Siriwardane, Rapti ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3891-3158, Schone, Tilo, Herbeck, Johannes, Illigner, Julia, Haghighi, Mahmud, Simarmata, Hendricus, Rovere, Alessio, Emma, Porio and Anna-Katharina, Hornidge (2021) The 'wickedness' of governing land subsidence: Policy perspectives from urban Southeast Asia. PLOS ONE . DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250208.

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Abstract

Drawing on Jakarta, Metro Manila and Singapore as case studies, we explore the paradox of slow political action in addressing subsiding land, particularly along high-density urban coastlines with empirical insights from coastal geography, geodesy analysis, geology, and urban planning. In framing land subsidence as a classic ‘wicked’ policy problem, and also as a hybrid geological and anthropogenic phenomenon that is unevenly experienced across urban contexts, the paper uses a three-step analysis. First, satellite-derived InSAR maps are integrated with Sentinel-1A data in order to reveal the socio-temporal variability of subsidence rates which in turn pose challenges in uniformly applying regulatory action. Second, a multi-sectoral mapping of diverse policies and practices spanning urban water supply, groundwater extraction, land use zoning, building codes, tenurial security, and land reclamation reveal the extent to which the broader coastal governance landscape remains fragmented and incongruous, particularly in arresting a multi-dimensional phenomenon such as subsidence. Finally, in reference to distinct coastal identities of each city–the ‘Sinking Capital’ (Jakarta), ‘Fortress Singapore’, and the ‘Disaster Capital’ (Manila) the paper illustrates how land subsidence is portrayed across the three metropolises in markedly similar ways: as a reversible, quasi-natural, and/or a highly individualized problem.

Document Type:	Article
Programme Area:	PA3
Research affiliation:	Social Sciences > Development and Knowledge Sociology
Refereed:	Yes
Open Access Journal?:	Yes
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250208
ISSN:	1932-6203
Related URLs:	Publisher
Projects:	BlueUrban (DFG SPP 1889)
Date Deposited:	02 Aug 2021 15:02
Last Modified:	26 Mar 2024 13:30
URI:	http://cris.leibniz-zmt.de/id/eprint/4641

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