Module VII:

and co-led by Professors Paolo Burlando, Adrienne

Grt-Regamey, Liong Shie-Yui, and Jrg Rekittke.
Rehabilitation of a River
Corridor
Rivers in Future Cities:
Landscape Ecology
The Case of Ciliwung,
Concerning water, Nikos Theodoratos studies the
rivers hydrology at the catchment scale. Kashif
Shaad, Diogo Da Costa and Dr Senthil Gurusamy, ZURICH River corridors are an important element of both natural and
urban landscapes. The intensive exploitation of land resources close to

Rapid urbanisation in developing countries brings
about not only economic growth of cities, but also
critically impacts society and environments.
SINGAPORE Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, is
amongst cities which need great attention. Urbanisa-
tion has progressively waterproofed the surface of
the city, preventing rain from infiltrating and causing
increased runoff to rivers. Uncontrolled extraction of
ground water has led to land subsidence in the region.
The Ciliwung, is a major river of Jakarta. The
river is being used for daily activities such as bathing
and washing, as well as the dumping of garbage.
Encroachment on the floodplain has narrowed the
width and reduced the rivers capacity.
Module VII Landscape Ecology, is an interdisci-
plinary team of researchers from diverse academic
backgrounds who share a common interest in studying
the components of water, ecology and landscape,
and their interaction across both space and time. The
various components of the module bring in specific
information to the project that can be used for the
advancement of the joint goals.
The project is led by Professor Christophe Girot,
The Ciliwung Experiment
Can a group of doctoral researchers and students in
landscape design, planning and environmental en-
gineering help define a new topological approach to
eco-hydraulics and water-quality researchers, develop
detailed numerical models at the river scale to shed
light on the problems of water quantity and quality.
In the social aspect, Derek Vollmer, working on eco-
system services, evaluates the trade-offs made and
accepted when using the river. Michaela Prescott, as
a researcher in landscape architecture, investigates
physical designs that can improve flood management
and advance remediation. Students of the Master of
Landscape Architecture programme, of the National
University of Singapore, are involved in developing a
new set of design tools for urban landscape environ-
ments within a Design Research Studio.
Our study will place additional focus on specific
sites along the Ciliwung river namely, Kampung
Melayu - downstream, urban, Tanjung Barat - mid-
stream, suburban, and Ciawi - upstream, rural (Fig.3).
The upstream area is hilly and mountainous while the
downstream area is generally flat. The outputs from
the hydrologic modelling will be used by environmental
planners and landscape architects to provide future
scenarios and landscape design. This critical information
will help hydrologists to simulate future scenarios to
improve the hydrologic situation of the river. BOGOR
SENTHIL GURUSAMY
the problem of the Kali Ciliwung originates in Dutch
colonial times when vast quantities of sugar cane
refuse obstructed its course. Furthermore, the incessant
disposal of solid waste directly into the river doesnt
help the situation today. Pollution of the Kali Ciliwung
has reached a point of no return; and although kids
Jakarta, Indonesia
rivers has progressively reduced them to narrow strips, which are often
polluted and a source of risk during flood events. The Ciliwung River is no
exception, particularly due to the rapid growth of Jakarta in recent decades.
The project aims at demonstrating that a change of paradigm in river
rehabilitation is possible. By means of an interdisciplinary and iterative Module VII: Landscape Ecology
approach strongly based on conceptualization and mathematical modelling,
we intend to identify, at selected spots along the river, local landscape
configurations that contribute to rehabilitate the river corridor. This will
be achieved by first modelling the hydrology and hydraulics of the river
to provide an analysis of the flood risk and of the functioning of surface
and groundwater processes, which the river corridor is presently capable KAMPUNG MELAYU
of. The result will then guide the design of alternative river corridor local JAKARTA
landscapes that can lead to a status of restored dynamic equilibrium between
natural and built environment, thus reducing the flood risk and improving TANJUNG BARAT
the ecological functioning of the river, while maintaining the accessibility
to water. PAOLO BURLANDO
DEPOK
The Hydrologic Study:
Understanding the
Rivers Character
CIAWI
How can our interdisciplinary team work together in a mean-
ingful way? How can we exchange inputs and outputs and
work as a single unit?
