General Overview

In the last 2 decades, as in many East Asian and middle eastern mega-cities; we had witnessed the changing of public spaces. The reproduction and replication of historical public spaces, as well as the thriving of new shopping malls and other private-owned recreation places has been replacing the usage of the so-called “common” public space. The waves of global capitalism involves in the growth of these commercial places. The rapid economic growth in the Southeast Asian countries over the last few years results in the prosperity increasing among mediocre society, and thus also boosts the capacity of consumption.

In addition, the economic driven local authority was beginning the demolition of several historical public spaces such as parks and squares. Other that is not being demolished, only survived because of the touristic potential they have; or those which being consensus to be preserved by the local community. These very places are now can hardly called public; since they are covered with fences or any other closures.  The spaces are changing, along with the people; their perspectives and paradigm. 

Undeniable, the changes of these spaces and the development of the new spaces – along with the socio-cultural changing society would somehow formed the future of the city. How exactly the public spaces and the people perception in the Southeast Asian cities changed through the ages? In this regards, how exactly the history and the contemporary issues influenced the changing of the culture? Some people said that modernization in the East Asian cities is only a product of Westernization. Is it true? 

Tay Kheng Soon in his writing once said,

“…Re-reading history: the fact that Asia and the West exist in contemporaneous time has led many to assume that the same forces of history apply and thus the validity of the same discourses. While there are some points of universal validity, many perspectives obviously need to be re-framed. But it would appear that this is   not obvious after all…”

If we believe that somehow history does have tremendous influence of how the people change through times, and we know that Asian people do really proud of their heritage; then how can we really sure that modernization in Southeast Asia is a Westernization? Some evidence on different context even shows us the opposite. So the next question is - what kind of modernization is it that "drives" -or influence the transformation of the public space in Southeast Asia? As we aware, there is one other significant aspect in Southeast Asia related to the changes of culture; which is colonization. This is also the natural cause of the "Westernization" in several aspects of today's urban life in Southeast Asia, yes it's true. 

"Although precolonial cities existed such as Yogyakarta, a political and spiritual capital where the God-King resided, colonialism marginalized such cities through its absorption of the entire region as an outpost to the West. Indeed, it gave birth to a new kind of Southeast Asian city, one that is characterized paradoxically by its resistance to definition."

Ryan Bishop, John Phillips, Wei-Wei Yeo in

Postcolonial Urbanism: Southeast Asian Cities and Global Processes

But then; the time gives us another significant point - that is postcolonialism; that at the end lead us to the contemporary stage - which is highly influenced by today's global phenomenon. Despite of a huge diversity among cities in particular regions in Southeast Asia, this similarity in the timeline gives a rather intertwining context, but a clear view upon a similar transformation. Although clearly, the inexhaustable variety of culture in Southeast Asia plays a significant role on the changes in each regions. As there are differences in the colonizer country's method or strategy - there lies the differences on the colonized on the implication upon their cultural changes. This, added the previous with external aspect of differences.

"...it is because urbanism tends to be regarded as international that radical differences between urban sites need to be addresed when considering the nature of any urban reality or processes" 

Ryan Bishop, John Phillips, Wei-Wei Yeo in

Postcolonial Urbanism: Southeast Asian Cities and Global Processes

One thing I need to address here is the dialectic process of the culture through time - that shows how the precolonial stage in the timeline influenced the contemporary culture of postcolonial cities. Appears in such cultural activities and habits upon urban spaces and events, these survived cultures are unclear and mostly masked by the colonial heritage; but highly reflected on the indirect or intangible material of everyday life. This also applied on how the people think about their needs of urban space in the cities.  

How thus we should read the needs of contemporary public space in the context of Southeast Asian modernism [or postcolonialism]? What will be the implications of these changes? The future physical shape as well as the character of the city will be  determined  also by the implication of this phenomenon. The implication of which, could be measure by a predicative reading on some specific case on the overlapping context of postcolonial - modernized - global - and yet, greatly varies Southeast Asia. 

This project provides one particular perspective on the very effort to do the reading. Its focus as the title suggest - is the cultural activity which takes place in the public space; and its transformation through time. As for the time mentioned here; I stressed out the unity of the three words - before, now and after. Rather than consider each one as a terminology which represents a different range of time [that is past, present or future], it would be consider as three different axis that create a possibility for the existence of a range of time we frequently called "the present". With that in mind, a specific timeline would be used to guide the reading and to envelop the three part into whole. 

The study case takes place in Bandung, West Java - Indonesia. Despite of a personal interest in this particular city, Bandung has in itself a very interesting geological, geographical, political and cultural history that represents all the changing complexity. Bandung with its history and "200" years development shows all at once the glorious era of Art Deco, the humble design of garden city, the beautiful implementation of local  wisdom, supported by beautiful land slopes and nice tropical weather. Across which we also can see the diverse disharmonious typology, the unplanned  development of land use, the poorly preserved old town, and devastation of the beautiful nature. This, along with the culture transformation; shaped the city as what it seems now. The old town, the slums, the settlements, industrial, commerce, tourism and social facility area are all interposed in one big network. 

Lack of long term master and detail planning, cities in Indonesia had been exploited and adjusted to the needs and demands of the property sector. The property sector itself mostly  depends on the private sector, which most of it is now have great visionary objectives instead. In this case, this reality also reflected  in the “new” public spaces brought by this very sector. Despite on the various discourse upon this matter, the user shout loudly. As the development continue to grow without sufficient predicative measure and future planning from the regional administrator, contradictive spaces emerges in the city - along with how the people react. The 'kampung' which grows alongside and often disregard as a great factor, has on its own way - the development of public spaces. Marginal spaces are visible all around the city, not to mention the usage of those kind of spaces as the reaction. Discourses arise, movement for changes emerging, and academics cast forth critics upon the city. Above it all,  the developments in Bandung continue to grow, along with it’s role as the nearest vacation destination from the capital city: Jakarta. This whole condition and facts would act as a background specific context in the project, enriches by the study based on the timeline.