Inclusive Streets, Inclusive Communities

Many public spaces in Indonesia are inaccessible to vulnerable groups such as children and persons with disabilities (PwDs), partly due to a lack of infrastructure and limited awareness and understanding by citizens, government agencies and families.   

The Inclusive Banjarmasin: Urban Mobility and Accessibility for All initiative is a collaboration between urban designers, civil society organizations, and the Banjarmasin City Government to support the creation of a more accessible and inclusive city. Through citizen-driven processes and multi stakeholder engagements, the project aims to address traffic problems that exist in inclusive school zones to improve the safety and accessibility of the sidewalks, parking area, drop-off, and pick-up areas for all as well as it aims to improve accessibility in mobility through the retrofitting of three-wheeled motorbikes that can be used by persons with disabilities. A secondary project activity was implemented which arose from project implementation in the waste management building was redesigned to create a more sustainable system to manage waste. 

Together with our local implementing partner Kota Kita, the TUMI Challenge project in Banjarmasin, Indonesia focuses on the implementation of these three participatory pilot projects as a model of urban inclusivity.

• Implementation of a safe school zone, including sidewalk improvements, painting of zebra crossings, the provision of dedicated parking, waiting, drop off and pick up areas for all. The pilot targeted the area around two inclusive schools in the City of Banjarmasin, Indonesia.  
• Responding to the needs of teachers who lack a comfortable and nearby parking space, an unused public building near the two schools was repurposed and transformed into a parking building.  
• Kota Kita team handed over accessible rides to Indonesian Association of People with Disabilities (PPDI) Banjarmasin. There are three design types: two center-type designs in Banjarmasin and Yogyakarta and one sidecar-type design. In the center-type design, the wheelchair users could easily access the passenger space. 
• The waste management building, named “Green Building”, which has caused traffic congestion in the area, was redesigned and a collaboration with the neighborhood residents was established to create a more sustainable system to manage waste. During the redesign process, a rainwater harvesting system was added to the building, along with a handwashing station.   

“Joining this program has exposed us to the benefits of a participatory and inclusive process. We at the Transportation Agency of Banjarmasin are definitely inspired and hope to replicate the process in other safe school zone projects that are currently in the pipeline.” — Febpry Ghara Utama, Banjarmasin City Transportation Agency

“The TUMI program has inspired us to see the potential of replicating accessible and inclusive public spaces in other areas of Banjarmasin City. We believe that the collaborative and participatory process conducted in this program can become a guideline for the planning and development of Banjarmasin City in the future.” — Ibnu Sina, Banjarmasin Mayor