JAKARTA. Balikpapan, Surakarta, Malang, Yogyakarta, Palembang, Makassar and Bandung have been named the country’s most livable cities in the 2014 Most Livable City Index, a survey by the Indonesian Association of Planners (IAP). The survey, which was conducted in 17 cities across the archipelago, shows that 63.6 percent of overall respondents were satisfied with the cities’ quality of living, with Balikpapan, the business capital of East Kalimantan, rated the highest as 71.12 percent of its residents said the city was comfortable. Audrie Napitupulu, 27, a communications staff member at a multinational company in Balikpapan, was surprised to find in her first few days in the city that foods, hangout spots and sports facilities there were comparable to those available in Jakarta, and were beyond her expectations.
“The quality of life is definitely higher [than in Jakarta]. Here you can do a lot more things in a day and the facilities are good,” said Audrie, who recently moved from Jakarta to Balikpapan, where foreign and domestic companies, mostly in the coal and oil sectors, have been carrying out business for dozens of years. “As you take your first steps in the city at the airport, it becomes clear that Balikpapan [is livable].” Sepinggan Airport in Balikpapan was expanded last year due to overcapacity and renovations made more the airport modern-looking. Separately, Indra Prasadi, 24, a Bandung-based architect, said a lot of aesthetic improvements had been made to the capital city of West Java, since Mayor Ridwan Kamil was elected to office in 2013. “His background as a renowned architect has helped him transform Bandung into a much more interesting city,” Indra said. “For example, the establishment of themed city parks, such as Taman Jomblo [Single People’s Park] and Taman Musik [Music Park], which offer their own uniqueness.” The city’s poor transportation system, however, remained a problem for most of its residents, he said. “I also regret the fact that Bandung, once famous for its groups of art deco buildings, is best-known as a shopping destination.” Elok Kurniasari, 30, a private sector employee who has lived in Malang since she was a child, said the affordable cost of living in Malang was one of the most important aspects that made the city a comfortable place to live. “Malang also has adequate public transportation that operates until very late at night,” Elok said. “Since Malang is now growing into a busier city, I really hope the administration improves the city’s transportation system soon.” The survey, which involved a total of 1,000 respondents with a 2 percent margin of error, placed Malang in second place alongside Surakarta, following Balikpapan, with 69.3 percent of its respondents saying that the city was livable, higher than the national index of 63.6 percent.
