Digital Democracy and Regional Autonomy: Opportunities and

Challenges Implementation of Medan Smart City Policy

Fernanda Putra Adela, Zakaria, Arief Marizki Purba, and Indra Fauzan

Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia

Keywords: Smart City, Regional Autonomy, Public Policy, City Management.

Abstract: In the last 10 years, the construction of office buildings, malls, roads, bridges to other physical infrastructure

has been very important in Medan in the context of meeting the needs of the community. Unfortunately, the

implementation of the development does not always run smoothly so that many development plans that have

been prepared as a whole cannot be carried out properly. The reason is the development carried out do not

comprehensively capture the needs of people who are active in Medan. The impact then arises further

problems such as demands for improving public service facilities and social facilities, poverty, unemployment

and others in the city of Medan. In an effort to anticipate these problems, city management is needed through

a conceptual approach and sustainable planning. Currently the concept of smart city or smart city is being

promoted in big cities in Indonesia. One of the most important dimensions of smart cities is that cities currently

provide services through the latest technology in overcoming their problems. The purpose of this study is to

describe the opportunities and challenges in the implementation of Medan Smart City policies and to find a

model for implementing Medan Smart City system policies in the framework of regional autonomy and digital

democracy.

1 INTRODUCTION

Smart city is indeed becoming a trend inIndonesia.

Not just as a form of prestige forreferred to as smart

city, but smart city isa great step forward in the cityin

a country with an information technology baseand

communication (ICT). Literally, smart cityindeed

interpreted as a smart city withconcept designed in

such a way as tocommunity interests, especially in

managementresources to be efficient and effective. In

an effort to anticipate this problem city management

is needed through a conceptual approach and

sustainable planning (Rostiashvil, 2016). Currently

the concept of smart city or smart city is being

promoted in big cities in Indonesia. One of the most

important dimensions of city intelligent (smart city)

is that the city is now supposed to provide services

through the latest technology and build infrastructure

that smart so as to provide effective services and cost

to the people who live in urban areas (Hall, 2000).

Since 2017, the Medan City Government has

begun designing the Medan Smart city framework.

Specifically related to flood monitoring, waste

management systems and monitoring of waste

volume based on technology, technology-based and

online licensing administration systems to improve

the quality of public services, monitoring systems in

public areas to improve services for the community

(Greco & Bencardino, 2014).

Where is related to access digital services in the

form of applications to date there have been 67 public

applications that were launched in the city of Medan

by presenting sites and service applications. One

example is the application of the ATCS (Area Traffic

Control System) system by the Medan City

Transportation Office and digital access to licensing

services, online birth certificate registration, Medan

City E-Planning, IMB Retribution Calculation, and

other features related to e-Government (the site

www.pemkomedan.go.id). Procedurally, the Medan

City Government has indeed begun building smart

city since two years ago. However, in substance the

model Smart City within the framework of regional

autonomy that was built has not yet been fully

implemented due to several constraints, one of which

is the budget in developing Medan Smart City

insufficient (Suhendra & Ginting : 2018:185-195).

Furthermore, the synergy of data between one

agency and other agencies has not been fully reduced

to one system making confirmation of problems

150

Adela, F., Zakaria, ., Purba, A. and Fauzan, I.

Digital Democracy and Regional Autonomy: Opportunities and Challenges Implementation of Medan Smart City Policy.

DOI: 10.5220/0010013101500154

In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Social and Political Development (ICOSOP 3 2019) - Social Engineering Governance for the People, Technology and Infrastructure in

Revolution Industry 4.0, pages 150-154

ISBN: 978-989-758-472-5

related to validity has not been well connected. This

is due to the fact that each government agency has its

own data, such as: Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data,

Bank Indonesia data (BI), City Government Services

data and third party data from Community Social

Institutions. Of course, the synergy of data in one

system is very important in order to solve problems

in Medan through smart city. Because, one of the

main elements in implementing Medan Smart city is

big data. Another problem is of course related to the

unavailability of technological infrastructure and the

internet of things, where the problem is that the public

has not yet fully accepted the change in the digital

direction. Therefore, a study entitled Digital

Democracy in Regional Autonomy: Opportunities

and Challenges in Implementing Medan Smart City

Policy is important to be carried out in the context of

implementing Medan Smart City in overcoming

problems in Medan City.

2 METHOD

This research is a qualitative research with a positivist

paradigm in analyzing problems. Technically, the

researcher collected data using the interview method

as primary data. Then secondary data from

international journals, books and news. The

collection of research data is then carried out through

a review of documents or reports relating to the focus

of research conducted based on digitalization, smart

city terrain, urban issues to the welfare of the

community.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Medan City Problem

The main problem in urban areas is the complexity of

the problems in it, such as; road congestion, a large

volume of waste, flooding to the problem of poverty.

