Can spatial plans save its residents from Risks from Disaster? Spatial Audit in the case of three cities of Indonesia

Many cities in Indonesia are located in hazard prone areas. Each year when disaster strikes in cities especially in high density areas, It often comes as a surprise. It is as if that planning and especially spatial plans drawn for these cities or for its surrounding regions do not protect its residents. While plans do not claim to be fully protecting its citizens from such risks, the results of spatial audit, s as a tool to review how far spatial plans are implemented, show that unplanned development in highly desirable, yet hazard prone areas have been delayed or prevented. Learning from the case studies of earthquake prone city of Palu, of flash flood areas of Sentani, and of Bukittinggi of Indonesia, the result of spatial audits leads toward enforcement of spatial laws in these areas long before the disaster struck. The presentation of these case studies are about the struggle to enforce such laws in these cities especially when there is a lack of or limited zoning or coding regulations imposed as an extension of spatial plans. Even with an existence of level of masterplan, spatial plans can have its impacts that affect the livelihood of the communities in these cities. Lesson learned from these experiences show that expediting the introduction of zoning as well as coding regulations have been a priority in ensuring that such spatial plans can have direct benefits for its residents.