Acta Scientiae et Intellectus P-ISSN 2410-9738; E-ISSN 2519-1896

Wahyuni, Yetrie Ludang, Indrawan Permana Kamis, Saputera, Hery Redin, Lies Indrayanti. Quality of
public green open spaces in Kuala Kurun, Central Kalimantan. Acta Scientiae et Intellectus, 7(3); 2021,
101-109.

QUALITY OF PUBLIC GREEN OPEN SPACES

IN KUALA KURUN, CENTRAL KALIMANTAN

Wahyuni1, Yetrie Ludang2, Indrawan Permana Kamis3,

Saputera4, Hery Redin5, Lies Indrayanti2

1Environmental Science Study Program, Postgraduate Program,

2Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture,
3Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering,

4Agricultural Industrial Technology Study Program,

Faculty of Agriculture,
5Agrotechnology Study Program, Faculty of Agriculture,

Palangka Raya University, Palangka Raya, INDONESIA

ABSTRACT

The development of basic service infrastructure, economic infrastructure, and

urban infrastructure of the city of Kuala Kurun will become a growth center for the
surrounding area so that it is expected to be able to encourage city development,
become a better center of activity and can accommodate all community activities
according to their roles and functions. The needs of the community in urban areas
that become an illustration of real progress and development is the condition of good
public spaces. Public space has a role in several activities, namely economic, social,
health, and environmental. The success of the existence of public spaces in urban
areas is a good attraction, it can be proven by being visited by many people and being
an infrastructure for interacting with other people.

Keywords: public needs, green open space, quantity, quality, criteria

INTRODUCTION

Public space is a space that is able to facilitate the needs and interests of city
residents in carrying out various community activities individually or in groups
(Hantono, 2017). Public space has undergone a revolution from time to time and
provides great benefits for the communal life of an area according to 2 main

www.actaint.com Vol.7. No.3 (2021) 101

 Acta Scientiae et Intellectus P-ISSN 2410-9738; E-ISSN 2519-1896

functions, namely: social functions and ecological functions (Hartoyo and Santoni,
2018). As a social function, public space is a place for various activities, including:
playing, sports, communication, harmony, environmental beauty, barriers between
building masses, and others. As an ecological function, public spaces act as air
fresheners, rainwater absorption, ecosystem maintainers, architectural softeners,
and so on. If public space is used according to its function, this space can also be
part of the aesthetic elements of urban space. This can be obtained from the
elements and activities that exist in the public space itself.
The development of public spaces in cities in Indonesia generally leads to an
increase in population, and in urban areas there are many jobs, which will attract
people in rural areas to come to urban areas. This is related to the growth and
development of the industrial, agricultural, trade, service, cultural and tourism
sectors of an area making the area an area that influences economic growth in the
surrounding area. Population growth causes an increase in various needs for living
facilities, causing the need for space to be used as a residential area which is
increasing and increasing the volume and frequency of activities in the city area.
The consequence is the increasing demand for space to accommodate the
availability of facilities and infrastructure to support these activities.
The National Urban Policy and Strategy (KSPN, 2011) vision of urban
development in Indonesia is a future city, a sustainable and competitive city for the
welfare of the community, consisting of a smart city (innovative, creative and IT-
based city), liviable city (a city that is livable, equitable, and follows diversity) and
grand economy city (productive, green and climate-resilient city).
The development of the city of Kuala Kurun since its stipulation as the capital
of Gunung Mas Regency in 2002. Even though he is 19 years old, the physical
development appears to be growing significantly with the change in the function
and role of the city of Kuala Kurun as a center for government administration,
trade and services, social, economic, and social services. other activities. The
population of Kuala Kurun in 2020 was 30 647 people, consisting of 16 277 men
and 14370 women, an average of 34.99 people per km2, including the small city
category. National Urban Policy and Strategy (KSPN, 2011), the policy of realizing
the future city is local economic development related to economic activities
between small and medium cities with rural areas and their surroundings. Priority
for accelerating the fulfillment of basic public service facilities and infrastructure.
The emphasis of district and city governments is on providing better public
services for the community.
The role of the government in determining the direction of urban
development and city functions based on Law Number 26 of 2007 concerning
Spatial Planning (UU26, 2007), the policy of realizing the future of urban cities is

102Vol.7. No.3 (2021) www.actaint.com

 Acta Scientiae et Intellectus P-ISSN 2410-9738; E-ISSN 2519-1896

the concentration and distribution of government services, social services, and

economic activities.