The reason is that the city has a very rapid change in

dynamics due to the concentration of activities and

the concentration of functional activities related to

community activities. Primarily related to

development in order to overcome the problems that

exist in urban areas. Medan City is the 3rd largest city

in Indonesia after DKI Jakarta and Surabaya. Medan

City has 21 Districts which according to North

Sumatra Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data in 2016

amounted to 2,229,408 people (Badan Pusat Statistik,

2016). In the past 10 years, the construction of office

buildings, malls, roads, bridges to other physical

infrastructure has been massive in Medan in the

context of meeting the needs of the community.

Development continues to develop dynamically over

time and is often seen as a result of large population

growth as is common in urban areas.

Basically the implementation of the development

does not always run smoothly so that many

development plans that have been prepared as a

whole cannot be implemented properly (

Hansson dkk,

2014). The reason is that the dynamics of development

carried out do not comprehensively capture the needs

of people who are active in Medan. The impact then

arises further problems such as the demand for

increased public service facilities and social facilities,

poverty, unemployment and so forth in the city of

Medan.

The city of Medan as the capital of North Sumatra

Province holds the status of a Government Center, a

center of economic growth and a center of

development in North Sumatra Province which

demands this city to continue to grow. Along with

that, it is of course needed to support adequate

infrastructure. Based on this thought, the writer feels

interested in conducting research on the condition of

infrastructure infra structure in the city of Medan, one

such infrastructure is drainage. Infrastructure

facilities The selected drainage infrastructure is due

to flooding in urban areas in urban areas. In addition

to being a metropolitan city, Medan also bears the

third busiest city label in Indonesia in terms of

economic activity, trade and population dynamics.

However, the city that receives the Adipura Cup still

has a serious problem that is very disturbing, both

citizens and government. Ie flooding. It was quite

heavy rain one night, so the streets of Medan City

were flooded which affected the road damage.

Economic improvement, escalation of population

quantity, became the main trigger for the increasingly

widespread concrete forest in the form of many

buildings, shop houses (shop houses) that were built

for residential and commercial centers in the city of

Medan. Shallow rivers and canal dysfunction also

contribute to the river's overflow. The lack of Green

Open Space (RTH) makes water absorption less and

less, not to mention clogged drainage channels. If the

symptoms that cause flooding are not immediately

dealt with seriously, then every year the city of

Medan will be flooded every time heavy rains hit.

And if this happens, it will not only cause material

loss, but also hamper people's activities to continue to

progress and develop and become a barometer that

the government and the community cannot overcome

the problem of flooding that often comes each year.

Digital Democracy and Regional Autonomy: Opportunities and Challenges Implementation of Medan Smart City Policy

151

It is undeniable that the ability of rivers to collect

water is a benchmark for flooding in the city of

Medan. Moreover, if the water discharge exceeds the

capacity of the river, then the water overflows and

causes flooding. Many factors that cause flooding are

increasingly becoming a vital cause of flooding in

Medan, including erosion, sedimentation, changes in

land use, rubbish heaps, drainage paths, and the

increasingly lack of absorption of trees due to the

narrowing of Green Open Space (RTH). Regarding

erosion, the body of the river is slowly being eroded

by the river's current, causing a shallow river. There

are at least 9 (Nine) rivers that cross the city of

Medan. Where three rivers are Deli River, Denai

River and Barura River which are most vulnerable to

overflow and cause flooding. Not only that, other

rivers in the city of Medan experience the same thing

if the water discharge increases during heavy rains.

This is due to the worsening condition of the river

basins (DAS) of these rivers. Damage and narrowing

occurred in the river due to the presence of buildings

a distance of only a few meters from the river mouth.

Moreover, the pile of garbage that settles its huge

volume in the river body also forms a dam that during

heavy rains will spill out.

Then, the upstream river watershed in Medan

originating from hilly areas with diverse topography,

between ramps, steep and steep so that there are some

waterfalls are damaged. For example the upstream

watershed of Deli River which is a Grand Forest Park

(Tahura) in Karo Regency and Deli Serdang Regency

is experiencing ecological problems due to illegal

logging, forest encroachment and land conversion.

Not only that, a big city like Medan like it has a good

layout also about the Green Open Space. Because the

standardization of Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) and law number 26 of 2007 on Spatial

Planning requires each city to provide a minimum of

30% of green open space from the total area of the

city. The fact is the Green Open Space (RTH) of

Medan city only reaches 10%.

