Journal of Regional and City Planning
Vol. 37 No. 1 (2026)

Padaleman Karuhun and Songko as Indigenous Spatial Planning Logic: A Phenomenological Study

Imam Indratno (Magister of Urban and Regional Planning, Universitas Islam Bandung,)
Ina Helena Agustina (Magister of Urban and Regional Planning, Universitas Islam Bandung)
Sugih Dinul Yakin (Unknown)
M. Ari Fandi (Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Maritime Engineering and Technology, Universitas    Maritim Raja Ali Haji)
Deshinta Arova Dewi (Center for Data Science and Sustainable Technologies, INTI International University)



Article Info

Publish Date
15 Jul 2026

Abstract

Across Southeast Asia, indigenous settlements are not merely places of habitation but living spatial systems in which moral order, ecological ethics, customary authority, and intergenerational knowledge are embedded in everyday practices. Yet these systems remain insufficiently recognized in contemporary settlement planning, heritage conservation, and customary land governance, where interventions frequently privilege technocratic approaches over locally embedded spatial knowledge. This study examines Kampung Adat Kuta (West Java) and Nagari Panti Selatan (West Sumatra): the former a vertically organized sacred-ecological system rooted in Sundanese cosmology, the latter a horizontally structured socio-institutional system grounded in Minangkabau matrilineal tradition. Using a comparative qualitative approach grounded in Alfred Schutz’s phenomenology, the research integrates in-depth interviews, participant observation, ritual documentation, and cultural mapping to examine how indigenous spatial meanings are produced, institutionalized, and transmitted across generations. The analysis shows that Inget Karuhun, Padaleman Karuhun, and Songko function not merely as cultural symbols but as indigenous spatial planning logics: Padaleman Karuhun organizes a settlement through a vertically integrated sacred-ecological hierarchy governed by ritual obligation and ancestral norms, while Songko structures a settlement through a horizontally integrated socio-spatial system based on matrilineal governance, communal institutions, and symbolic authority. These findings extend planning scholarship by showing that indigenous settlements embody coherent systems relevant to settlement planning, heritage conservation, and customary land governance, and propose indigenous spatial planning logic as an ontological planning perspective that recognizes indigenous settlements as living planning systems rather than cultural landscapes or heritage objects.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jpwk

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Civil Engineering, Building, Construction & Architecture Environmental Science Social Sciences Transportation

Description

Journal of Regional and City Planning or JRCP is an open access journal mainly focusing on urban and regional studies and planning in transitional, developing and emerging economies. JRCP covers topics related to the analysis, sciences, development, intervention, and design of communities, cities, ...