PUBLIC SPACE NEED

Diyan (2012) stated five things that can cause a shift in land use in an urban
area, which are closely related to the population, the construction of a trading
business center, the construction of transportation facilities, the construction of
industrial centers, and the public needs of an area tend to be the center of activity
because the area provides various human needs (Husni et al., 2018; Ludang, 2010).
This causes the development of the area around the industrial center to be
developed as a residential area and center of activity.
a. One of the efforts in planning and managing public spaces is the fulfillment
of facilities (public amenities in urban fabric) that support public activities
(including private activities in a balanced way).
b. The basic understanding in creating a public space is to strive to always
meet the needs of its users. Carr (1995) in Public Space explicitly states that a
quality public space is a public space that is responsive, democratic, and
meaningful.
The policy factors of the Gunung Mas Regency Government support the
function and hierarchy of the city as a service center in the city area, which is a
center for social, cultural, economic, and/or community administration services
that serve the city and regional areas, which include:
a. City service center, serving the entire city and/or regional area;
b. City service sub-center, serving city sub-regions;
c. Environmental center, serving the environmental scale of the city area.
Changes in the function of the city of Kuala Kurun with the role and function
of the city getting bigger. There is a change in the function of the city of Kuala
Kurun and how to realize the city of Kuala Kurun as a trade and service area, social
service industry, economy through optimizing the use of space with an attractive
city appearance by paying attention to environmental sustainability. The
construction of facilities and arrangement of urban green open space areas
including: city parks, green lines, public cemeteries, and sports fields, will certainly
be the center of attention and provide its own uniqueness when reviewed further
by assessing the quality of public green open space using Likert scale calculations
through assessment of the level of responsibility, democracy, and meaningfully on
the aspects of needs, rights, and meanings and further weighting by looking at
quality benchmarks according to the Likert scale calculation. This is the reason
why the location of the city of Kuala Kurun, Kurun District was chosen as the
research location.

www.actaint.com Vol.7. No.3 (2021) 103

 Acta Scientiae et Intellectus P-ISSN 2410-9738; E-ISSN 2519-1896

Understanding
The definition of public space according to several experts is:
a. Herutomo (2017), the city's public space is a space that can accommodate
public interests for family communication, informal community meetings,
children's playgrounds or family recreation areas.
b. Adiyanta (2018), public space is one way for community members to
rediscover their human space
c. Hantono et al (2018), public space is a space that can be accessed by
anyone so that public space becomes a space belonging to all people without any
time and activity limitations. In line with that
d. Hartoyo and Santoni (2018), public space is a space to carry out social,
economic, and cultural activities.
e. Ghifari and Firdausan (2019), public space is an open space which is a
planned space because of the need for meeting places and joint activities in the
open air.
f. Kurniawan et al (2020), public open space is an unbuilt space in a city that
has various functions when viewed from several aspects.
The conclusion from some of the literature above is that public space is an
area or place that can be accessed as communication, gathering/meeting,
interacting and joint activities between city residents. Urban public spaces are
spaces that provide opportunities for all people to have access to and use them in
interacting with communities freely.
The main characteristics of public spaces are that they are open and easily
accessible by the community to carry out group activities and do not always have
to have green elements, in the form of malls, plazas and playgrounds. Public space
in the urban spatial category is a space intended for the public interest. In the
context of today's modernity, the public sphere must be responsible for the
dehumanization it has produced.

