The presence of homeless and other categories of
habitants living at risk is a major concern for policy makers and
public authorities anywhere. The subject is not particularly new and references
about the theme date back to old societies facing rapid urbanization process. In the Rome empire the homeless population was considered a symptom of decline, poverty and social degradation. In the overpopulated London of the Victorian Era the growing number of people living in slum houses with poor sanity conditions and numerous homeless
families were related to ramping criminality records and devastating health diseases.
As in the ancient times, modern societies have relied upon several
mechanisms to deal with homeless and populations at risk.
The approach differs between countries depending on variables as the form
of government, the social appeal, the regulatory framework and the political will. In general, it might be expected that the pressure increases in large
urban areas where concerns on security issues and resources competition are
more latent. It is also from these regions that comes some of most important
examples of public policies addressing the issue.
Evidences from the developing world are particularly remarkable given the magnitude of the problem in most urban areas. In this context the efforts carried out by Indonesia are worthy of attention. The focus on Indonesia reflects the extensive experience of this country in the theme. Among others initiatives promoted by Indonesian authorities the transmigration program is a reference. The program was introduced by the Dutch colonizers and afterwards adapted to attend current demand of Indonesian society. In a broad sense the Indonesian transmigration program could be defined as an instrument to balance population density by transferring homeless from densely populated cities to less populated and labor demanding regions, usually located in remote areas of the country.
Supporters of the transmigration program rely on
arguments as the distribution of land and opportunity to homeless populations, the transfer of laborforce to attend local demands and to develop isolated areas. Furthermore, policy makers have sistematically sustained the usage of transmigration as a mechanism to reinforce the sovereignty of the country over remote areas usually rich in natural resources.
Despite of social gains achieved in the course of over one century, unsolved issues about the transmigration program persist. A recurrent
complaint is the refusal by aboriginal populations to accept the degradation of
local culture in favor of a so called “javanization” of the country.
Recently, concerns about deforestation surrounding the transmigration sites
have also become object of critics by nationals and the international community.
Controversies observed in Indonesia do not differ from reports of others well known policies adopted elsewhere. In summary it reveals the immense challenge posed to policy makers and public authorities engaged in the effort to promote better social and economic standards in urban areas.
Sideriver environment 