Bachelor project 2017
Revitalizing the pedestrian area in the city centre of Banda Aceh in Indonesia
Duration: 19th April – 12th July 2017 (12 weeks)
Participants: 8 students
Supervisors: Karina Pallagst, Siba Said and Mufti Ali Nasution
Consultant: Prof. Dr. Kai Tobias
Language: German and English
The city of Banda Aceh, located on the island of Sumatra (Indonesia), is the largest city (240.000 inhabitants) and capital in the province of Aceh. Urbanization and population growth of the city of Banda Aceh are challenging urban livability, mobility and walkability, particularly in the city centre. Congestion problems lead to limited accessibility and high pollution rates, where the city’s historical, cultural, recreational and commercial potentials are challenged.
The project aimed at analysing the existing situation of urban mobility and land use in Banda Aceh’s city centre to identify the main problems imposed on achieving a friendly walkability and sustainable urban life. The project participants developed alternative concepts to improve the walkability for the pedestrians. This shall help revitalizing the city centre and make it an attractive and safe urban space.
In the framework of the project, the students visited Banda Aceh for two weeks, to collect data and analyse the problems together with Indonesian students from two local universities; University of Muhammadiyah Aceh and State Islamic University Ar-Raniry. During their field work, the students talked to local citizens and conducted surveys in order to explore the sustainable usability of the pedestrian areas in the city centre and needed improvements in the future planning. In addition, two workshops were organized. In the first workshop two key stakeholders from the city administration were invited to discuss the urban challenges in the city. The second workshop was organized to present the interim results of the analytical work of the students.
