The Awareness Level of Building Owners to Conserve Cultural Heritage Area in Kotagede, Yogyakarta

Abstract

Abstract The concept of cultural heritage conservation is not only about architecture but also about people / communities who are related to cultural heritage. The local community is one of the actors who play a role in the conservation of cultural heritage areas. There are 41,7% of Kotagede's old buildings that are not maintained, damaged, and extinct. Building changes were carried out by the owner itself. Therefore, it is important to identify the level of awareness of old building owners to conserving the Kotagede area. The research method used quantitative research. The respondents in this study were the owners of the old building Kotagede. The research data were collected using a questionnaire and observation. The likert scale aims to determine the level of awareness of building owners. The results of this study indicate that the condition of building owners can affect the conservation awareness of building owners. The limited conservation information causes the owners to change the old buildings. The problem of building heritage causes owners to have doubts about the sense of ownership of old buildings. The building owners, who have a medium and low economic level, feel unable to spend on building maintenance costs. The old building was located near the modern environment so that the owners became affected, breaking the government rules, and cared less so that the authenticity of the old building forms became reduced. The conclusion of this study shows that the awareness of the owners' buildings is still at a doubt level. It means that actually, the owners already understand that it is significant to conserve their old buildings. However, they have not been able to do it optimally because there are still obstacles that hinder them.