Spatial Zoning Analysis of Zoo in Urban Area as a Preliminary Assessment for Improving the Education and Recreation Roles

Zoos have an important role as an animal conservatory. An ex-situ animals conservation should have a living space that resembles its natural habitat while also functioning as an exhibition space for educational purposes. While in nature, animals require a large landscape as their habitat. Unfortunately, most zoos’ limited land areas impede them from doing so, especially for zoos in a dense urban area. As a form of public space in the city, zoos not only serve as an educational means for the urban community but also a recreational facility to withdraw from the urban life that is far from the natural environment. Several Indonesian zoos that occupied the minimum land areas in an urban context are Bandung Zoo, Surabaya Zoo, and Batu Secret Zoo. Unfortunately, the two first received relatively bad visitor reviews regarding the lack of animal exhibition space, entertainment space, and supporting space. Meanwhile, the more recently built Batu Secret Zoo, which shares a similar land area, continuously receives good visitor reviews because they feel it simultaneously meets their educational and recreational needs. Improvement is sorely needed for the other zoos. This paper analyzed the spatial zoning of the three zoos’ landscapes and associated them with the visitor experience. It is a preliminary step in assessing the zoo for further improvement in educational and recreational roles. The result shows that the animal exhibition zoning based on a specific design base plays a significant role in improving the educational and recreational function.