Vanishing paradise :planning and conflict in Bali

This thesis is about the continuing life of Balinese culture and traditions currently under threat from unregulated economic development, mass tourism, and migration. Critical to this study are considerations surrounding the control of land and its improvements, as well as the success and failure of urban planning within the sphere of cultural conservation. The thesis argues that State planning systems as imposed by the Indonesian government are inappropriate in the Balinese context. While this statement seems fairly straightforward on the surface, it involves a complex understanding of the forces mentioned above, of their interaction and their effects on local culture.This study adopts a hermeneutic approach to theory seeking greater depth of meaning rather than discovering new facts, and embodies three main strategies. The first explains the relationship between society and space using a cultural matrix derived from anthropologist E.T.Hall. The second strategy deploys qualitative research method using focus groups, and third, it uses in-depth personal surveys at physical sites. The thesis therefore reveals the eroding impacts of tourism on local culture. Focusing on territoriality, it embraces two contradicting sets of values represented in the traditional Balinese system of Adat, and those of the market-based system of the Indonesian State.Resulting conflicts are demonstrated through specific and generic case studies. Here, the dominant position of modern state planning establishes the legal foundation on which capitalist practices, the dominating role of private enterprise, corruption, and collusionary attitudes are nourished. While the role of the government in promoting tourism, and the economic significance of the industry are acknowledged, the study measures these against the costs of such advantages to the Balinese way of life.Overall, the thesis reflects upon ongoing territorial problems that have been experienced in Bali for more than forty years. It provides an in depth analysis of how state imposed planning systems are locked in critical conflict with the proven and functioning traditional Balinese Adat. Finally, the necessary features of future planning systems are proposed in order to revitalize local culture. Hence the thesis demonstrates that modern systems of planning are inappropriate to Balinese cultural conservation