From Discovery to Impact

20142018

Urban Water

Developing advanced pathways towards water-sensitive cities.

The Urban Water Cluster research program aimed to achieve a detailed understanding of the water systems of Bogor City and Bogor Regency, and to explore their potential to leapfrog to a water-sensitive future through sociopolitical and biophysical pathways.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

Through three co-design workshops in Melbourne and three in Bogor, the cluster research partnership between Monash, Universitas Indonesia and Institut Pertanian Bogor evolved and strengthened over the two-year research program.
Over 30 higher degree students across Institut Pertanian Bogor and Universitas Indonesia conducted research related to the Urban Water Cluster, under the supervision of cluster academics, and some of these students have also supported cluster data collection and translation activities.
The Urban Water Cluster launched the Learning Alliance in November 2017 with the signing of the declaration of water-sensitive cities by the Mayor of Bogor, Head of Bappeda, cluster leaders and 82 ‘water champions’. The Learning Alliance was established early on in the research program, to connect thought leaders, decisionmakers, designers, planners, academics and residents.
The cluster designed and conducted four ‘community visioning’ workshops with the residents of Pulo Geulis and Griya Katulampa. These workshops explored the aspirations of the residents for their communities and how water could play a role in achieving this vision. For Pulo Geulis, the cluster developed this vision into a number of water-sensitive urban design plans, incorporating nature-based infrastructure and roadmaps for implementation.
The cluster worked closely with government agencies in Greater Bogor to understand the barriers and enablers to transitioning to a water-sensitive future through water governance, water policy and regulations, urban planning and water-resource management practices.
Kabupaten Bogor government delegates and water resources management authorities from Bogor Regency (Indonesia) visited Monash University to attend a two-day Governance & Strategy Workshop series with the Urban Water Cluster research team.
The UWC was invited to a sharing session with PDAM Bogor Regency and its customers. This included a visit to Ciburial Spring Installation Plant and co-presentation of key insights by cluster leaders. The delegation explored the scale and methodology of the research, insights for diversifying water resources, and how the Water Sensitive City (WSC) concept fitted into the SDG framework.
The Masters in Sustainability Industry project provided students the opportunity to work with an award-winning social enterprise in Indonesia, Ecofunology, to design a new educational game aimed at players building their knowledge on the future scenarios of climate change, urbanisation and society change, and how choices around water can impact the liveability and resilience of their cities and communities.
Dr Dwinanti R Marthanty, the Urban Water Cluster Leader at Universitas Indonesia, was awarded the prestigious APEC Women in Research Fellowship in July 2018.
The final Urban Water research report was launched on 4 December at the Urban Water Showcase and Exhibition at IPB International Convention Centre, attended by 120 stakeholders across government, industry, media and community.
The Governor of West Java expressed a strong desire to include advice from the cluster into the new urban design guidelines being developed.