1. Asia and the Pacific Regional meeting on the "Heritage and Metropolis in Asia
and the Pacific” May 30 to June 1, 2007, Seoul, Korea
MANAGING CHANGE IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT THROUGH
HERITAGE CONSERVATION
Dadan Nugraha
INTRODUCTION
A man without history is a man without a soul. This is also true for a city; its long
path of history can be traced through the riches of its architectural heritage that reflect
the experiences and culture of its people.
Civilization can be traced not only through documented history and the written
records of a people’s experiences and activities. Besides these there are other kinds of
deposited evidences, mute witnesses, like for instance geological history, which can
trace the past of a place. Other such mute testaments are the old buildings that store
annotations of authenticity especially of a city’s golden age.
THE CITY OF BANDUNG
The City of Bandung is one of several large cities in the Republic of Indonesia
that was the site of a dynamic colonial European enclave. The city contains many
sites and monuments of various genre or architectural styles. Bandung has been
called the ‘laboratory of architecture’ because of the myriad and varied styles of high
architectural forms that it contains, consisting of vast residential districts, government
offices, military complexes, churches and mosques, schools, and commercial
buildings which still grace the city centre.
CITY GROWTH
Current social-political orientation to increasing city revenues has been the trigger
for wide-ranging economic pressure, where potential financial gain has been dazzling
even with its attendant risks and gambles. This is especially so when the risk itself is
viewed with little relationship between it and personal consequences.

2. This tendency overwhelms the current city leadership. The number of old
buildings that comprise the city’s historical record--besides the grace they offer its
residents-- fall to the wrecker’s ball in the name of modernization.
Often this modernization results in a sprawling metropolis that compels changing
functions, largely of residential areas turned into commercial enclaves. The problem
of increasing population pressures itself brings with it the increasing need for better
infrastructures to serve them, more housing, more schools, more shopping complexes,
hotels, and so on.
These needs cannot be denied as the number of residents increases and the
economy grows so that the need to anticipate these phenomena increases even at the
cost of overlooking legal and historical values that function as the soul of the city.
HISTORY OF THE CITY
The city of Bandung was not developed at the same time as the surrounding
county. The earliest reference to the area was in 1488, but modern history dates from
a settlement in the middle of the 16th
Century and its first leader, Tumenggung
Wiraangunangun, who ruled until 1681. There is however much archeological
evidence of early Java Man’s presence in this fertile basin.
The 16th
Century settlement was named Krapyak
(presently Dayeuhkolot) located at the confluence of
the Cikapundung and Citarum rivers about 11
kilometers to the south of present-day Bandung. At
the time of the leadership of the sixth ruler, R.A
Wiranatakusumah II (1794-1829), who was given the
title "Dalem Kaum I", the area was under the
suzerainty of the Kompeni of the Netherlands East
Indies, lead by the governor-general Herman Willem Daendels (1808-1811).
In order to facilitate his duties to protect the island of Java from encroachment by
other colonial forces, Daendels create the Groote Postweg, or Great Post Road, which
extended from the western part of Java island in Anyer, 1000 kilometers to the east at
Panarukan, on the most eastern coast of Java. The actual construction of the road was
overseen by local officials along the route and carried out by locals who were

3. conscripted away from their farms and families to labor on the mountainous road,
many losing their lives in the process.
In the area of Bandung, the Post Road was begun in 1808, with the widening of an
existing pathway, and today the segments of the road that pass through the city have
been re-named Jalan Jenderal Sudirman - Jalan Asia Afrika - Jalan A. Yani,
continuing all the way to Sumedang and beyond. As the existing community was
living some 11 kilometers to the south, Daendels ordered in an official letter of 25
May 1810, their resettlement to the new road and the construction of a new county
seat at the junction of the new road and the Cikapundung River.
What Daendels didn’t know at the time was that there were already plans for the
settlement to move, a strategic location having already been chosen for the new seat
of local government, just south of the Post Road. The reason for this initiative was the
annual flood of the rivers was already troubling the riverside community.
Between the end of 1808 and the beginning of 1809, the local leader and a number
of residents relocated from Krapyak to the new area. The leader chose residential land
on present day Cipaganti, moving again to Balubur Hilir, and yet again to Kampung
Bogor or Kebon Kawung, where the present day Governor’s Mansion is located.
It is not known the actual length of time that it took to
develop the new city centre. However, the plan developed
by Daendels was not the one implemented; instead the plan
developed by the local leader was executed. In other
words, the Founding Father of the modern city was Bupati
R.A.A. Wiranatakusumah II and the City of Bandung
marks the date of its founding from 25 September 1810.
R. A. Wiranatakusumah II
(1794-1829)
CITY GROWTH
The flowering of the new city and its strategic location in the middle of the
flourishing region and profitable Priangan plantations convinced the Dutch in Jakarta
to move the regional administration from Cianjur to Bandung in 1856. The actual
move was completed in 1864 through the official document of 7 Agustus 1864 No.
18, and the city became the seat of the regional administration of Priangan. With this
change the function of the city changed to the dual role as county seat, under the
auspices of R.A. Wiranatakusumah IV (1846-1874) as well as regional capital, under
a Dutch residen. The area constructed for the regional seat was in the district of