Criteria
Lestari (2016), according to its nature, public spaces are divided into 2 types,
namely:
a. Closed public space: is a public space contained in a building. For example:
malls, markets and so on.
b. Open public space: namely public space outside the building which is often
also called open space. For example: parks, fields, plazas.
Hartoyo and Santoni (2018), according to their function are divided into 2
types, namely:

104Vol.7. No.3 (2021) www.actaint.com

 Acta Scientiae et Intellectus P-ISSN 2410-9738; E-ISSN 2519-1896

a. Social function, public space is a place for various activities, including:

playing, sports, communication, harmony, environmental beauty, barriers between
building masses, and others. And as
b. The ecological functions of public spaces act as air fresheners, rainwater
absorption, ecosystem maintainers, architectural softeners, and others.

GREEN OPEN SPACE

Definition
The definition of green open space (RTH) based on several experts in
Hamrun and Prianto (2017) is:
a. Traneik (1986), a space dominated by the natural environment outside
and inside the city, in the form of parks, courtyards, urban recreation areas and
green belts.
b. Grove and Gresawell (1983), stated that green open space is a facility that
contributes significantly to improving the quality of the residential environment,
and is a very important element in recreational activities.
c. Urban Green Open Space (RTHKP) is part of the open space of an urban
area filled with plants and plants to support ecological, social, cultural, economic
and aesthetic benefits.
d. Public green open space, namely green open space located on public lands
or land owned by the government.
The conclusion from some of the literature above is that green open space
(RTH) is an open space in an open urban area where plants and plants grow as
supporting ecological, social, cultural, economic and aesthetic functions.
Regulation of the Minister of Public Works of the Republic of Indonesia
Number 05/PRT/M/2008 (PMPU5, 2008) article 3 guidelines for the provision and
utilization of green open space in urban areas aims to:
a. ecological aspects; maintain the availability of land as a water catchment
area in the environment;
b. planological aspects; create a balance between the natural environment
and the built environment that is useful for the benefit of the community;
c. Aesthetic aspects; improve the harmony of the urban environment as a
means of securing a safe, comfortable, fresh, beautiful and clean urban environment.
d. social aspects; adding recreational facilities and interactions in the area for
the benefit of the community.

Type and Function

Minister of Public Works of the Republic of Indonesia Number 5/PRT/M/2008
(PMPU5, 2008) types and functions of green open spaces are grouped into:

www.actaint.com Vol.7. No.3 (2021) 105

 Acta Scientiae et Intellectus P-ISSN 2410-9738; E-ISSN 2519-1896

a. Based on the shape, 1) the form of the green open space (area, non-linear);
2) Form of green open space (corridor, linear).
b. Based on intrinsic-ecological and extrinsic functions (architectural,
economic, and social).
c. Based on natural green open space and non-natural green open space.
d. Based on the structure 1) RTH with an ecological configuration based on
landscapes such as protected areas, hills, river borders, lake borders, coastal areas
and others; 2) RTH with a planological configuration following the pattern of city
structures such as housing green open space, urban green open space, sub-district
green open space, city green open space and regional/national parks.
e. Based on ownership (Public RTH and Private RTH)

Quantity
The provision of green open space in urban areas is an implementation of the
order of Law Number 26 of 2007 concerning Spatial Planning (UU26. 2007), this
regulates the calculation of the minimum area of urban green open space needs
quantitatively based on factual area, population, oxygen and water availability. The
provision for green open space is 30% of the total area, namely 20% public green
open space and 10% private green open space.
Provision of green open space based on the need for certain functions The
function of green open space in this category is for protection or security, facilities
and infrastructure of green line green open space along the rail line, green line for
high voltage electricity networks, green open space for local protected areas in the
form of green open space bordering river, green open space bordering the coast,
and green open space. protection of raw water sources/springs.
The provision of green open space in urban areas is regulated in detail in the
Regulation of the Minister of Public Works Number 05/PRT/2008 concerning
Guidelines for the Provision and Utilization of Green Open Space (PMPU5, 2008)
per capita according to applicable regulations.