3.2 Inter-interest Cooperation in

Medan City Implementation

Medan Smart City not be separated from the role of

the stakeholders. Mainly the government, technology

and society. The role of the Medan City Government

plays an important role in realizing the creation of the

Smart City through the establishment of plans,

determining the necessary regulations, planning for

funding, building systems and infrastructure based on

technology, and managing.

This collaboration between stakeholders in the

city of Medan enables innovations that can be utilized

to maximize the services of the city government in

various key fields relating to human resources and

technological resources. The city of Medan has

started implementing e-government since 2010 and

the system continues to be equipped and updated in

accordance with the needs of its citizens to the present

with the aim of cooperation between these interests

can be useful for the community.

According to social media activists who are also

observers of the development of Medan City Hatta

Ridho who said:

Medan Smart City utilizes young people who

master information technology to make

improvements to the system so that service to

citizens can be maximized because it requires

established mastery of technology in collaborative

collaboration between stakeholders."

3.3 Medan City Smart

Since 2017, the Medan City Government has begun

designing the Medan Smart city framework.

Specifically related to flood monitoring, waste

management systems and monitoring the volume of

waste based on technology, technology based and

online permit administration system to improve the

quality of public services, monitoring systems in

public areas to improve services for the community.

In an effort to anticipate this problem city

management is needed through a conceptual

approach and sustainable planning. Currently the

concept of smart city or smart city is being promoted

in big cities in Indonesia. One of the most important

dimensions of intelligent cities (smart city) is that the

city is now supposed to provide services through the

latest technology and intelligent building

infrastructure so as to provide effective services and

the cost to the people who live in urban areas.

Furthermore, based on the experience of several

countries in implementing the smart city program, it

is emphasized that it is important for a city to have a

clear vision in implementing the smart city program

in overcoming problems in its region. (

Anindraet al.,

2018) The vision is translated into focus areas or

aspects that will be developed through the smart city

program. The aim is to identify the needs of Medan

city residents so that the development carried out can

be more directed not to experience destruction during

the development process and problem solving.

The Medan smart city concept was adopted from

smart cities that are able to overcome their problems

independently who both view that humans are the

most important aspect in implementing smart cities.

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Humans are the decision makers and the deciding

direction of the development and development of a

city. Moreover, aspects of governance that are more

transparent, serviceable, and innovative are also the

focus of smart cities in Medan. The Medan city

government is trying to change the way of thinking of

government officials and staff (SKPD) in managing

the city of Medan.

In addition to the clear focus on the

implementation of the smart city program in Medan,

leadership is also a significant factor in the success of

Medan Smart City. This potential is supported by a

good desire to improve the city and experience in

running the government in Medan City. Based on the

data obtained, when the smart city program in Medan

City was implemented, several government agencies

(SKPD) in Medan admitted that they were not really

ready for change.

According to the Head of the Office of

Communication and Information of Medan City, Zain

Noval, who said that:

"In general, in realizing a smart city in Medan City,

each Regional Government must first establish a

vision, mission, strategy, goals and development

program that shows a smart city that is making the

city a Metropolitan City that is Competitive,

Comfortable, Caring and prosperous".

Utilization of information and technology in the

Medan Smart City concept is currently not able to be

carried out in its entirety. Because the issue of human

resources in Medan City is not yet fully literate with

the internet. Then, the urgency of realizing a smart

city in Medan should be a serious concern (

Gerodimos,

2016). Remembering big cities become urbanization

magnets. The acute problems of urban society such as

high population concentration growth are not

followed by a speed comparable to the development

of industrialization. This problem eventually led to

the phenomenon of over urbanization. Over-

urbanization will not only cause problems in the

destination city but also in abandoned villages. Such

as increasing poverty and slums and crime in urban

areas.

According to the Head of the Office of

Communication and Information of Medan City, Zain

Noval, who said that:

"The Medan City Government continues toinnovate

in providing services to the communitythrough the

use of information technology bybuilding Data

Centers that function to assistleaders in formulating

development policies. This Data Center has begun

to be integrated with anumber of regional apparatus

organizations,including Bappeda, Dispenda, and

the RegionalFinancial and Asset Management

Agency."

4 CONCLUSION

Medan City Government currently has the desire to

make a smart city, provide quality life for its people,

and provide good and effective services to all people

who live in the city. Then the Medan City Community

Support played a role in realizing the creation of the

Smart City through community support for programs,

policies, regulations (regulations) and the

Government's commitment to realize a smart city.

The community support can be in the form of direct

participation to be actors in building smart cities,

maintaining well the facilities and infrastructure that

have been built by the government in supporting the

realization of smart cities, delivering innovative ideas

or suggestions to improve the existing system better.

Every community has a high concern and social

towards the environment, each individual is able to

create comfort and security in the surrounding

environment, as well as having a good attitude and

behavior with each other.

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