The synthesis of environmental and socio-cultural information in the ecological design of urban riverine landscapes

Using the landscape as medium, we explore the relationship between residents and vegetation interaction, and spatial condition, of an urban riverine landscape in the Jakarta subdistricts of Kampung Melayu and Bukit Duri. These offer distinct examples of an urban riverine landscape within a growing megacity. Located on a peninsula of land called ‘Kampung Pulo’ the neighbourhood studied in Kampung Melayu has several distinctive elements (open spaces along the riverside, communal and private plantings, gentle sloping banks) that define the arrangement of this riverine landscape and influence its condition. In comparison, the neighbourhood studied in the nearby community of Bukit Duri, compressed between the railway siding of KRL-KRD Bukit Duri and the Ciliwung River, has limited river access and riverside open space, houses backing directly onto the river, and less vegetation. The landscape was used as medium to integrate local knowledge for the purpose of ecological design. Using an integrated mixed-methods approach including ethnographic surveys and interviews, and spatial mapping through drawings and image- and range-based modelling. The study discerned that differences in the landscape configuration of the two sites produced differences in resident interaction with domestic and riverine vegetation, and landscape condition. As such, the method is seen to be useful in providing valuable insights for the design of urban riverine landscapes.