In Between Death and Life: The Role of TPU Tanah Kusir as Public Space

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.201009.019How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Cemetery, Heterotopia, Space of Death, Public Space, Urbanism

Abstract

As most cities are rapidly expanding, space of death, such as a cemetery, is in demand. In a metropolitan like Jakarta where the population grows rapidly, land for the dead competes with the urgent needs of urban development. It is often used not only for death purposes but also for everyday needs. A cemetery is a place where sacredness and banality occur. At Taman Pemakaman Umum (TPU or Public Cemetery in English) Tanah Kusir, a well-known cemetery in South Jakarta, people do not only bury, do a pilgrimage, or perform religious rituals about death. They also use it for commerce, a shortcut, a place for animal care, and other activities. This paper shows our preliminary study on how TPU Tanah Kusir as a public space provides space of death while accommodating inevitable banal activities. We analyzed its physical feature and people’s thought about it. We then defined the circumstances that make it both private and public in order to comprehend its role as a public space. The overlapping sacred value and its daily uses have made TPU Tanah Kusir become a heterotopic space. Our study shows that grave ownership and its accessibility determined the cemetery’s spatial characteristics.

Copyright

© 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Feby Hendola
AU  - Muhammad Mashudi
AU  - Michelle Margaretha
AU  - Viola Calista Amabella
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/10/10
TI  - In Between Death and Life: The Role of TPU Tanah Kusir as Public Space
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Dwelling Form (IDWELL 2020)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 180
EP  - 189
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201009.019
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.201009.019
ID  - Hendola2020
ER  -