Creating more parks brings BSD back to nature
Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
The back-to-nature trend seems to have started to take root in the Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) satellite city in Serpong, Tangerang.
It is not only a trend that goes along with the cosmopolitan lifestyle in big cities around the world but a philosophy that has made its way into complex residents' daily lives with affirmative action of the housing complex management.
A worsening urban environment, increasingly frustrating traffic jams and the pressure from heavy workloads at office and school have caused many city residents to suffer from depression, stress and a variety of physical and mental ailments amid the soaring costs of medical treatment.
PT BSD, a major housing and property developer in Greater Jakarta, is aware of this and has managed to integrate dwellings with greenery and gardens.
"Bringing comfort to mind and body to metropolitan city residents, who mostly living in a worsening urban environment is not easy and nor is it without cost," PT BSD corporate communication general manager Dhony Rahajoe told The Jakarta Post recently.
He said that a healthy home means healthy occupants; and a healthy environment means healthy residents.
"In the present economic crisis, residents need environmentally friendly cost-efficient ways to create a healthy lifestyle. That's the reason why we earmarked 10 hectares of land for city parks," Dhony said.
There are two large parks in the satellite city.
City Park I was built in 1992 on three hectares of land near the Puspitaloka and Giriloka clusters, right in the heart of the complex. City Park II, which covers seven hectares of land near the BSD Techno Park, was completed in June and was opened to the public by the State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar.
Trees and plants throughout the parks will provide fresh air for the satellite city, which functions as a healing balm amid unhealthy modern life not only for the complex residents but also visitors from outside the complex.
"The shady leaves of various plants in the parks bring cheerfulness, provide mental therapy and evoke beautiful memories for families and couples spending time in the parks," Dhony said.
With adequate parking space, playgrounds for children to play, jogging tracks, benches and toilets, many complex families and couples have a regular schedule to visit to the parks in the morning, afternoon or on holidays.
"More than 80,000 trees are growing in the parks. Building the parks is an inseparable part of the city's development program. We hope to see the BSD develop into a dynamic and environmentally friendly satellite city," he said.
He said the recent natural disasters in several regions had served to remind people about the need for conservation efforts.
More than 15,000 residents calling themselves "Tree Lover Families" took part in planting trees around their houses through an annual event themed: Make the earth green, the sky blue; and protect the water.
Rachmat Witoelar praised the much-needed greening program in the housing complex. "I have visited housing complexes in many big cities across the country but only BSD has designated green areas for the sake of residents' health," said the minister in a recent visit to the city.
Banten acting governor Ratu Atut Choisiah, who planted a tree in Park II with the minister, applauded BSD's efforts to protect the environment. "I hope that all housing complex developers across the province follow BSD's example," she said.
Rachmat said developers should not use properties solely for commercial purposes.
Calls for greenery efforts stem from concerns that the rapid pace of development and the increasing spread of residential areas have taken their toll on the land in Tangerang.
Paddy fields and orchards have given way to shopping plazas and industrial buildings. Lakes and swampland have been turned into housing estates and office compounds.
"We hope that BSD management will leave the parks undisturbed and the local administration will protect them as a catchment area for the city," Sutisna, a BSD resident and a regular visitor to the park told the Post.
Lestari said that everyone must take good care of the parks by keeping waste and garbage out.
"Creating city parks is the only way to restore the natural condition amid unhealthy modern living and all parties have to support the annual tree cultivating program organized by the developer," she said.
The parks can function as a nature laboratory that provides sources of biodiversity; city lungs that absorb carbondioxide and produce oxygen; and a catchment area that protects soil fertility.
Besides providing people with recreational and sporting facilities, the parks can also be used for scientific research and education. (November 21, 2006)
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