4. Cicendo, and the governor’s mansion with a small government hostel was completed
in 1867 and is still in use today by the Governor of West Java Province. City
development was hastened by new streets and municipal facilities, while the numbers
of roads leading to the city increased rapidly as well.
The next major stage of development was marked by the advent of the rail line
from Jakarta to Bandung in 1884 and Bandung was chosen to be the headquarters for
the national railway’s western sectors. This further increased the pace of
development. This can be seen in the following table that outlines the specific
population growth of Bandung.
Bandung City Residents 1889-1906
Year Indigenous Europeans Chinese Arabs others Total
1889 16.424 339 974 263 18.000
1890 16.656 467 923 68 18.114
1891 19.240 591 1.140 69 21.040
1892 19.370 601 1.150 60 9 21.190
1893 22.000 548 1.182 69 1 23.800
1894 22.754 724 1.453 57 24.988
1895 23.731 968 1.756 59 26.514
1896 26.247 1.134 1.958 43 29.382
1897 24.000 800 1.800 60 26.660
1900 24.748 1.522 2.630 43 20 28.963
1905 41.400 2.200 3.700 100 47.400
1906 41.493 2.199 3.704 98 47.194
(source: Hardjasaputra, 1996: 16)
Towards the end of the 19th
Century, the number of Europeans in Bandung
reached many thousands and these people desired to have some autonomy from the
central authority in Batavia (Jakarta). At the same time it was realized in the capital
that the centralized system was not functioning with good efficiencies. It was also at
this time that East Indies commercial practices were hindering potential economic
growth and so the social-political policies changed and local administrative controls
were extended.

5. Under the local leadership of the county chief, Bupati
RAA. Martanagara (1893 1918), autonomy was enacted and
for the first time the county government was given a special
budget over which it was free from central controls to
implement city strategies.
Under the new law of decentralization, Undang-Undang
Desentralisasi (Decentralisatiewet) issued in 1903, there
were local ordinances put in place, among them the Decentralisasi Besluit and the
Ordonansi Dewan Lokal in 1905. On 1 April 1906 the city was declared a gemeente
(kotapraja) or autonomous municipality. This further strengthened the growth of the
city as a regional seat. Its new status brought an Assistant Resident of the Priangan
Region who was also head of the local council (Gemeenteraad), and in 1913 the city
was overseen by a mayor (burgemeester).
RAA. Martanagara
(1893 - 1918)
In the beginning the city offices were housed in the ground floor of a printing
company, Percetakan NV Mij Vorkink (presently thei Toko Buku Sumur Bandung on
Jalan Asia Afrika). Not long following, offices were moved to the “Gedong Papak”,
where they remain today.
Only a few dozen houses were
constructed by 1810, but growth increased
from year to year.
BANDUNG Map of 1825
On 1 April 1906 the city consisted of
some 900 ha., increasing to 2.150 ha.
by 12 October 1917; 3.305 ha. in 1945,
8.098 ha. in 1949, and finally to
16.730 ha. on 22 January 1987.
source: Kunto, 1984: 183
The major city development plan was
fashioned by the splendid architect
E.H. Karsten in 1930, a visionary 25
year plan for the growth of Bandung
whose population was projected to
become some 750,000 residents. The city plan for Bandung made in 1985 projected
growth to include 1,665,000 residents with a land area of 8.096 ha. for 2005. Further
revisions between 1985 – 2005 made in 1991 projected 2,096,463 people in 2005

