ABSTRACT
Urban planning requires the strategic use of knowledge, especially when governance is weak as is the case in Ternate city, an island city in Eastern Indonesia facing multiple natural disaster threats such as volcanic eruption, earthquake, and Tsunami. This chapter uses an anthropological perspective of situated knowledge to examine the urban planning process on sustainability and resiliency to natural disasters, noting socio-economic and governance factors in Ternate. Such conception reveals gaps between the possible world, the realised world, and witnessed situations in the urban planning process. Focused group discussions and in-depth interviews found a disconnect between planning documents and the reality of excessive land conversion yielding to economic pressures, exacerbating sustainability issues. This study captures possibilities in implementing grounded and sound Medium-Term Local Development/RPJMD against the dilemmatic implementation of a local plan on Sustainable Development Goals/RAD-TPB. For example, a pragmatic approach to protect coastal ecosystems and improve sanitation have shown promises of scalable results. Pragmatism may also help planning for resiliency. Regional cooperation with neighbouring municipalities of Tidore and West Halmahera can help provide refuge when disasters strike.
