still has an important role to play because the global system is strongly rooted in local urban situations where interesting interactions between the global and the local are taking place.

Q.: Looking at the introduction to the book, it appears that interests have shifted over the years, from formal, via informal sectors. Now the trend is urban symbolism. This seems to interest you particularly. Why?

Nas: Obviously all sorts of people have been engaged in urban studies. People working in the field who had practical experience in the administration of cities or in certain fields such as waste management, are working alongside researchers and scholars dealing with a broad range of topics among which urban life styles, as in my case. They all have a place in my book because I think it is important to let all flowers bloom.
However, when Reimar Schefold became head of Indonesian Studies in Leiden, he brought his interest in symbolism with him. We started to work together and so the combination of urban studies and symbolism was made. This was and still is something of a novelty although other scholars are taking over this urban symbolic approach at the moment. However, in many anthropology departments urban studies are seen as a rara avis, while many sociologists do not fancy symbolism. Anthropology should be conducted in rural - if possible remotely situated - areas and not in cities and sociology does not deal with ritual and symbols. I feel that more attention should be paid to urban studies in general and to its cultural dimension in particular. They deserve a place of their own. This is compounded by the fact, I am by no means against urbanization. It leads to tremendous growth in production and wealth. More prosaically, it is a basic social process which cannot be stopped. People have a tendency to move to the cities under the influence of rural development and there is nothing we can do about it. Some countries such as Cambodia and China have tried to reverse this trend but only with the implementation of Draconian measures. With great loss of life and potential, the urbanites were forced to return to the countryside, but ultimately this did not work.
The study of urban symbolism emerged as a reaction to research conducted earlier in the fields of administration, population groups, life-styles, urban economics, land speculation and so on. The whole approach set out to look at the culture of cities, a completely neglected aspect.

Q.: You have studied statues in Jakarta as a means to understanding its symbolism. Do you think we are looking at the symbols of the local people or are we looking at symbols as we Westerners understand them?

Nas: Research has shown that cities are not laid out or embellished with statues and monuments at random. An urban community wants to portray a certain image and implicitly or explicitly aims to convey a message. How citizens and city administrators construct urban symbols and images of cities and what the results are, is a fascinating process of social production of symbolism. Changes in the urban image and the reactions to changes, for instance of statues, show a constant awareness of the importance of urban symbolism.
In Indonesia I studied the symbolic patterns of Jakarta, Denpasar and Freek Colombijn added Padang to this series. These studies show a mixture of traditional and religious Indonesian symbolism and modern, Western inspired and often state symbolism as well as different configurations for different types of cities

Q.: I understand that your new project has more to do with the "hardware"of the city, its architecture. What are your interests there?

Nas: In collaboration with Reimar Schefold and Gaudenz Domenig I am engaged in a project on vernacular architecture in Western Indonesia. Sadly it has transpired that many local architectural traditions are dying out. In this project we try to document and analyse these habitation styles and study the reasons for their disappearance. Most probably it is the result of a long term social process of changing life-styles, which began in the colonial period. Firstly, missionaries, for reasons of morality, did not like several families to live in one house, secondly, the authorities tried to improve hygienic conditions in the house and finally, a general need for comfort and status began to develop. Apart from so called traditional architecture I am also interested in colonial architecture which is the focus of a group of scholars combined in a study group which goes by the name ARSI. Indonesians often regard colonial architecture as alien - which it is not because this specific type of architecture is only found in Indonesia and nowhere else - and as a result government agencies have a tendency to neglect it. This is the case in Padang for example. The reasons for this and the way to redress this tendency are studied in this project. These forms of architecture are also related to modern architecture and to important urban bottlenecks in the provision of housing. In Indonesia we also see that the idea of maju, progress is the keyword for modern developments, especially in the big cities with such trends as the construction of shopping malls and condominiums. These also reflect a change in life-style and the urge to express a modern outlook.
Q.: I have the impression that cities are actively engaged in competition with and imitation of each other. Does this also reflect the actual situation in Jakarta?

Nas: Very much so. Jakarta is the capital and other Indonesian cities look to Jakarta as their role model. Jakarta itself looks to Singapore but also at western capitals for its inspiration. Do not forget that whatever the governor of Jakarta does is closely monitored by the national government and ultimately by the president himself. In this respect Jakarta could be characterized as a penetrated system. Sometimes it is virtually governed by the president when he feels the need to intervene in the local decision process. There are beautiful examples of such direct central intervention in history. Jakarta is not only the capital city as far as administration and trade are concerned, but also as the symbol of a newly industrialized country (NIC). Everything happening there should strengthen the image of a thriving and prospering country. In this context the image of Jakarta is deliberately reshaped from a colonial into a modern Asian one. This transformation probably is as deliberate as the recent change in outlook of Rotterdam, which used to be characterized as a workingman's town and which has now changed its image to that of a city of culture. The local administration of Rotterdam deliberately planned this and not without success.

Q.: What do you think the future themes of urban studies will be and what will be your role in it?

I feel that empirical studies of urban environmental problems, various types of housing, and local administration based on sociological and anthropological methods and with a contextual approach will be on the agenda in the coming years. Besides further case studies on particular cities, there is also a trend towards research on areas and kampungs in cities and towns, for instance studies on important wards in Jakarta such as Kemayoran and Menteng. Urban symbolism will also be moving more into the centre of the picture.
In the spring of 1996 the Research School CNWS will host a workshop on Approaches to the Study of Western Indonesian Architecture and Space Organization where papers will be presented on various traditional Sumatran houses. I hope to present a paper on the traditional Acehnese house. Of course my old interests in the administrative structure of big cities, urban environmental questions and urban symbolism will not be lost but will remain to take up part of my time.