Affordable and Sustainable Government-Subsidized Housing Development in Aceh Besar Regency

This research was conducted in Aceh Besar Regency. The location selection was based on almost all government-subsidized housing in Aceh Province being built in this area. Besides being directly adjacent to the capital city of Banda Aceh, land prices in this area are affordable; thus, many developers have decided to build subsidized houses in Aceh Besar Regency.

This study uses a mixed-method approach. In this strategy, the first stage is to collect and analyze quantitative data, followed by qualitative data collection built based on the initial results of quantitative data. The population in this study is the people of Aceh Besar who live in government-subsidized housing, either buying or renting. Then, a convenient sampling technique was used by distributing 100 questionnaires, then as many as 83 respondents were successfully obtained. Convenience sampling has practicality in determining the number of respondents, primarily related to availability at a particular time or willingness to participate [16].

A comprehensive criteria system that represents both affordability and sustainability aspects in assessing a residential area was developed by Mulliner and Maliene [12]; at least 20 indicators/criteria can ideally describe affordable and sustainable housing. The authors use those variables to answer the problems in this study (Table 1).

Table 1. Residential area comprehensive criteria

In quantitative data analysis, the field research results will be analyzed using the SPSS version 22. Then to support the first findings, qualitative analysis of secondary data such as journals, books, and other scientific references is also empowered.

The presence of a global development agenda has provided new insights for a country in carrying out development plans in the local sphere. Starting with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agenda, which has been successfully implemented for approximately fifteen years with all its advantages and disadvantages, then continued with the latest Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) currently running. The SDGs aim to build on and expand the scope of the MDGs, which ended in the same year that the SDGs were launched in 2015. This international platform tries to integrate the three main pillars of development: economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

One of the bases for assessing the quality of life and welfare of the people is housing, which is also an essential feature of sustainable development [3]. Meanwhile, creating sustainable cities and settlements is one of the important agendas of concern in sustainable development in the SDGs era, with 17 goals. In particular, Goal 11 of Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements seeks to create an inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable urban and residential area. Moreover, the 11th goal specifically there is Target 11.1, which has a noble mission of ensuring access for the public to decent, safe, affordable housing and essential services and managing slum areas by 2030.

As it is well known that housing is one of the three basic needs besides clothing and food, Prayitno et al. [17] stated that housing is an absolute necessity and a prerequisite for welfare. Unfortunately, not everyone can fulfill their needs in owning a house; it can happen due to a lack of income which causes the inability to buy or rent. Furthermore, it can also be due to the unavailability of land to build, especially in urban areas where land prices have a fantastic value.

In Indonesia, especially in urban and surrounding areas, some people are forced to become homeless, which eventually causes them to sleep in inappropriate places such as; under bridges, riverbanks, railroad tracks, and other slum areas. Based on the static table of the Badan Pusat Statistik [18], the percentage of households owning a house has increased slightly from 80.07% in 2019 to 81.08% in 2021; Unfortunately, this figure is a decrease if we look at the 2015 data which states that the number of people who own houses is at 82.63%. Furthermore, in the same data, about 8.66% of the people rent homes, and the rest do not own houses.

The ability to own a house is still a problem for some individuals, especially in urban communities. Considering that the city is the center of economic growth, coupled with the desire of the community to improve their monetary standard, in the end, it has triggered the process of urbanization of rural communities to urban areas. Mohamed and Malek [19] assessed that massive rural migration has led to high demand for housing in urban areas, especially in middle-income communities. However, the amount of income ultimately affects the people's ability to buy houses, especially if there is a difference between the ratio of house prices to income; people's ability to own a home will inevitably be low [20].

Reflecting on the data and conditions mentioned above, policymakers know the importance of housing for low-income communities. To meet housing needs, the Indonesian government has implemented a million houses program through the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing since 2015. One of the existing schemes in the program is subsidized housing, where middle-income people can buy houses by paying installments through banks that the government has appointed. And this program is part of the government's efforts to make the SDGs successful, especially Goal 11. However, although building a house is easy, it can become problematic if it has to meet sustainable characteristics.

Sustainability can be understood as an effort to maintain the continuity of human needs for an extended period into the future [21]; to realize a sustainable home, three aspects of sustainable development must be considered: environmental, social, and economic [22]. Furthermore, Golubchikov and Badyina [3] said that sustainable housing is significant to be applied for the benefit of the future because it can offer a broad spectrum in promoting economic development, environmental management, improving the quality of life, and social equality. Thus, the subsidized housing program is one of the government's efforts to overcome housing shortages and provide affordable housing for low-income families in Indonesia.

Discussing the sustainability dimension in more depth. First, let us look at environmental sustainability. Environmental aspects of sustainable housing are related to climate change, the environment, and the environmental impact of housing itself [3]. Several people still live in areas that are less suitable for living. For example, data in 2017 states that around 7.62% of urban people live in slum areas; this number even jumped to 13.86% two years ago [23]. Worse yet, it is estimated that the location of urban slums in Indonesia will continue to grow as the year progresses [24]. It is believed that many environmental problems are caused by slums, such as sanitation and drainage that are not functioning correctly, waste that has not been appropriately managed, and other ecological issues. These conditions certainly provide a source of pollution which ultimately leads to the root of the spread of the disease. Therefore, the provision of livable housing by the government is a must.

Second, providing low-cost housing of high quality, inclusive and diverse, healthy, safe and comfortable, and well-integrated into the more expansive social space are characteristics of social sustainability [3]. The million houses program aims to build at least one million units annually, covering 700,000 units for low-income people and another 300,000 for non-low-income people. Thus, the million houses program seeks low-cost housing for low-income people. Also, several units are traded for commercial needs to be affordable, inclusive, and diverse, which means this program represents the social aspect of sustainability.

