Revitalization of Controversial Sites in Downtown Banda Aceh

As issues pertaining to environmental, economic and cultural sustainability continue to persist throughout the world, the manner in which abandoned sites and properties are treated can be a means of revitalizing important resources, while simultaneously preserving cultural identities. For this reason, this research intend to offer ways to approach these problems by posing a central question: “How the abandoned spaces with specific issues be revitalized in relation to the continuity of cultural identity and place familiarity by providing the functions along with criteria and parameters that comply with the context, regulations, and culture? In this case, specific sites located in the city center of Banda Aceh, located at the tip of Sumatera Island, Indonesia, were chosen as a case study. These sites, located across each other, have particular issues related to their abandonment. They include the “unclear” agreement between government and society in regards to the proper functions to be applied in the proximity to a sacred function, in this case, the Great Mosque, located across the street. Aceh is one of the provinces in Indonesia that has special authorization to use Shari’a Law in its regular basis, which involves a special treatment and restriction towards any developments near a sacred place, such as the Great Mosque of Baiturrahman. This study investigates the effects of the Baiturrahman Mosque and the city center contexts on the decision making for the proposed functions on the two sites, the former Atjeh Hotel and the former department store sites. This includes the following: (1) elaboration of related theories and case studies of the old and contemporary Islamic Cities; (2) questionnaires of collective memories of Banda Aceh society; (3) context analysis related to five elements of the cities by Kevin Lynch and climate issues as regards to earthquake and tsunami forces in 2004; and (4) government regulation and future plan. These factors reserve important resources for the decision making of the compatible criteria and parameters towards the sites that influence the growth of the city center