SINGAPORE - An important part of the development of our Figures 1 and 2, Encroachment and garbage disposal Figure 3, Model of the Kali Ciliwung watershed showing
approach will be the study of Ciliwungs hydrology. We will (Senthil Gurusamy, 2012) three focus sites ( LVML)

river restoration, design and management in Jakarta? from the kampungs still dive and swim in its murky develop a mathematical hydrologic computer model of the
waters, the presence of uncontrolled agricultural rivers catchment. It will help us understand the rivers present FCL Future Cities Laboratory
SINGAPORE The Landscape Ecology module engages runoff, raw industrial pollution, untreated urban character and predict how future changes may affect it.

GAZETTE
in a vital plan of action for the Kali (river) Ciliwung. run-off, domestic household effluent and suspended Flooding will be given special attention. How impulsive
Through advanced remote sensing, hydrological mod- fecal matter in its waters, poses severe health and is Ciliwung? Is it flooding fast or does its wrath build up
elling and landscape visualising, the Kali Ciliwung can environmental problems for Jakarta. Ciliwung means slowly? Once it has inundated the city, how soon does it calm
be restored as an environmental corridor for Jakarta. turbid water in local Sundanese language; with dregs down? Our model can help us read the rivers temperament
From its source on the Mount Gede volcano, the and sediments of all sorts, one regrettably notes and examine various flood control schemes.
Kali Ciliwung runs one hundred kilometres through that the river lives-up to its name. Some call the The hydrologic study will consider the entire Ciliwung
a 500 km2 catchment covering areas of Bogor, Depok Kali Ciliwung the plastic river; its bed and banks catchment. We will use a variety of data to develop the model
and Jakarta before merging with the Java Sea. now consist of a thick lasagna of plastics, refuse including satellite topography, land-use maps, vegetation cover
Issue Tags
How can a modest river cause such havoc in this and urban muck mixed-in with sediment. The goal of and soil properties. Input of past rainfall and river discharge
overpopulated city? Why has it become the crucible of this study is to restore ecological equilibrium in this will be used to test and adjust the model to ensure its close 12 Ciliwung River, Watershed Modelling, Eco-hydraulics, Water Quality,
unimaginable environmental threats and woes? Prone sullied river through a strong landscape vision and representsation of Ciliwungs hydrology. Once adjusted, the Landscape Ecology, Ecosystem Services, Landscape Architecture
to repetitive flash floods of cataclysmic proportions, concerted plan of action. CHRISTOPHE GIROT model can be applied to predict future changes and scenarios.
Date Editorial Team
The base model for the study is TOPKAPI-ETH, a
Framework for Sustainable Landscape Planning distributed model. Distributed means that it works on the 12/03/2012 Executive Editor: Stephen Cairns
scale of the whole catchment, yet is still able to produce Editors: Senthil Gurusamy, Michaela Prescott, Nikos Theodoratos
ZURICH - Ecosystem services, the benefits that people derive from ecosystems, such as a river, has emerged results for any given point within the catchment. These results
as a common language incorporating scientific information and societal values. Within the Ciliwung River can inform studies of the team at smaller scales such as the
Fold, Punch, File Published by
watershed, these services include among other things flood protection, groundwater recharge, food production, river corridor or the three focus sites. Similarly, inputs that
and recreation. We assume that a sustainable future scenario for the watershed includes an optimal supply of are spatially varied reflecting the differences in topography, FCL Future Cities Laboratory
the services residents demand. soils, land-use, etc. across the catchment, may be used by the Singapore ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC)
Changes at one point along the river, such as converting agricultural land to urban settlements (Fig. 5), distributed model. This will allow us to incorporate the local 1 Create Way, #06-01 CREATE Tower, Singapore 138602
frequently trigger a change in services available at that and other sites. Decisions on these trade-offs are currently studies results produced by the team. For example we can gazette@fcl.arch.eth.ch
being made with little information on their consequences, leading to a non-optimal supply of services, particularly test how a landscape design scenario or a change in land-use
for downstream residents. Thus, a better understanding of who benefits from or is harmed by changes to the may impact the rivers hydrology.
