Sidewalk Planning Failures and Mobility Justice in Indonesian Heritage Corridors: A Comparative Analysis of Physical Compliance, Socio-Spatial Inequality, and Contested Public Space

Abstract

Walking is the most fundamental, environmentally friendly, and economically efficient mode of transportation in urban mobility systems. Nevertheless, pedestrian infrastructure in developing cities, particularly in Indonesia, remains highly marginalized, exposing pedestrians to severe safety risks and systematically excluding them from equitable access to urban mobility. Global research indicates that the Indonesian population is categorized as one of the least active walkers in the world, averaging only 3,513 steps per day. This phenomenon is not merely a cultural preference, but a direct consequence of a hostile built environment and developmental policies that heavily favor motorized vehicles, creating a deep-seated path dependency in transport-land use planning. Public spaces and pedestrian rights-of-way have been systematically neglected to facilitate the expansion of vehicular corridors, reflecting a persistent bias towards private motorization.This study aims to bridge an academic gap by conducting a comparative analysis of sidewalk planning failures across five major Indonesian heritage corridors: Suryakancana (Bogor), Braga (Bandung), Peneleh (Surabaya), Kota Tua (Jakarta), and Jurnatan and Kota Lama (Semarang). By integrating physical compliance evaluations with socio-spatial syntax analysis and power dynamics analysis, this paper uncovers the mechanisms of pedestrian marginalization and formulates practical recommendations for inclusive and sustainable mobility justice. The research employs three complementary analytical frameworks: (1) Global Walkability Index (GWI) and Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) for physical compliance evaluation; (2) Space Syntax analysis for historical morphological transformation; and (3) Critical institutional analysis for contested sidewalk space dynamics. Findings reveal three primary failure points: First, pedestrian infrastructure suffers from a "cosmetic tourism" approach, where universal design-compliant accessibility is limited to primary tourist corridors while secondary streets remain non-compliant with SE PUPR No. 07/P/BM/2023. Second, deep-seated path dependency in favor of motorized travel has institutionalized mobility inequality, forcing low-income residents into the vulnerable category of "captive pedestrians." Third, sidewalk revitalizations are decoupled from local socio-economic realities, relying on punitive relocation of informal street vendors that dismantles local livelihoods. The study concludes that sidewalk planning in Indonesia must transition from visual beautification to genuine mobility justice, prioritizing universal design implementation across all urban scales, participatory stakeholder engagement, and pedestrian-first traffic calming