Jakarta, Indonesia
Session 1: April 5 - June 6, 2008

Marco Kusumawijaya is an urbanist with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of architecture, sustainable development, cultural heritage, and urban planning. In 2001, he started Green Map in Indonesia. He is also the founder of “Imagining Jakarta,” a collective of artists, architects and urban planners. Through a variety of social and artistic interventions, “Imagining Jakarta” reclaims the public realm for citizen action, presenting a creative and inclusive alternative to the city’s official, top-down planning process.

Marco Kusumawijaya and guests, Public Presentation, 6/4/08

Marco Kusumawijaya’s research concerns the various social, cultural and political possibilities for creating more sustainable cities. Kusumawijaya recognizes that sustainability will require changing both the city’s habitat, or built environment, and its habitus — the lifestyles, tastes and daily practices of city residents.

Using Los Angeles as a case study, Kusumawijaya examined current and emerging initiatives aimed at creating more sustainable cities, including large-scale government programs, communities that practice urban agriculture, and individuals who choose not to own cars. Which of these practices holds the greatest promise for a more sustainable future? How do we encourage and support positive change in government, community and individual practices? What are the different roles of artists, activists, architects, and bureaucrats in changing both the habitat and habitus of cities?

From this research, Kusumawijaya is developing a conceptual framework for analyzing the potential for greater sustainability in other cities, particularly Jakarta.

Marco Kusumawijaya, Public Presentation, 6/4/08

Public Presentation, Marco Kusumawijaya, 6/4/08. At right: Kusumawijaya with guest

Public Presentation, Marco Kusumawijaya, 6/4/08. At left: Kusumawijaya with guest

UFI Salon in honor of Marco Kusumawijaya, 4/23/08

Guest view information at public presentation by UFI Fellow Marco Kusumawijaya