river could help planners develop strategies for land and resource use, and could also inform remedial policies In this way an example of an interdisciplinary methodology
and landscape designs to enhance the societal value of the river. ADRIENNE GRT-REGAMEY is explored. NIKOS THEODORATOS
 Integrating Science, site - will be presented a series of scenarios
for the future landscape along the river. The
Design, and Local attributes that participants will be rating will
include flood and health risk reduction, and
Preferences for Changes amenity enhancements. We will also include
information about upstream changes in the
to the Environment watershed, such as urban growth boundaries,
that would be necessary to sustain proposed
SINGAPORE - Envisioning a sustainable conditions downstream. The experiment will
future for the Ciliwung watershed and its be paper-based but will incorporate detailed
residents requires a combination of scientific visual cues such as 3-D renderings of the site
knowledge, detailed landscape design, and design concepts, to efficiently convey informa-
stakeholder feedback. For example, informa- tion about the scenarios. These scenarios will
tion on the interaction of the watersheds reflect conditions (e.g., annual flood level)
biophysical components (land, water, and predicted by our suite of hydrologic models,
flora/fauna) should provide a base for design but will also reflect ideas generated at a pre-
interventions that also reflect, in part, the experiment workshop where residents can
needs and desires of those affected by the provide initial input into future visions for
intervention. Integrating these three factors the site.
into an iterative process is no small task. Data collected through the choice experi-
For the purposes of our research, a choice ment can provide insights into local prefer-
experiment will be conducted, as a way to ences, which can then be fed back into refined Figure 5, The upstream site of Ciawi, eyed for development Figure 6, Boat dock for river crossing within Kampung Melayu-Bukit Duri Figure 7, MLA students within Kampung Melayu
analyze residents preferences for potential designs and can also help identify issues where (Kashif Shaad, 2012) (Michaela Prescott, 2012) (Senthil Gurusamy, 2012)
design interventions based on our best under- more detailed hydrologic modeling would be
standing of the natural boundary conditions of needed. The quantitative data will include in-
the river. We are particularly interested in the dicators of a societal willingness-to-pay for
value residents assign to the river corridors certain changes to the landscape, which could Hydraulics in Ecosystems The Kampung within Design Research Studio on the
ecosystem services and the trade-offs they be either factored into a policy cost-benefit
are willing to make to obtain a given level analysis or used to help develop new markets and Human Environments the Kali Ciliwung Kali Ciliwung
of services. for ecosystem services. The latter option will
Choice experiments simulate a realistic be considered in a subsequent research task, as
decision-making context, to elicit data about a flexible mechanism that would be consistent
relative preferences for attributes of a complex with metropolitan Jakartas existing market- SINGAPORE - The delicate interface between fresh- SINGAPORE - Kampung Melayu-Bukit Duri is an urban village within SINGAPORE - The Design Research Studio on the Kali
good, in this case, a landscape. Participants - led approach to urban development. water and land forms one of the most contested ar- a river. The river corridor, as defined by the limit of the major flood Ciliwung in Jakarta involves a dozen NUS Master of Landscape
residents in and around the Kampung Melayu DEREK VOLLMER eas of human habitation. Increased anthropological of 2007, faces increasingly dense settlement and infrastructural Architecture students working on their final semester under the
forcing in these areas has posed serious questions development, and suffers extreme environmental degradation. direction of NUS Professor Jrg Rekittke and ETH Professor
about the environmental and human risk. A case in The sites ecology is no longer primarily natural; it is now heavily Christophe Girot. Three internal workshops taught respectively
point is the Ciliwung River flowing through two rapidly characterised by its anthropogenic influences. by Alexandre Kapellos from the ETH in Rhino modelling and
growing metropolitan areas, Jakarta and Bogor. The Burgeoning urbanisation of the rivers banks, which are at CNC milling, James Melsom from the ETH in landscape
burgeoning population on its banks and stretching times barely discernible beneath the varied architectures of the visualising and drone operations, and Philip Paar from Berlin
of resources offered by the river in a sustainable kampung (Fig. 1), decreases the capacity of the river and reduces in field reconnaissance and geo-data mining in Jakarta, have
way, has transformed it from a healthy life supporting surface permeability affecting groundwater recharge. The terrain set the operational framework and methodology of the studio.
