Bandung. Indonesia, In a powerful critique that could reshape Indonesia's approach to land justice, legal academic Giri Ahmad Taufik, S.H., LL.M. Ph.D delivered a groundbreaking presentation Wednesday that exposes a glaring blind spot in the nation's agrarian reform agenda: the systematic exclusion of urban communities from land rights protection.

Speaking at the prestigious 5th UiTM International Conference on Law & Society 2025 (UiTM i-CLaS 2025), the UPI Law presented compelling evidence that Indonesia's decades-old focus on rural land redistribution has left millions of urban dwellers vulnerable to eviction, gentrification, and legal invisibility.

The Forgotten Urban Majority

Giri  Taufik's research, titled "Rethinking Agrarian Reform: The Case for Kampung Kota Land Justice in Indonesia," reveals a stark reality: while policymakers celebrate rural land redistribution successes, Indonesia's rapidly urbanizing population faces an escalating crisis of housing insecurity that current laws simply don't recognize.

"We have created a system where a farmer's right to land is protected by law, but a family who has lived in an urban kampung for three generations has no legal standing whatsoever," Giri Taufik told the international audience of legal scholars and policy experts.

His comprehensive study, which analyzed 90 kampung kota (urban villages) across Indonesian cities in collaboration with the People's Movement for Urban Agrarian Reform, paints a disturbing picture of institutional neglect that affects millions of Indonesians.

When Laws Leave People Behind

The current legal framework defining agrarian reform subjects is remarkably narrow, limiting protection to farmers, farm laborers, and agricultural cooperatives. This rural bias means that urban communities – regardless of how long they've inhabited their neighborhoods or how vibrant their local economies have become – exist in a legal gray zone.

"The consequences are devastating," explains Giri Taufik. "Informal urban settlements face constant threats of forced eviction, have no recourse when developers move in, and cannot access basic services because they don't officially exist in the eyes of the law."

The research reveals recurring patterns across Indonesian cities: communities with deep historical roots and strong social bonds find themselves powerless against gentrification pressures, unable to secure basic infrastructure improvements, and living under the constant shadow of displacement.

Beyond Individual Ownership: A Different Vision

Perhaps most significantly, Giri Taufik's field research challenges conventional assumptions about what urban residents actually want from land reform. Through extensive focus group discussions with kampung kota residents, the study reveals that communities aren't necessarily seeking individual property titles – the typical goal of rural agrarian reform.

Instead, urban communities articulate aspirations centered on collective rights, community recognition, and participatory governance. Residents ground their claims not in individual ownership but in long-term occupation, shared history, and collective identity.

"They're not asking to become property owners in the conventional sense," Dr. Taufik notes. "They're demanding recognition of their neighborhoods as legitimate communities deserving of dignity, security, and a voice in decisions that affect their lives."

This finding fundamentally challenges the one-size-fits-all approach that has dominated Indonesia's agrarian reform agenda since its inception.

Learning from Global Innovation

The presentation highlighted successful international models that offer blueprints for urban land justice. Brazil's Special Zones of Social Interest (ZEIS) provide legal recognition and protection for informal settlements while ensuring access to public services. Community Land Trusts in various countries have successfully combined security of tenure with protection against speculation.

These comparative cases demonstrate that legal recognition, collective tenure arrangements, and anti-speculation protections can work together to create stable, thriving urban communities without requiring massive government expenditure or wholesale displacement.

"The tools exist," Giri Taufik emphasizes. "What's missing is the political will to recognize that urban land struggles are just as legitimate and urgent as rural ones."