Quality
Carr et al (1995) define public space can provide a good response from users.
Democratic, meaning freedom of movement/activity (freedom of action) in all
parts of the public space from various social, economic, and cultural backgrounds
as well as being accessible to various human physical conditions. Meaningful
means if space is able to provide a strong meaning between the user, his
environment and the social context:
a. Needs; it is a basic human need in the context of public space that can be
assessed according to the following factors:

106Vol.7. No.3 (2021) www.actaint.com

 Acta Scientiae et Intellectus P-ISSN 2410-9738; E-ISSN 2519-1896

1) Comfort, both psychologically, biologically and socially with respect to: a)

climate; b) seats; c) supporting facilities; d) pedestrians; e) lighting; f) garden
house;
2) Relaxation to be obtained in activities in the park/field with various
themes in it as a public space: a) Relaxing with the local environment; b) Comfort
in the garden; c) Security;
3) Passive engagement, namely the involvement of users in a public space in
terms of: a) observing; b) looking at; c) dialogue with the environment.
4) Active engagement, namely the involvement of users in public spaces in
terms of: a) moving through the park; b) communicate; c) activity
warnings/events; d) children's play area; e) a place for adults.
b. Rights; it is an acknowledgment of freedom of activity that is considered
against several factors, namely: 1) Access; 2) Symbol of achievement access to
public space for all community groups; 3) Freedom of movement/activity in all parts
of the public space, which can be realized in the form of: 1) Multi-purpose/multi-use
space for several activities; 2) Activity zones; 3) Protection of certain spaces/groups;
d. Recognition (claim) the use of space: a) Amount of free space.

Meaning
This is an aspect that is studied from physical and non-physical aspects as
well as historical and socio-political and cultural linkages with the following
criteria:
1) Easily recognizable (legibillty), namely the existence of clarity and order
regarding: a) social nodes that connect connecting lines; b) clear but flexible area
boundaries, area division; c) Regional landmarks.
2) Relevance between: Cultural norms and users;
3) Individual connection in the form of: a) Elements/ children's playground;
b) Placing a place/space for an important event
4) Group connection in the form of group space (social level, ethnicity, etc.),
group space for sports, space to support artistic activities.
5) Relations with the wider society (connection to larger society) are usually
in the form of: a) A special place, a symbol of historical continuity, political, socio-
cultural, economic and symbol of power and others.
The rationalization of this qualitative data is used to determine the level of
responsiveness, democratic and the level of meaning of the public green open
space through the measured variables. Carr et al (1995), explicitly mention several
benchmarks in assessing the quality of public green open space which is based on
three aspects, namely needs, rights, and meanings. The benchmark for quality
public space is public space that is able to respond to needs (Murhaini & Ludang,
2020; Rina et al., 2020), protect user rights and meanings.

www.actaint.com Vol.7. No.3 (2021) 107

 Acta Scientiae et Intellectus P-ISSN 2410-9738; E-ISSN 2519-1896

CONCLUSION

The development of green open space plays a role in increasing ecological

functions, providing economic benefits, providing benefits for social activities and
socializing, and aesthetic beauty. Based on the study of the quality of green open
space concluded that it varies depending on the elements and quality aspects of
the open space that will affect the activities, interactions, characters, types of
activities, and the behavior of the people who use the public open spaces.