tropical river to one that is flood-prone and known for of the banks is a complex of layered plastics, organic matter and Work has focused on the river as it crosses the flood-prone
carrying more filth than fish. To manage the impact earth, punctuated by unregulated sewage outlets discharging Kampung Melayu and Bukit Duri neighbourhoods of Jakarta.
on the environment along the river, one must take directly into the Kali Ciliwung. Drainage infrastucture within the The studio has so far yielded a set of extremely precise
into account the intense exploitation of the river urban environment is inadequate. It offers too little capacity with GIS-located cross sections of the river. This has enabled
and its basin coupled with the rapid change of its insufficient grading causing blockage and stagnancy, increasing experimentation with detailed 3D photo stitching of certain
surroundings. This involves considering not just disease, malodor and general risk of flooding. sections under study. The goal of this studio has been to
the quantity and quality of water in the river, but the The river itself is the backside of the urban village, suffering a develop a new set of design tools and methodologies capable of
hydraulic system as a whole. lack of public access and opportunity for meaningful interaction, dealing with the physical and spatial complexity of such urban
Water stored and transmitted by aquifers is apart from key crossing points (Fig. 6), toileting barges (Fig. 4), and landscape environments. It will result in a set of comprehensive
Figure 4, Kali Ciliwung at Kampung Melayu (Diogo Da Costa, 2012) usually overlooked or treated separately as it is a number of spaces that are available for community use. It cannot landscape design guidelines for the melioration of the river in
visually hidden and difficult to monitor. However, it be claimed that landscape has no value within the kampung, in Jakarta. The underlying thesis is that landscape architecture
Water Quality Parameters within Kampung Melayu plays a crucial role in the water cycle being a readily fact, if tied into an ecosystem services perspective its function can take the lead in restoring the ecology of this river in a
The image above shows a stretch of the Ciliwung River in Kampung Melayu, Jakarta. The lack of adequate exploitable reserve, regulating the vegetation that is clearly valued. The landscape of the terrain and the river is complex urban context.
water supply and wastewater systems forces the population to make direct use of the river both as a source the surface can support, and influencing the river considered as a service and exploited as such. Terrain becomes With a healthy dose of heuristic terrain analysis involving
and a disposal site. The activities take place side by side. The river is in fact the perfect vehicle for disease system above it. Interactions, therefore, between the public space for recreational and community use. This includes some breakneck bravado, the team tries to develop a first
propagation in these communities. hydraulics on the surface and in the subsurface have private stoops and frontages for meeting, the establishment of foothold on the Ciliwung River in the slums of Jakarta. Further
Many rivers around the world experience quality problems due to natural causes but many more have both long and short term implications. Strides made in informal gardens, and intermittent plantings of productive trees design research studios could serve as an example for the
their conditions degraded due to human activities. This is definitely the case of the Ciliwung River. The computational sciences offer possibilities of building harvested for edible and construction needs. The river is used as design and management of tropical watersheds within dense
combination of rich organic loadings and natural tropical conditions, such as high temperatures, is the such complexities into numerical models. The ability to a space for recreation and transport, but is valued more greatly urban agglomerations in and even beyond the tropics. The
perfect condition for intense bacteriological activity. This leads to oxygen depletion affecting the whole develop sophisticated methods that allow engineers, as a bathroom and laundry and a distributor of waste, including goal is to set some clear topological rules with hydrologists,
trophic chain. Consequently the ecosystem is unbalanced as specific species tend to dominate. architects and designers to deal with both the surface sewage and garbage (Figs 2 and 4). landscape architects and planners to define a sound way of
Modelling the water quality in the river and its interactions with groundwater will help us understand and sub-surface components in a comprehensive This project calls for the development of an understanding restructuring the river ecologically in response to prediction
the fate and transport of contaminants throughout this water body and provide a platform for forecasting yet detailed manner is essential for understanding of the current and future place of the kampung within the river. models and the reality of flooding.
concentrations in the river under different future development scenarios. DIOGO DA COSTA the system as one whole. KASHIF SHAAD MICHAELA PRESCOTT JRG REKITTKE and CHRISTOPHE GIROT