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Eka Permanasari on Conflict Becomes the Point

We just published Permanasari, E., Nostikasari, D., Mahardhika, G. R., & Virani, A. (2026). Conflicts as Opportunities in Co-Design: Leveraging Participatory Approaches for Urban Policy and Planning. Action Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/14767503261461951

If you work in participatory planning, urban governance, or community development, ask yourself, does conflict in your processes feel like a problem to fix, or a signal to follow?

Eka Permanasari writes 

“Jakarta’s child-friendly parks, known as Ruang Publik Terpadu Ramah Anak (RPTRA), began as a political initiative. The governor wanted six pilot parks built fast, ideally before the elections. But what happens when you drop a public facility into a neighborhood without asking who needs what, or who already informally claims that land?

Conflict happens. And that, I now believe, is exactly what should happen.

I had spent a good amount of time standing in kampung neighborhoods across Jakarta, trying to convince community members, youth organizations, and government officials to sit in the same room and talk honestly about what they wanted from a park. It was, predictably, complicated.

Participatory planning has a reputation problem. It promises inclusion but often delivers managed consensus: a process designed to reach a predetermined outcome while giving communities the appearance of a voice. As a core member of the implementation team, I led and facilitated the co-design of six pilot sites across Jakarta’s neighborhoods over two years, conflict arrived early and stayed late, e.g., a youth group submitted its own design directly to the governor; a community halted construction; residents rejected stakeholder lists and walked out of discussions.

At the time, each rupture felt like a setback. However, my co-author and I began to view it from a different premise: that conflict in co-design is not a sign something has gone wrong. It is frequently a sign that something is finally going right. Looking back, these conflicts didn’t derail the co-design. In fact, they deepened it, revealing where trust had broken down and what communities actually cared about once they believed someone was genuinely listening. 

Forever citation and link

Permanasari, E., Nostikasari, D., Mahardhika, G. R., & Virani, A. (2026). Conflicts as Opportunities in Co-Design: Leveraging Participatory Approaches for Urban Policy and Planning. Action Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/14767503261461951