Between Symbolism and Substance: Rethinking Participatory Governance in Makassar’s Coastal Areas

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_105How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Participatory management; coastal areas; Makassar City; community participation; collaborative governance; reclamation

Abstract

This study examines participatory management in the coastal areas of Makassar City, which have been increasingly affected by tensions arising from reclamation projects and rapid urbanization. Development policies, particularly the Center Point of Indonesia (CPI) project and the reclamation of Lae-Lae Island, reveal a dominant orientation toward economic growth, often at the expense of socio-ecological sustainability. While community participation has been formally incorporated into policy processes, it remains largely symbolic and administrative, corresponding to the consultation stage in Arnstein’s ladder of participation. Such limited involvement underscores the imbalance of power between state authorities, private investors, and local communities. Nevertheless, grassroots initiatives have emerged as critical forms of collaborative resistance. Practices such as participatory mapping, coastal advocacy, and community-driven campaigns demonstrate the agency of local actors in defending maritime identity and ecological values. These initiatives highlight the importance of indigenous cultural principles, including siri’ na pacce, as normative foundations for more inclusive governance. The findings suggest that coastal management in Makassar is not merely a technical or administrative issue but is deeply embedded in contested power relations and cultural recognition. By proposing a collaborative governance model, this study argues for a more equitable and sustainable pathway for coastal development. Such a model emphasizes the integration of local knowledge, cultural values, and participatory mechanisms to strengthen legitimacy and resilience. Ultimately, the research contributes to the broader discourse on urban coastal governance by demonstrating how participatory approaches can transform conflict into constructive collaboration, ensuring that development aligns with both ecological sustainability and social justice.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Nailah Zayyan
AU  - Amril Hans
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/13
TI  - Between Symbolism and Substance: Rethinking Participatory Governance in Makassar’s Coastal Areas
BT  - Proceedings of the World Conference on Governance and Social Sciences 2025 (WCGSS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1598
EP  - 1608
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_105
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_105
ID  - Zayyan2026
ER  -