Reconstructing the Habermasian Public Sphere through Community-Based Creative Economy: Evidence from Payungi Space, Indonesia

Dharma Setyawan — 2026-04-30

This study explores how Payungi Space reconstructs the Habermasian public sphere through a community-based creative economy in Indonesia. Unlike the conventional understanding of the public sphere as a space for rational deliberation, this study argues that public spheres in community settings are simultaneously shaped by participatory communication, local culture, religiosity, and collective empowerment. The research adopts a qualitative ethnographic approach integrated with Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD). Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews with eleven key informants, and document analysis, and analyzed using thematic analysis with data triangulation. The findings reveal three interconnected dimensions. First, Pancadaya serves as the normative foundation that fosters critical consciousness, collective learning, and community capacity. Second, Rembug Warga functions as a deliberative mechanism where communicative action generates consensus, trust, and collective action. Third, the integration of creative economy, digital media, cultural identity, and religious values produces multidimensional transformation, including improved livelihoods, stronger social cohesion, knowledge creation, and sustainable community empowerment. This study proposes the concept of the Community-Based Creative Public Sphere, extending Habermas's theory by demonstrating that public spheres in developing countries can integrate deliberative communication with local assets, cultural values, and creative economy practices. The findings provide both theoretical contributions to public sphere scholarship and practical insights for participatory community development and sustainable local economic transformation.

Transforming Households Toward a Circular Economy: Community-Based Waste Management in Merdeka Urban Village, Bandung City

Mochamad Chaerul — 2026-04-30

Restrictions on waste disposal at the Sarimukti Landfill under the City of Bandung’s 2025 daily quota, together with the policy on self-managed waste treatment, call for a shift from a “collect–transport–dispose” system to a source-based circular economy approach. This study analyzed the generation, composition, and characteristics of household waste in RW 05, Merdeka Urban Village, and developed recommendations for waste management based on circular economy principles. Waste sampling was conducted over three days (June 28–30, 2026) at 20 households in accordance with SNI 3964:2025. Average daily waste generation at the sampling sites was 30.656 kg/day. Organic food waste (53.45%) and wood/yard waste (0.35%) made up 53.8% of the total, followed by recyclable inorganic waste (plastic, paper/cardboard, metal; 22.12%), diapers (6.0%), hazardous waste (0.9%), and other residues (15.0%). By integrating biological treatment (black soldier fly [BSF] maggot bioconversion and composting of the organic fraction), delivery of inorganic waste to the Semut Merah Waste Bank, and transport of residues to the Patrakomala 3R site, the potential reduction in waste sent directly to the landfill at the sampling scale was 98.29% (from 30.656 kg/day to 0.523 kg/day). Based on an IPCC 2006 Tier 1 calculation, processing 5,981.01 metric tons of food waste per year through maggot farming could reduce methane (CH₄) emissions by 0.24%. Using BSF larvae as catfish feed and maggot residue (frass) as fertilizer for urban farming (buruan sae) demonstrates a community-based circular economy value chain that reduces the burden on the landfill and carbon emissions at the local level.

International Journal of Community Engagement Payungi

Reconstructing the Habermasian Public Sphere through Community-Based Creative Economy: Evidence from Payungi Space, Indonesia

Transforming Households Toward a Circular Economy: Community-Based Waste Management in Merdeka Urban Village, Bandung City