Hajar Ahmad Chusaini, ASN Bappeda Blora Regency has successfully defended his dissertation entitled “Urban Phenomenon in Oil and Gas Extractive Areas: Petroleumspace and State Spatial Strategy in Cepu, Indonesia” through a closed examination on June 26 2023. The session was chaired by Prof. . Dr. Ir. Atiek Suprapti, MT presented the promoter Prof. Dr.rer.nat Imam Buchori, ST and co-promoter Dr. Ir. Jawoto Sih Setyono, MDP. Diponegoro University’s internal examiner is Prof. Sudharto P. Hadi, M.E.S., Ph.D. and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wiwandari Handayani, S.T., M.T., M.P.S. The external examiner is Prof. Dr. Ir. Walter Timo de Vries comes online from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Germany. Hajar is the 81st graduate to obtain a doctorate in architecture and urban science at Diponegoro University.
Hajar said that urban phenomena can be seen in areas that are perceived and conceptualized as predominantly rural, such as oil and gas extractive areas. Urbanism does not only apply to oil and gas cities where refineries and activities are concentrated. However, wells, oil and gas fields, pipelines, production facilities, and tankers are all part of the urbanization process. Although, this infrastructure is located outside urban areas. This understanding of urbanity indicates a new theoretical need. Policy changes and alternative social transformations that are more value-laden, fair, emancipatory and democratic can be inspired from it.
Oil and gas natural resources in extractive areas are relatively uncorrelated with the prosperity of the surrounding population. However, oil and gas supports life and metabolism in urban areas where life is relatively more prosperous. Various struggles between society (social) and local government (politics) and their contradictions occur. Both strive to gain access, benefits and prosperity to the natural resources around them. This creates an urban space formation in three dimensions. Oil and gas is produced in space to form a special landscape of oil and gas as a material. The process of developing territorial knowledge such as spatial planning and oil and gas sectoral plans also accompanies it. Both produce meaning for the people who experience them for their lives
For this reason, the winner of the Pusbindiklatren Bappenas doctoral scholarship proposed the concept of hinterland petroleumspace (back area oil and gas space) as a differential urban space. This concept is built from the general theory of society in space and time by elaborating on the petroleumscape concept. Spatially, this space is realized in the form of urban elements (urban fabric) by oil and gas companies. Community and government appropriation of oil and gas industry activities also shapes urban elements into diverse and different ones. Through a transductive process, existing urban concepts are criticized through practical means, and practical criticism through new concepts. It is hoped that this new concept will be able to criticize spatial practices amidst the homogenization of the oil and gas space. The dominance of oil and gas companies is expected to become a differential oil and gas space through various social and political appropriations. This will return to the wrong aim of creating extractive areas to further improve the welfare of local residents.
This research has resulted in two reputable international journal publications indexed by Scopus in leading publishers, namely Taylor & Francis. The first article, namely “Petroleumscapes and the urban fabric: a study of hinterland development in Cepu, Indonesia” was published in the journal Planning Perspectives (Q2 Scopus). The second article, namely “Blindness and illumination of state spatial strategies in producing extended urban space: a case from Cepu oil and gas mining area, Indonesia” was published in the journal International Planning Studies (Q1 Scopus).