Strategic challenges in development planning for Denpasar City and the coastal urban agglomeration of Sarbagita

Urban agglomerations are becoming a vital geographic unit for nations to sustain economic growth and development. However, agglomerations also pose significant challenges for development planning. They are complex, dynamic and huge systems. Their interconnectivity blurs the boundaries between cities and peripheral regions, and makes traditional city boundaries, often imposed by administrative needs, essentially obsolete. Despite this, the importance of an integrated approach to development planning is particularly acute for coastal urban agglomerations that are threatened by a range of geological hazards, hydro-meteorological hazards and climate change impacts. This paper is an account of the first phase of a longer-term study into agglomeration development planning of Sarbagita Metropolitan in Bali Province, Indonesia, with a focus on the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaption into the planning process. This phase of the study presents an initial analysis of the strategic issues for the development planning of Sarbagita Metropolitan, and a mapping of stakeholders involved in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction within the region. Data was collected through interviews with key stakeholders and a policy analysis. The results address how urban agglomeration is addressed within national development planning, the nature of urban agglomeration in Bali Province, the management of development planning in the region, the stakeholders involved in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in Bali Province, and the strategic challenges for development planning within the region. Key issues identified through this initial analysis include the important role the agglomeration plays in the national strategic development plan as a centre for regional economic development based on the tourism industry, the importance of infrastructure sharing, interconnectivity, and water/food security among the cities and regencies, and the lack of integration or consideration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in the agglomeration plan.