Indonesia has committed to accomplish “cities without slum” target in 2019 through the national program of Action Planning for Preventing and Improving the Quality of Urban Slum Settlements (RP2KPKP) launched in 2015. Nanga Bulik town in Kabupaten (Regency) Lamandau of Central Kalimantan Province is among those included in the program; the RP2KPKP of which has been completed in 2016. This paper focuses on how participatory approach has been applied in the planning process. The planning has employed mostly qualitative approach with documents study, field observation, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) involving all stakeholders, complemented with quantitative one especially in the aspects of urban and architectural design. The findings have suggested that the community participation in Nanga Bulik case has gone beyond the requirement commanded by the Indonesian laws on development planning and spatial management to ensure the target achievement in 2019. It is crucial because a higher level of the plan implementability would ensure more sustainability of the slum improvement. Essential lessons can be learned from this real participatory planning, which could be the beginning of the third generation of planning in Indonesia.

In the urban and regional context, conflicts between economic growth and environmental concerns are so intense that sustainable development might be elusive. Evidence indicates that the spatial dynamics in many Indonesian metropolitan regions are not in accordance with sustainability. This research is thus aimed at empirically examining sustainable metropolitan development of Semarang City, based on a model proposed by Sugiri, Buchori, and Soetomo [2011. “Sustainable Metropolitan Development: Towards an Operational Model for Semarang Metropolitan Region.” The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability 7 (5): 301–324]. The methods mainly involve spatial analysis using GIS and comparison of statistical data, supported by complementary qualitative information. The results show that the spatial development of Semarang City tends to be unsustainable, based on important indicators. However, the availability of such local initiatives as spatial plans and environmental impact studies should be considered essential in ensuring sustainable development. In addition, the growth of small-scale industries is prospective to increase public involvement in productive activities.

Developing a Geographic Information System-Based Assessment Model for Sustainable Metropolitan Development: The Case of the Semarang Metropolitan Region, Indonesia