Profits and Benefits of Post-Eid Urbanization

The results of a survey on the potential movement of Lebaran 2024 by the Ministry of Transportation show that the number of Indonesian people returning home is estimated to reach 193.6 million people. This number increased by 69.8 million people compared to last year and skyrocketed to more than 100 million people from 2022.

The high projection of the homecoming flow is proportional to the high volume of post-Eid al-Fitr return flow. The Ministry of Transportation predicts that the return flow will continue for up to a week after Eid al-Fitr, which is on April 18, 2024.

Usually, during the return flow period, there is also the phenomenon of urbanization. There is a movement of the community from the outskirts or rural areas to big cities. There are various reasons that underlie someone's decision to urbanize. One of them is getting an invitation from relatives or acquaintances to move to the city.

This invitation was captured in Kompas's R&D poll on March 25-29 2024 on topics surrounding Eid. As many as 25.2 percent of respondents said they planned to invite relatives or family friends to come to the city where they live.

Interest in inviting people to move to urban areas has increased compared to 2018. A Kompas poll during the Eid period 2-3 June 2018 showed that only 20.8 percent were planning to invite their siblings or relatives to move. This indicates that the urbanization process is always occurring and tends to increase, especially during the post-Eid moment.

Also read: Central Java is the largest source of migrants in Indonesia

Urbanization is a phenomenon that often occurs due to factors pushing from the origin area and attracting factors from the destination city. Aspiring to a better life with high income is the strongest driving factor from people in the region. The destination areas for urbanization always lead to big cities, such as Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, or Makassar.

Jakarta remains a favorite destination for those who undergo urbanization. Based on data from Jakarta's Population and Civil Registry Agency, during the Eid al-Fitr period in 2023, there were 25,918 new arrivals. The productive age group dominates the new migrants, at around 61 percent.

There are various reasons why someone chooses to move and live in Jakarta. Based on the Kompas R&D survey entitled "Jakarta Binoculars" on 14-20 October 2022, as many as 43.8 percent admitted that they moved to Jakarta because they were with their parents or relatives. The invitation of family is always tempting for many people in the regions, especially when they talk about the high wages in big cities.

Apart from family invitations, around 36.8 percent of respondents said that in Jakarta there were more job or business opportunities than in the regions. The invitation of family and job opportunities are the two main answers to why urbanization in Jakarta continues from year to year.

Employment Opportunity

The aspiration to obtain a better life cannot be separated from the minds of those who undergo urbanization. The city area, as the center of development and economy, becomes the strongest magnet to attract many people to come. Unfortunately, obtaining a comfortable life in urban areas is not as easy as imagined.

Based on the Kompas poll, 61.8 respondents stated that currently it is also difficult to find work in urban areas. The types of work in question are formal and informal jobs, ranging from private employees to traders. Competition for labor is getting sharper amidst significant population growth due to urbanization.

Nevertheless, the urbanization flow to large cities cannot be blocked as urban life becomes more vibrant. However, the appeal of urban areas is still relatively minimal due to the quality of human resources of urbanization actors which matches what is needed.

For example, the urbanization flow towards Jakarta after Eid al-Fitr in 2023 is dominated by high school and lower graduates, making up a proportion of up to 84.06 percent. Even 17.6 percent of them are part of the uneducated group and 10.83 percent have only completed elementary school. Urbanization actors with higher education only make up 15.94 percent of the population in Jakarta.

Also read: Homecoming and Urbanization

This condition poses a major challenge for local governments, such as Jakarta. The high population density coupled with inadequate education and skills levels create risks of various social problems, such as poverty, unemployment, and criminal cases.

The contribution of immigrants is considered insignificant for the development of urbanized cities. The Kompas poll stated that 43.7 percent of respondents stated that the presence of immigrants had no effect on the city. In fact, as many as 24.4 percent of respondents considered urbanization to be a burden. They are considered to increase crime rates and reduce the carrying capacity of the urban environment.

Nevertheless, there are still about 20.8% of respondents who believe that newcomers are actually beneficial for urban development. The influx of tens of thousands of people into a city can meet the demand for labor. This is associated with economic growth and the acceleration of the development of more advanced and modern urban areas.

Urbanization management

The flow of urbanization cannot be stopped. There are always driving and pulling factors beyond the control of individuals or local governments. Therefore, adequate policies and instruments are needed to control the domino effect of urbanization on both the origin and destination regions.

For the origin region, urbanization can have a negative impact on development stagnation due to the decrease in economic activity of the productive-age population. Meanwhile, for the destination regions, urbanization can be an opportunity to improve the economy and development. This can create regional development inequality.

Also read: Urbanization and Rural Development Challenges

To control the flow of urbanization, 74.9 percent of respondents to the Kompas poll said that the government must focus on creating lots of jobs in urban and rural areas. Access to work with a living wage is a guarantee of life for society. If in cities and villages there are equal opportunities to get work, the rate of urbanization can be controlled.

The next effort to curb urbanization is to improve healthcare and education services in the region. About 31 percent of the respondents stated this.

As a next step, around 12 percent of respondents also proposed equalizing the development of public facilities, such as transportation and communications.

Another thing that needs to be done is to accelerate the development of new growth centers in the regions. This equalization step was suggested by around 11 percent of respondents.

Therefore, the problem of urbanization must be resolved from its roots, namely equal development in cities and villages. Infrastructure development can be the first step to advance a region, then continue with improving the quality of human resources through training and more open job opportunities. In this way, one day, cities and villages can grow together and create inclusive development, eradicating all the inequality that exists today. (R&D COMPAS)