The Jakarta Provincial Government held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with theme "Developing Micro Green Open Spaces (RTH) in Urban Villages: Shaping the City, Developing Jakarta's Future".

This activity aimed at addressing the impact of urbanization, particularly the growth of dense settlements that outpace the availability of green open spaces. This imbalance is considered to affect quality of life, public health, and environmental sustainability in Jakarta.

Jakarta Secretary Assistant for Development and Environment, Afan Adriansyah Idris, explained that this FGD is the initial step toward establishing pocket parks or small-scale green spaces in densely populated areas, especially in slum neighborhoods.

"We want to try preparing pocket park of around 50 square meter each. Finding just 10 meters of land in these neighborhoods is already difficult, let alone the 250-square-meter minimum requirement, which is just isn't feasible," he said at Jakarta City Hall, on Tuesday (8/5).

According to him, micro green open spaces would bring several benefits, such as improving air circulation and sunlight exposure in crowded areas, reducing the spread of diseases like tuberculosis (TB), and creating safe and comfortable public interaction space for residents.

"If we have open spaces in the middle of dense neighborhoods, sunlight can come in, air can circulate. At the very least, it helps lower TB rates, and these public spaces could also reduce youth brawls," he noted.

The Jakarta Provincial Government aims to develop 50-square-meter micro green open spaces in 50 locations within four years, focusing on slum RWs across Jakarta.

He noted that there are 455 slum RWs based on the city's data.

"We'll match the parks map with the slump map. Starting with 50 locations is a relistic target," he added.

Afan hoped that the development plan for micro green open spaces would soon be approved by Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung so the program can begin implementation.