Urban Island Concept and The Relevance for Archipelagic States: Case of Ambon City-Maluku Province

Abstract

The recent studies of Island tend to focus on peripheral, isolated, and marginality aspects of the island community in mainland context. However, the understanding about interactions of several elements in archipelago development has to encompass broader context, including marine space and the others island which create a spatial system called urban island concept. The formation process of an urban island, comprising “strongly urbanized small islands or archipelagos” or “major population centers of large islands or archipelagos” are also essential issues that have not been fully explored. The issues of urban islands have become the concern of island researchers, such as in Copenhagen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Lagos, Macau, Mexico, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Tokyo, and Zhoushan. Indonesia which has more than 17.500 islands, also allows the formation of urban islands that need further exploration. Therefore, this paper discusses the formation process of the island city in Ambon City-Maluku Province, as a province area with a long history of island development. This paper will conduct a profound literature review as an attempt to build a theoretical framework of research in the study area. According to the preliminary study from island spatial perspectives consisting of territorial, defense and transportation benefits, Ambon is included in the category of urban islands that serves authority and trading as the main functions. This study will identify opportunities and challenges that have been encountered by Ambon City and its surrounding areas in the perspective of urban island concept focusing on connectivity between spatial functions as the primary factor. The result and conclusion of this study can give contribution in developing a robust theoretical framework of comprehensive research in urban island concept for Ambon City and other urban islands in Indonesia. Keywords—Ambon city, Archipelago, Connectivity, Urban