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fter two years of being left out of the top 10 in the Most Livable City Index (MLCI) survey conducted by the Indonesian Association of Planners (IAP), Bandung in West Java has been ranked the seventh most livable city in the country.

The 2014 survey named Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, the most livable city based on a comfort index consisting of 27 indicators. Balikpapan was followed by Surakarta, Central Java, Malang, East Java, Yogyakarta, Palembang, South Sumatra, Makassar, South Sulawesi and Bandung.

The IAP conducted the survey in 17 major and medium-sized cities in Indonesia and it involved 1,000 respondents spread over various regions in the country, with a margin of error of 2 percent.

Despite being rated a comfortable place to live, housewife Reita Ariyanti, 33, said the Bandung administration still needed to improve in a number of key areas. One of them was traffic congestion.

'€œTraffic in Bandung is quite congested. Motorists and motorcyclists drive carelessly on the streets and at times disobey the traffic rules. However, it is comparatively better than Jakarta and its surrounding areas,'€ Reita said recently.

She added that compared to other big cities overseas, Bandung was less pedestrian-friendly.

'€œThere are many vendors who make walking on the street uncomfortable. They are also narrow, dirty and smelly. If we walk on the road, we can be hit by vehicles,'€ she said.

Rieta said the public transportation in the city was also poor and uncomfortable.

Jessica Fam, 34, another resident, made similar complaints, saying that traffic congestion in Bandung prompted many people to use private vehicles, which worsened the problem.

'€œThe traffic becomes worse, especially during the weekends when many visitors come here,'€ she said.

Jessica, who likes walking, said the city administration should pay more attention to the condition of the sidewalks. She added that one of the things that kept her in Bandung was the cool weather.

'€œI think the temperature keeps on rising, though,'€ she said.

Reita and Jessica also highlighted the issue of garbage in Bandung. They said the administration should implement better waste-management practices to ensure the sustainability of the environment.

'€œWhy is there no special depot for people to dump their non-degradable garbage? The government must think about this,'€ Reita said.

The 27 indicators of comfort used in the IAP survey included the availability and quality of public facilities like health care, education, recreation, electricity, water, telecommunications networks and job opportunities.

Other indicators included workplace accessibility, crime rate, communal ties, public information and facilities for the disabled.

Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil, who took office 10 months ago said he was happy about the survey'€™s finding, adding that changing Bandung for the better was no easy task.

The mayor, who is also a renowned architect, said he was now focused on improving public services.

'€œLast year, there were still 18 regional working units or agencies performing poorly, Today they have improved and been recognized as the best in public service in Indonesia,'€ Ridwan said.

He was referring to a recent award from the Indonesian ombudsman for the standard public services in Bandung.

Ridwan added the award was related to resident satisfaction regarding public services.

'€œThe award reflects our achievements in meeting the minimum standard of quality services, but we still have to make improvements,'€ he said.

Kamil added that the waste problem was very complex, but that his administration had initiated a cleanup campaign where residents are encouraged to pick up garbage three times a week to educate children about proper garbage disposal.

'€œIn addition, we have conducted waste-reduction campaigns, added dumpsters and hired street sweepers,'€ Kamil said, adding that Bandung'€™s continued improvement required participation from every stakeholder.