TOWARDS ADAPTIVE REUSE AND URBAN REVITALISATION: INITIAL STRATEGIES FOR REACTIVATING SEMARANG OLD TOWN

ABSTRACT This article presents a map of strategies held by all stakeholders for revitalising the Semarang Old Town district in the initial phase. The specific identity of Kota Lama Semarang within the history of urban development has been identified as a potential development aspect. Governments gathered stakeholders to develop revitalisation strategies for the Semarang Old Town District through urban quality improvements, as the district has been abandoned due to natural disasters (tidal floods) and social problems. The development process becomes more interesting to study within broader discussions of the initial strategy for revitalisation or reactivation. This research used a qualitative method to describe the strategies policymakers used to reactivate Semarang Old Town. The process was conducted through direct observation and in-depth interviews with policymakers about strategies that focused on physical and nonphysical social, cultural, economic, and architectural aspects. The findings showed that the district can be reactivated not only through government initiative (top-down) or societal awareness (bottom-up), but also through cooperation between both sides, which is referred to as the middle position in this article. Keywords: Initial strategy, Reactivating, Historical district, Environmental quality