1 2 0 1 1 Bukittinggi: From “Koto Jolong” to Tourism City As an Approach for Urban Heritage Conservation in the Historic Cities of Minangkabau Culture, History and Planning Jonny Wongso 1 and Syed Zainol Abidin Idid 2 ___________________________________________________________________________ 1.0 INTRODUCTION A city’s structure is formed by composites of physical and non-physical elements where the properties bonded strongly that can affect the growth or decline of the city. Understanding the components of urban form and the process of change of contemporary cities is essential to comprehend the character of the city. The initial formation determines the direction of future development of the city. This can be traced in the role and context of urban elements such as the shape of urban space, character of built forms and the identity of the city can be used as an asset for urban heritage conservation of the future. Understanding and appreciating an area’s character should be the starting point for making decisions about both its management and its future [1]. This will help manifest efforts to fulfill the needs of both the current and future generation. The emphasis of locality where the urban context is the main focus area that covers a multitude of contexts ranging from heritage/historical buildings, significant sites and human activities, all of which appropriately contribute to the quintessence of local lifestyles, identity and spirit of a place [2]. This paper; Bukittinggi: from Koto Jolong to Tourism City, concerns to the process of development of Bukittinggi from its early formation to the current role as tourism city. This paper is particularly concerned with the development of urban space pattern of Bukittinggi, located in Minangkabau (now is West Sumatera Province of Indonesia). The city growth is traced from the development of elements forming the city and can be adopted as an approach to urban heritage conservation in the historic city of Bukittinggi. The city development of Bukittinggi into its present city form is not separated from the historical background it had undergone from the pre-colonial era (the “nagari” era which is the form of early cities in Minangkabau), the colonial era and the post-colonial era. The spatial form in every period of its development influences the formation of Bukittinggi urban spaces. In observing Bukittinggi’s development from past to present, two types of analitical methods were used. They are the diachronic method (historical reading) and synchronic method (tissue analysis). These two methods are studies that refer to spatial articulation or how spaces were formed and utilized that can accommodate the needs, such as habits and activities. The discussion starts by looking at the whole background as a historical assessment to the image of Bukittinggi urban space in the past. Through this historical assessment, supported with data, in the form of maps, photographs and articles about the history of Bukittinggi, condition of Bukittinggi’s urban space was described, from the functional aspects (urban 1 PhD Student, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia.. 2 Associate Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment - Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia. － 1714 － C-6-1