Problems in Surabaya

1.                                                                                                                        

        Introduction

Surabaya as know as kota pahlawan “city if heroes”  is the capital city in east java near Sidoarjo and Gresik.  Surabaya is the second largest city and the third largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, after greater Jakarta and Bandung. Many people know this city because of the history of battle in Surabaya. The Battle of Surabaya, one of the well-known battles of the Indonesian revolution, started after the Arek-Arek Suroboyo (Teenagers of Surabaya) assassinated the British Brigadier Mallaby on October 30, 1945 near Jembatan Merah (the "Red Bridge").The ensuing battle, which cost thousands of lives, took place on November 10, which Indonesians subsequently celebrate as Hari Pahlawan (Heroes' Day). The incident of the red-white flag (the Dutch flag at the top of Yamato Hotel's tower that was torn into the Indonesian red-white flag) by Bung Tomo is also recorded as a heroic feat during the struggle of this city. If you go to Surabaya, you can find many historic places and buildings with unique architectures.

Majapahit Hotel used to called Oranje/Yamato Hotel 

                                   

Jembatan merah /Red bridge

2.     

     Problems

·         Traffic jam

Major traffic jams occur on a daily basis especially during the busy hours of 7:00 - 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 - 6:00 p.m in some main streets.

·         Flood

Surabaya is characterized by water. Unfortunately, its location in a river delta, coupled with an aging and inadequate city infrastructure, makes the city prone to flooding.

3.      Solution and advice

·         Use of public transportation could help reducing traffic congestion of the city. Right now bemo (angkot) and buses are the most helpful public transportation. In order to fulfill the citizens needs, government should provide more qualified public transportation.

·         Citizen has to cooperate to not littering and make river cleaner. Though, government should  clean the river regularly and sue anyone who still littering.

4.      Conclusion

By a great cooperation between the citizens, government Surabaya can be better in many aspects. Now, Surabaya is on the process of changes lead by Bu Risma as the major. For the example, process of going GREEN; the government is building more gardens all over the city and doing their best to maintain the green environment. Although Surabaya has hot weather, but the gardens could possibly help it. So it's not impossible to have Surabaya with smooth traffic and no floods.