The number of houses successfully built from 2015 to 2021 did experience fluctuations. In the program's first three years, the one million targets have not been fully realized, and the government can only build 700,000 to 900,000 units. Only in the fourth year could the government finally fulfill its promise by successfully building more than one million units; even at its peak in 2019, the government could produce more than 1.2 million units. Nevertheless, unfortunately, the number of successfully rebuilt houses decreased to below one million units in 2020; understandably, COVID-19 paralyzed some sectors that year (see Figure 1).

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Figure 1. Realization of 2015-2021 one million houses program development

Tanrıvermiş [25] reports that the pandemic has negatively impacted housing construction and sales globally. Furthermore, Setyoko and Wijaya [26] saw that the impact of COVID-19 had made the government make adjustments by changing the policy focus where the government had prioritized handling COVID-19 so that more budget posture was used up for this one sector. Nevertheless, it did not last long; the government's seriousness in realizing one million housing units per year was re-realized in 2021. The government is very committed to housing low-income families, even though the pandemic intervened in 2020.

However, this program has a potential social risk, namely the emergence of social jealousy between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries caused by the inappropriate targeting of program recipients, especially for those who have the right to a house but are not included in the list of beneficiaries. Moreover, the Indonesian government has had a terrible experience delivering a program, and some previous experiences have shown an inaccurate target in allocating social assistance. For example, in the rice program for people with low incomes, some people are still not entitled to become beneficiaries of this social program [27]. Of course, this case should be a lesson for the government to run the program as accurately as possible.

The last is the dimension of economic sustainability. Everything related to the function of housing will have implications for the running of the economy, such as product standards and human mobility; household and public expenditure standards; platforms of economic activity and main fields of work; and part of natural resources and energy flows [3]. The subsidized housing program will likely become an economic locomotive carrying out other economic activities. First, the construction of this housing requires human resources, so it will require many employees with different skills to fill some of the needed positions. Second, this housing development will open up great opportunities for private investors to invest funds that will benefit them. Third, the wheels of the economy will be faster, seeing the need for construction goods increase, so when they are ready to live, the residents need some new household furniture. And other economic benefits. In addition, since it is mainly aimed at low-income families, an affordable price is required.

Tibaijuka [28] said that affordable housing is the main instrument of social welfare because it can reduce poverty, create justice, and guarantee the right to home ownership. In addition, affordable housing for low-income people should have the decent quality to help achieve sustainable development [29]. Thus, affordable housing is a productive asset contributing to welfare and national economic development. Not without obstacles, Caeserio [30] sees at least seven main challenges faced by the current government to realize the one million houses program, namely; (i) housing data is less accurate; (ii) the program has not been communicated adequately to local stakeholders; (iii) housing is not the main program of local government; (iv) local government regulations related to the construction of houses/housing have not been supported; (v) housing development permits in the form of complex requirements and permit issuance processes; (vi) expensive and limited land prices; (vii) high Bank Indonesia mortgage requirements. With these significant obstacles, the government needs to improve its performance by improving data accuracy, establishing better communication with local governments and banks, and controlling land prices.

As the results of the statistical data analysis in the previous section, government-subsidized housing in Aceh Besar Regency has fulfilled the affordability aspect but still has deficiencies in three indicators of the sustainable part, namely: (i) access to public transport; (ii) waste management; and (iii) deprivation in the area. Firstly, the people of Aceh Besar Regency have long complained that, although they are comfortable living in a residential area, they are disappointed with the lack of public transportation [31]. Currently, there is only one mode of public transport operated by the government, Trans Koetaradja; however, the bus fleet only serves several main roads in Banda Aceh and a small part of Aceh Besar. Conversely, the high number of private vehicles and low interest in using public transport also affect the accessibility of public transport [32, 33]. Consequently, people now rely on individual service providers such as single-seat motorbikes or 4-7 passenger cars registered with transportation application companies such as Gojek and Grab; they are more convenient but costly.

Secondly, waste management in Aceh Besar Regency is a highly complex matter, considering that Aceh Besar is one of the largest districts in Aceh. The geographical conditions located separately and far apart make it difficult for the government to manage all regions simultaneously; the lack of public awareness and the limited number of transport vehicles are also the cause of the government's efforts in dealing with waste problems [34]. In 2022, the Head of the Aceh Besar Regency Environmental Service, as quoted from the Serambi Indonesia website, revealed that most of the villages in Aceh Besar Regency did not have trash containers [35]. Therefore, waste management will continue to be an extensive homework for the district government of Aceh Besar.

Thirdly, two deficiencies related to deprivation in the area have been revealed: access to public transportation and waste management facilities. Another condition that likely has a possibility of causing a deprivation impact on residents of government-subsidized housing in Aceh Besar Regency is the potential for natural disasters. Most government-subsidized houses were built in the Baitussalam sub-district, Aceh Besar Regency. This sub-district is close to the coast and was hit by the tsunami in 2004. Many residential areas have been developed in this area, and some are very close to the beach, creating fear for newcomers [36]. It is argued that some Acehnese people admit they are still traumatized by the 2004 tsunami [37, 38]. The availability of large tracts of land at affordable prices and its proximity to the city of Banda Aceh is why housing developers chose the Baitussalam sub-district as an ideal location for government-subsidized housing.

To improve this condition, the government must take proper steps to create more sustainable settlements in Aceh Besar Regency, especially government-subsidized housing. One way is to choose an alternative location for development that: (i) is close to public transportation; (ii) has disposal facilities; (iii) is away from potential disasters. Thus, the SDGs Goal 11 of Sustainable Cities and Communities will likely achieve according to the targets set.