6. with a land area of 16.730 ha. Projections for the growth of residents revised in 1992
was for 2,509,448 people.
The attractiveness of Bandung as a ‘city of education’ became well-known and
increased urbanization pressures not only from outlaying areas, but from all over the
country. The city continues to outstrip population projections from city plan to city
plan.
Currently, the number of people in the City of Bandung forecasted for the year
2025 is 5,500,000 while the physical size of the city remains much as it did in 1850,
some 16.700 hectares, landlocked as it were by encircling mountains. The planning
needs for a growth of this size speak for themselves, and of course are the central
dynamic in considering how the city should be developed for the future.
The following article was taken from the local newspaper of Surat Kabar Harian
Pikiran Rakyat of Monday, 8 January 2007, and was written by the head of the City
Planning Board :

7. “Head of the City Planning Board, Mr. Tjetje Subrata, announced that the most serious
problem facing the city is population growth. At present (2007) the City of Bandung
already is the most dense city in the world with some 2.6 million residents. ‘This is
today…imagine just 20 years into the future when it is predicted that the size will be twice
that.’
According to Mr. Tjetje, in 2025 the number of residents will reach 5,5 million while same
the land area will remain the same. ‘This is a problem that needs addressing today, not
waiting until tomorrow. To solve this will require vigorous and insightful planning,’ he
said. Mr. Tjetje explained that population increases bring need for massive changes in
infrastructure needs. ‘Providing the increased infrastructure, new civic facilities must be
calculated. And then developed,’ he stated.
Another solution, continued Mr. Tjetje, was the possibility of increasing use of the areas
that currently lay outside of the city boundaries, into the smaller villages of the county and
as far away as Subang and Sumedang (both some 40 km. distant from the city), Garut
(some 60 km. from the city). This conurbation will result in the concept we refer to as
Bandung Metropolitan.
‘At this time, the city is already dependent on bordering municipalities, and the city itself no
longer can provide its own food stuffs, rice, vegetables, fish, milk, meat, eggs, etc. All of
these come from outside the city limits.’
‘Among other solutions, plans are already in the works to develop high-rise living
accommodations. The management of mass transport and the handling of immense waste
products…possibly to augment energy resources are being considered.’
According to Mr. Tjetje, the City Planning Board is already moving in these directions and
the concept is being fashioned into a 20-year development plan for the city. The
development of this plan will take into consideration the many components of the society
and include a period of preparedness. The plan will include a time table and involve
technocrat ,and planning professionals to scope out the 20 year plan.’
This article suggests that increased population density requires immediate and critical
attention that will further tax the city’s development needs. Therefore in 2004 the
law Undang-Undang Nomor 32 was passed concerning regional administration, which
gave broad authority to the city for its own planning scheme. It is hoped that this law
and its implementation will create ‘win-win solutions’ for the problems facing the city
in its new development efforts. Success will require harmony amongst the three
elements of the city: community, government and private business.

8. DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT
Bandung was positioned in
the 1920’s to become the new
adminsitrative capital for the
whole country relocating from
Batavia (Jakarta) and as such
grand plans were made in a city
plan that would create a
gracious and spacious
government district as well as sufficient housing and new public amenities. It is not
therefore surprising that the buildings that were constructed in that period were of the
finest standards in the world and the city plan, one celebrating the period of
modernism.
If these efforts are examined today, it can be seen that the remains of this old plan
still create a unique and distinctive identity for the city. Development in these districts
is circumscribed and protected by designation as conservation districts so that the
historical environment may be maintained as an integral part and important dynamic
of new city development. Preservation
step in improving the livability of the
city for its residents.
Conservation districts p
and conservation is seen by some as an early
rovide the
‘un
of conservation philosophy alone, preservation is no barrier to
car
RESERVATION INITIATIVES
ave long been an important element in
suc
ique identity’ that is often lacking
in newer settlements and can be a tool
to market the city through tourism.
This development concept can be seen
in many of the best-loved and most-acclaimed cities in the world.
From the angle
eful development, as long as the development is wisely implemented, and planning
ordinances are honestly carried out.
P
Heritage conservation initiatives h
cessful city growth in strategies in countries around the world. In the United
States for example, incentives that include tax holidays and other special

