Urban kampung and household energy consumption in Bandung, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the energy consumption of a type of urban form known as urban kampung in Bandung, Indonesia. The high building density characteristic of urban kampung often considered as a more energy efficient urban form. This paper tries to explore it by comparing the energy consumption and behaviour of people living in urban kampung with the energy consumed by those who live in organised settlements in form of vertical housing/flats (rumah susun). A questionnaire survey was conducted to 200 households living in the three neighbourhoods in Bandung, which represented the two types of urban form. The preliminary result shows that the energy consumption of urban kampung is slightly lower but somewhat similar compared with the vertical housing. The parcel size are probably the factor that affected this result, since the other components such as electricity bill, cooking fuel, and transportation expenditure do not express any differece within the two types of urban form. This study provides insight for policy-maker and city planners on the benefit of urban kampung to achieve a more energy efficient city. The city government might consider the strategy of revitalising and improving the urban kampung before converting them into vertical housing.