‘Kampung kota’ as Third space in an Urban setting: The case study of Surabaya, Indonesia

Abstract

Lefebvre (The production of space. Blackwell Publishing, Victoria, 1974), Bhabha (The location of culture. Routledge, London, 1994) and Soja (Thirdspace; journeys to Los Angeles and other real-and-imagined places. Blackwell Publisher, Oxford, 1996), classify the condition of urban marginality as a ‘Third Space’, which is an expression of the ambivalent reality of urban wealth in a city. Marginality in urban settings is represented through urban slums, a phenomenon that is usually driven by poverty and the unregulated occupation of urban space, which most cities in the East face. The chapter will compare approaches of First and Second Space related to the creation of ‘Third Space’, especially the notion of the ‘Third Space’ through the inner-city village of ‘Kampung Kota’ in Surabaya. It is neither a real slum nor is it regarded a poor area; the houses are permanently built and have legal ownership or tenant documents. Although located in the centre of Surabaya ‘Kampung Kota’ exists between urban and rural, hence alluding to the notion of the hybridization of the social, as characterised by the ‘Third Space’. While the existence of ‘Kampung Kota’ brings benefits the city (it is the home of service industry workers mostly working in the central city area) it is also under constant threat as the location has high land value leading to ongoing negotiations and insecurity for the residents. The chapter also explores threats to and the possible prospects for ‘Kampung Kota’.