9. considerations protect the shared heritage. In the United Kingdom, there is a program
known “Carrot and Stick” that helps communities protect their heritage. In Indonesia
itself, there are incentives and de-incentives spelled out in the national constitution
concerning the protection of the national patrimony (Undang-undang No. 5 tahun
1992 tentang benda cagar budaya, dan Kepmendikbud No. 062/U/1995, No.
o63/U/1995, dan No. 064/U/1995).
The implementation of heritage conservation in the country, and specifically in
Ban
rge as well concerning the lack of enabling legislation that
mu
d by the lack of public organizational
infr
the implementation of conservation of historic sites and monuments, and the
con
dung, are not yet effective. The reasons are many but include primarily the lack
of a defined and accepted inventory of protected sites and monuments that would
serve to ensure their legal standing under the law. I would like to note here that since
the 1992 constitutional inclusion noted above, not one case of illegal demolition has
been brought to court!
Other problems eme
st flow from a national constitutional amendment and provide the vehicles for legal
action at the state, city and county levels. However, in the Province of West Java,
where Bandung is located, there are heritage protection ordinances that are not yet
operational because details in the ordinances are not well enunciated. There are, for
example, no written references to what is specifically permitted and what, under the
ordinances, are defined as crimes. Further, the use of financial incentives has not been
implemented and so there is neither an incentive nor effective de-incentive to
motivate public and private owners of heritage buildings and sites to follow the
ordinances. Worst case is ‘midnight demolition’ but the ordinances also include rules
about maintenance that have no clout in the public view. There is also a lack of
understanding by the owners of heritage sites to their community relevancy and the
sense of community participation to support private heritage with public and/or
private funding or technical assistance.
These problems are compounde
astructure, public boards, civic committees, that are helpful to the public or able to
help fairly adjudicate decisions on heritage conservation issues for the city. And in
Bandung, there is at this time no money or political will to support committees of this
sort.
In
trol of these precious community assets, the authority of the city government is
still non-existent, due largely to the fact that the various laws and ordinances grant no

10. authority at a local level, the authority, for instance, of giving sanctions to those who
break the laws. This authority is still embedded in the federal government alone.
In the midst of steep development pressure the maintenance of the old buildings
and
The historic sites and individual monuments
wh
sor by one the o
districts is seen as a barrier to new development especially to the deveopment of
new commercial complexes.
ich are seen as valuable assets by heritage
practitioners and some tourism officials, and offer
identity and grace to the community, are seen by
developers as thorns in their efforts to smoothly
(and profitably!) redevelop valuable center city
areas due to the restrictions on development in
protected districts. The city of Bandung is but one
of the large cities in Java that is undergoing this
ld historic monuments are demolished, replaced by
bland and characterless commercial developments such as malls, row houses and
apartments If this continues without restraint, Bandung will lose its precious identity
and begin to resemble thousands of other places here and around the world. Part of the
special identity of Bandung resides in its store of Art Deco monuments which never
fail to awe visitors from Europe and North America.
Braga City Walk Bandung
Mall, Apartment, Hotel
t of turmoil. One
Dept of Social Services
building, one of the buildings
in “Nautical-Deco” style
built in 1935
Demolition in 2006
Bale Pakuan Town House 2007
Photo: Dibyo Hartono
Photo: Harastoeti

11. Other problems emerge as well concerning the lack of enabling legislation that must
trickle down from a national constitutional amendment and provide the vehicles for
legal action at the state, city and county levels. (see Drawing 1)
National Law No5/1992
Provincial conservation ordinance
County conservation ordinance City conservation ordinance
Drawing 1
Source: Harastoeti (2007)
THE WORLD
NATION
PROVINCE
COUNTY
CITY
Drawing 2
Source: Harastoeti (2007)
Historic districts, environments, historic monuments and sites, including
archeological sites exist in cities and counties, however their historic importance is
only recognized and protected by national authority at this time. See Drawing 2.
Heritage assets require listing in inventories at each level of public administration and
classification of their levels of protection which are listed as A, B or C, depending on
specific criteria. Many of these monuments and sites have been lost or demolished as
the result of burgeoning city and county development needs and the lack of

