How to Solve Urban Poverty and Get Away With It

Have you ever heard about urban poverty? Urban poverty is a “lack” or “deficiency” of the necessities required for human survival and welfare that’s happening in metropolitan cities.

The number of urban population living under the line poverty decreased from 10.0 million in 1976 to 7.2 million in 1996. However, when the economic crisis struck Jakarta since mid 1997, the number of urban population living under poverty line in 1998 increased sharply to 17.6 million or 21.9% of the total urban population. The poverty line was determined by the expenditure needed to meet the minimum cost of living. It varies by year and location. These poverty lines are still less than the poverty line determined by the World Bank which is $2.00 a day. In 2002 there were 286,900 poor people in Jakarta and it accounted for 3.4 per cent of the population of Jakarta. It is the least proportion of poor population among other provinces in Indonesia. The proportion of poor population in Indonesia in 2002 was 18.2 per cent. Urban Poverty in Jakarta is usually happening in the neighborhood on the river bank of Ciliwung in the sub-district of Manggarai, Central Jakarta. The urban poor, in general, is the village farmers who make massive migration. They were forced to perform transmigration / migration because their land has been turned into housing, factories, or controlled by landlords. According to World Bank, Jakarta’s rapid growth and urban poverty have given rise to large-scale infrastructure problems, lacking land problems, sanitation, and also jobless people. Urban Poverty is a “lack” or “deficiency” of the necessities required for human survival and welfare that’s happening in metropolitan cities. Urban Poverty is for metropolitan areas, such as Jakarta.  Urban poverty in Jakarta can be solved by several solutions, such as: preventing others from moving into bigger cities, increasing job opportunity, and providing free education. 

First, it is solved by preventing others from moving into bigger cities. Urban Poverty in Jakarta can be solved by providing basic amenities such as a-24 hour electricity and a good water supply. In some rural areas, basic amenities such as a-24 hour electricity and a good water supply are still rare. This will obstruct rural people’s daily activities, which are mostly agriculture based. Slow development of local markets where farmers can get better rates for their production. As a result of this, many farmers are selling their land and move to bigger cities in hope of a better life. Another way to solve the urban poverty in Jakarta is to persuade villagers from moving into bigger cities by increasing district development. Government should be increasing the district development so that they are more likely to stay in their own village than to migrate to bigger cities which can cause chaotic, lacking land problem and slum places, such as building good roads, railways, urban transport, waterways and airports.

By government to make a policy about the minimum income for villagers, government should set a capital’s minimum income for Jakarta residents, like making a regulation about Jakarta’s capital minimum income. If they are breaking the regulation, they will get heavy sanctions. This will prevent low economic people from moving into Jakarta and decrease the urban poverty problem. 

Second, it is solved by increasing job opportunity. Government should provide job opportunity for jobless people, because everyone has equal job opportunities and access to decent work. By giving them job opportunity, they will have a decent job and get an income to provide their daily needs and also for their children’s education.

Another way to solve the urban poverty is by government to hold a counseling and training for jobless people. The government should play a big role in this by persuading jobless people to get counseling and training such as basic skills, and when they have accomplished on mastering their basic skills, the government should put them into real job.

By raising minimum wage, specifically for low income jobs, the government should raise the minimum wage by raising a few percent from their minimum income. This will help people to fulfill their daily needs such as clothing, foods, and also secondary needs such as entertainment, vehicles, and refrigerator and decrease the urban poverty. 

Third, it is solved by providing free education. All Indonesian citizens have the right to get education. Education can lead young people out of poverty. By giving free education for low economic people, it can give young people basic skills, such as reading and writing, and also teaches them how to communicate and connect with other people properly. And also, education makes it more likely for men and women not just to be employed in the future, but to hold jobs that are more secure and provide good jobs and decent pay. Education can not only help people out of poverty, but also guard against them falling back into poverty. 

Another way to solve the urban poverty is by government to give education funds to each child’s of low economic parents. Low economic parents might cannot pay the school tuition for their kids, so that’s why the government should play a role in it by giving education funds for their educational needs, such as school fees, books, school bags, school uniforms, and stationary. And also, by giving out free scholarships, this will give chances to low economic people but has the ability to continue their study into a higher level. After they graduated from their study, they are more likely to have bigger chances to get a decent job and step out of poverty and prevent from falling back into poverty. 

In conclusion, poverty in Jakarta needs to be stopped. Urban poverty can decrease the quality of a country and also its human resources. Urban poverty mostly caused by lacking land problem that caused by migrants who migrate from their village to bigger cities in hope of a better life, lacking of job opportunity, and also less educated people. Government should play a big role in this in order to solve the urban poverty in Jakarta. By solving the urban poverty in Jakarta, people will have better lives and Indonesia can have a better quality. 

By Moza Saffanah