REFERENCES

1) Adiyanta, F.C.S. (2018). Urgensi Ketersediaan Ruang Terbuka Hijau

sebagai Ruang Publik dalam Tata Kota Berwawasan Lingkungan Hidup.
Jurnal Gema Keadilan Vol. 5, Edisi 1:52-73.
2) Carr, S., Francis, M., Leane, G.R., and Stone., A.M. (1995). Public Space
(Cambridge Series in Environment and Behavior). Cambridge University
Press. 420p.
3) Diyan, N.R.W. (2012). Kajian Rancangan Masterplan Ruang Terbuka Hijau
Kota Bogor. Tesis Program Studi Administrasi Kebijakan Publik, Fakultas
Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, Universitas Indonesia. (Unpublished).
4) Ghifari, M.N. dan S.Z. Firdausan (2019). Perilaku Masyarakat Pada Ruang
Terbuka Publik di Kampung Kebangsren Surabaya. Sinektika Jurnal
Arsitektur Vol. 16 No. 2:80-86.
5) Hamrun dan A.L. Prianto (2017). Kebijakan Pengelolaan Ruang Terbuka
Hijau di Kota Makassar. Prosiding Seminar Nasional Prodi Ilmu
Pemerintahan Fisip Unikom. Hlm 674-694.
6) Hantono, D. (2017). Pengaruh Ruang Publik Terhadap Kualitas Visual
Jalan Kali Besar Jakarta. Arsitektura Vol. 15, No.2:532-540.
7) Hantono, D., Y.F.D. Sidabutar dan U.I.M. Hanafiah (2018). Kajian Ruang
Publik Kota Antara Aktivitas Dan Keterbatasan. Langkau Betang, Vol. 5
No. 2:80-86.
8) Hartoyo, H. dan Santoni (2018). Kriteria Ruang Publik Kalijodo Pendukung
Aksesibilitas dan Peningkatan Aktivitas. Jurnal Teknik Arsitektur Arteks,
Vol. 2 No. 2:113-124.
9) Herutomo, Ch. (2017). Ruang Publik Kota dan Pola Komunikasi Warganya.
Acta Diurna Vol. 13 No. 2:55-66.
10) Husni Kotta, Sarwoko Mangkoedihardjo, Yetrie Ludang, Slamet
Trisutomo (2018). The design of riparian zone in waterfront area of
Tanjung Bunga, Makassar. International Journal of Civil Engineering and
Technology, 9(8): 580-584.

108Vol.7. No.3 (2021) www.actaint.com

 Acta Scientiae et Intellectus P-ISSN 2410-9738; E-ISSN 2519-1896

11) KSPN. 2011. Kebijakan dan Strategi Perkotaan Nasional/KSPN. 2011.

Rancangan kebijakan-dan-strategi-perkotaan. https://www.slideshare.
net› rancanga. Diakses pada tanggal 7 Juni 2021.
12) Kurniawan, G.K.K., A.A. Sani, A.E. Matondang dan M.R. Aziza (2020).
Pengembangan Ruang Publik Berbasis Universal Desain Di Kota Bandar
Lampung: Studi Kasus Taman Gajah. Jurnal Arsitektur Arcade Vol. 4 No.
2:107-114.
13) Lestari, A.P.U.P. (2016). Ruang Publik Menuju Kota Denpasar yang
Manusiawi. http://www.ojs.unr.ac.id › article › download. Accessed on 21
April 2021.
14) Ludang, Y. (2010). A brief review on the role of community to lessen the
rate of global warming. Middle East Journal of Scientific Research, 6(1):
69-75.
15) Murhaini, S. & Ludang, Y. 2020. Sociological Aspects of Transferred Land
to Settlements in Indonesia. International Journal of Management, 11(3):
247-255.
16) PMPU5, 2008. Peraturan Menteri Pekerjaan Umum Republik Indonesia
nomor 5/PRT/M/2008 tanggal 26 Mei 2008 tentang Pedoman Penyediaan
dan Pemanfaatan Ruang Terbuka Hijau di Kawasan Perkotaan.
17) Rina Oktavia, Agus Haryono, Yohanes Edy Gunawan, Yetrie Ludang,
Abdul Hadjaranul Fatah, Alpian (2020). The effectiveness of blended
learning method by using environmental pollution materials. Acta
Scientiae et Intellectus, 6(3): 87-97.
18) UU26, 2007. Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 26 tahun 2007
tanggal 26 April 2007 tentang Penataan Ruang.

www.actaint.com Vol.7. No.3 (2021) 109