12. appreciation by the public of the importance of these cultural assets. One of the
reasons that heritage conservation efforts are not often successful is that generally the
government is more interested in creating government-funded projects and tend to
identify with developers (particularly large commercial developers) so that local
managers can find new sources of tax revnues for their districts. In this sometimes
unhealthy relationship, questionable financial dealings are often transacted, and the
lack of government transparency has called into question some of the more egregious
practices.
In turning the wheels of government for the goal of equitable community
prosperity, there need to be appropriate laws that guarantee positive community
development practices. The one aspect that must be in place is that government
administration should function according to the law. Creating an open and
transparent body of legal certainties will create a development environment that will
aid social stability and equity. While the axion ”it is love not laws that will save the
heritage of mankind” is not far from our thoughts, the legal framework must be in
place, monitored and adjudicated openly so that development can proceed without
anarchy and social chaos.
THE ROLE OF BANDUNG HERITAGE
Beginning in 1986, 13 people gathered regularly to discuss the architectural and
other built heritage and cultural heritage in Bandung. These people came from many
sectors: business, tourism, academics, architects, engineers, an astronomer,
anthropologists, newspaper editor, and others. As devoted and proud residents of
Bandung they were concerned with the seeming apathy and lack of civil efforts to
support this historic legacy that added grace and dignity to their lives. Eventually,
these meetings lead to inviting people to speak on aspects that were little-known at the
time on the city’s history and architectural sites and monuments. Out of these
conversations grew the commitment to form an organization that might address some
of the problems and opportunities present in this heritage treasure trove. It was
decided to focus on only the city of Bandung and commit to research, publication and
promotion of Bandung’s unique identity. A meeting with the mayor ensued and in
1987, Paguyuban Pelestarian Budaya Bandung (“Bandung Heritage”) was born at the
Hotel Panghegar. After all the talk, it was decided that an action step was required and
so a broad ranging exhibition was launched highlighting the special heritage of the

13. city. The exhibition began with local archeological finds, pictures and histories of the
major city monuments, and aspects of the prevailing Sundanese culture. These were
presented over a 5 day period at the Balai Pertemuan Ilmiah of the Institute of
Technology Bandung—itself a heritage monument. Architecure and anthropology
students from several city universities were recruited to help run the exhibition and a
series of seminars were run, open to the public. One of the key speakers, Robertson
E. Collins, was an American who was a member of ICOMOS USA and a cultural
tourism expert with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) based in Singapore.
From that time till this activities and networking through-out the world ensued,
largely through ICOMOS and then through some other regional groups that sprung
up. Close working relationships with the Bandung-based office of the Goethe
Institute, the French Cultural Center, The British Council as well as several of the
embassies in Jakarta lent expertise and authority to the work of Bandung Heritage.
Eventually several other heritage associations came into being in Medan, Yogyakarta,
Bali, and Jakarta. This increased the national networks.
An early opportunity was presented to the society by the local newspaper to write
half a page for Page 3 on historic events, heritage issues, etc., each Saturday as a way
of publicizing and sharing the common legacy of our city. Further to this Bandung
Heritage launched a program of monthly lectures on current and heritage topics open
to the public. These were held in city hotels that offered their meeting space and
coffee free of charge as a way of showing their support for heritage society goals.
What developed most importantly was the credibility of the group in the eyes of
residents and government officials alike. The city administration has taken up some
of the issues that most concern heritage in Bandung, and at this point, some 20 years
after its founding, there is a rare development planning meeting that does not include
an invitation to our society.
In concrete ways Bandung Heritage has enhanced the city with several building
restorations, such as the monument to Indonesia Menggugat, the Galeri Kita building,
the NISP Bank Branch , and Bandung Lautan Api Heritage Trail.

