ASSERTING LOCAL IDENTITY IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE: A TOP-DOWN EFFORT IN THE DECENTRALIZED SURAKARTA

Introduction: This paper focuses on the municipal government’s efforts to cultivate local identity during decentralization, focusing on the case of public service buildings in the neighborhoods (kelurahan) of Surakarta. Surakarta has a long history of violence, which has always targeted minority groups. Therefore, identity politics are important in representation of all the city residents. Purpose of the study: In this paper, we examine public service buildings in Surakarta to understand how they manifest local identity. Method: We analyze the public buildings in Surakarta in terms of how they use identity. We took samples in each of the five Surakarta kecamatan and found out what kind of identity their public buildings manifest. We also interviewed stakeholders involved in the design of those buildings for clarification. The results reveal that the mayor played a prominent role in asserting the local identity, employing a top-down vision, which stands in contrast to the city’s renowned bottom-up approach. However, the mayor’s vision of identity is mainly dominated by Javanese values, even when it looks like it combines Javanese and colonial architecture. The Javanese values can be seen in the use of the pendhapa building for public gatherings, its location at the front part of the kelurahan complex, and the location of the colonial-styled building for the main office at the side or the rear. This resembles the layout of traditional Javanese architecture.