Pedestrian Conditions in The City of Surabaya-Indonesia

The existence of pedestrian zones in Surabaya cannot be separated from its historical development as a city of industry, trade, education, government, and culture. It influences the Surabaya Government to continuously protect the pedestrian zones from potential users such as street vendors who appear to affect the urbanization explosion. The Surabaya Government recorded that, in 2017, security officials disciplined 14,883 street vendors and eliminated the rights of street vendors in Surabaya.  

(Courtesy of Freepick.com)

Economic practices carried out by street vendors remove street vendors’ rights over cities. This indicates public spaces are not entirely accessible to fulfill the public interest. In Surabaya, pedestrian zones become a separator between road space for vehicles and pedestrian mobility. Thus, pedestrian zones are equipped with various facilities to support their functions for safety and comfort. Moreover, the pedestrian zones have become a repressive and undemocratic space because it has shifted away from its public character as an urban space for social interaction. As imagined by Lefebvre (1996), the urban public sphere is a place to accommodate the increasing effects of commodification and capitalism, which eventually led to increasing spatial inequality in cities around the world over the last two centuries. On top of that, pedestrian zones are a form of capitalist practices, even though they are relevant for cities to accommodate many urbanites and respond to the challenges of capitalism urbanization, especially the informal economy sector.

Street vendors can put their stalls in front of residents’ houses, as well as shop owners can put their merchandise on the pedestrian zones. There are also pedestrian areas where no street vendors’ spatial practices are allowed, as shown by the sign-in Figure 1. There is no coexistence between street vendors and non-government- managed public spaces. In addition, there is no consistent reproduction of pedestrian public spaces, both on the main and suburban roads for street vendors. In Tunjungan Street and Pemuda Street, there is a bollard with a disabled-friendly design. The government can adequately monitor bollards installation on the main road. For pedestrian zones outside the main road, the installation of bollards interferes with the mobility of pedestrians and persons with disabilities. Installation of bollards and other accessories in public pedestrian zones cannot be uniformed. Every pedestrian space is related to the social and economic environment.

The modern development of Surabaya had become a paradox when street vendors were orderly arranged. On the one hand, the government represented by security officials should enforce the regional regulation to prevent street vendors’ spatial practice. On the other hand, Surabaya’s rapid economic growth cannot be separated from street vendors’ contribution and enormous capitalist forces. The presence of street vendors is part of the urbanization process, and pedestrian zones have become part of capitalism. No matter how small the contribution of street vendors to Surabaya’s economic growth, their presence is represented by the breadwinners who sell used books and magazines, used clothes, new goods, and also beggars, while they have to deal with the security forces daily.