14. UNESCO AWARD
the NISP Bank Branch at Jalan Sawunggaling
Background
The Paguyuban Pelestarian Budaya Bandung or Bandung Heritage was born from
the initiative of residents from many disciplines, professionals and backgrounds.
They were brought together by their pride in the city and concern for its preservation.
The society is not dogmatic and its only core belief is that the ‘identities of the city
must be preserved and developed’. In this is the recognition that in any place there
are specific characteristics that differentiate it from other places…this stems from
local ethnic practices, natural environment and its monuments and sites. The remains
of the city’s historic past as well as the spirit of its current residents is what is worth
preserving.
The conservation of a country’s culture has many uses as it faces inevitable
development, and ramifications to national resilience in the face of globalization.
Conservation is not defined as anti-development, but merely the ‘management of
change.’
The remains of history come from many sources, technical, architectural, dance,
literature, traditional ceremonies and observances, cuisine, fashion, etc. In creating a
plan for conservation of the city, members of the society work as volunteers in line
with their individual interest and time constraints. Activities of the group include
working with government officials as well as private businesses and residents both in
the city, in the province and overseas.
The development pressures described above have brought about an ever-closer
partnership between the city administration and Bandung Heritage. This is due in part
to increased understanding of the role of tourism to city coffers, as well as public

15. awareness of the beauty of their special city. Residents who wish to renovate or
develop their heritage buildings are requested by the city to meet with the Bandung
Heritage members and obtain a written recommendation on their proposed changes. It
is especially at this time that owners may hear the history of their building and district
and its relevance to the other people in the city. Society members who are architects
can assist the owner to find solutions to not only provide more space or convenience,
but at the same time conserve the identity of the building as it plays its heritage role in
the city. The heritage society and consulting members refuse money for these
services in the interest of neutrality and credibility.
Further supporting the relationship between the city government and the heritage
society, the city tourism office is sponsoring a new city ordinance on heritage
conservation in Bandung. For this they have asked a team in the society to work with
them to make this ordinance. It is here that the role of Bandung Heritage in the
development and monitoring efforts can be employed to assure that precious assets
may be recognized and sustained for the city.
Not only does this cooperation ensure that internationally recognized standards,
heritage philosophy and practice are the basis for a heritage ordinance in the city, the
relationship also invites the opportunity to instill in city officials the opportunities that
heritage conservation can make for a city’s development. Heritage input into
development of the city also demonstrates how interwoven the aspects of heritage and
city life are, and how bureaucrats charged with the responsibilities of safe-guarding
the legacy of the past can work to protect, maintain both the built heritage and the
movable heritage that strengthen and enrich the life of a city. For this the issues of
synchronization and coordination are required so that the perceptions of the
bureaucrats and their authority as government officials are always in line with legal
conditions.
Fundamental to the solution of city problems the substance of heritage
conservation can be used to distil and complete the laws regarding historic buildings
and sites, moveable and intangible heritage to help move the thought processes to
creating identity of place not only for Bandung but for other Indonesian cities as well.
----------- *********----------

16. Bibliography
• Voskuil, RPGA (1996), Bandung: Beeld van een Stad, , Nederland: Asia
Maier, , ISBN: 90-74861-05-9,
• Yulia Dewita (1997),Tinjauan Kelengkapan Subtansi Peraturan Perundang-
undangan untuk Pelestarian Bangunan Bersejarah (kasus Studi Kota
Bandung),
• Jana Halida Uno (1998), Konsep Penerapan Insetif dan Disinsentif untuk
Pelestarian Bangunan (kasus Studi : Kota Bandung),
• Dibyo Hartono (1997), Daftar Bangunan Bersejarah Kota Bandung, Bandung
Heritage.
• Nina H.Lubis (2000), Sejarah Kota-kota lama di Jawa Barat, Jatinangor,
Algaprint,
• Kunto Haryoto (1985), Wajah Bandoeng Tempo Doeloe, Badung: Granesia,
• Paguyuban Pelestarian Budaya Bandung, Dinas Pariwisata Kota Bandung
(2006), Naskah Akademik, Draft Penyusunan Peraturan Daerah tentang
Bangunan Bersejarah Kota Bandung.
• Sudarsono Katam & Lulus Abadi (2005), Album Bandoeng Tempo Doloe,
Bandung: Nav Press Indonesia.
• Harastoeti DH. (2007), Makalah Presentasi Sosialisasi Pelestarian,
pengembangan dan Pemanfaatan Tinggalan Budaya di Jawa Barat,Hotel
Papandayan Bandung.
Acknowledgemnts
• Mrs. Frances B. Affandy, Chairman of ICOMOS Indonesia
• Mrs. Harastoeti DH. Chairman of Bandung Heritage Society