What sets it apart from the rest? Investigating the national slum upgrading program, KOTAKU, in Surabaya

Surabaya has been the subject of several slum upgrading programmes. Initially, the programmes seek to improve people's quality of life by improving the built environment. Nowadays, the initiatives have become a means to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2017, the government launched a community-based slum upgrading programme called City Without Slums (KOTAKU). This paper presents the differentiation and novelty of the KOTAKU programme using a descriptive-qualitative approach. This research examines the implementation of KOTAKU in Sukolilo Baru Subdistrict, Surabaya between 2017 and 2018. The results of the study suggest that the programme still shares the same goal as previous community-based slum upgrading programmes: to improve the environmental quality of the settlement and the inhabitants' quality of life. KOTAKU has several strengths, such as plan-based activity synchronisation, empowerment of local institutions role and function, direct involvement of the community, and the expansion of collaborative funding. However, the misuse of authority under regional autonomy and the lack of community capacity in conducting the programme impede the programme.