Sustainable Cities and Communities

UNESA provides free public access to its green spaces

Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA) provides free public access to open, green space at its Lidah Wetan campus lake, Danau UNESA, after the university worked with the Surabaya city government and the local civil service police to clear the lake area of street vendors and unregulated stalls. As reported on 19 June 2026, the cleaned lake area is now used by both the surrounding community and students to relax, jog, fish and take photographs, at no charge.

Permanent free access

Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA) provides free public access to its campus lake, Danau UNESA, at the Lidah Wetan campus, after the university worked with the Surabaya city government and the local civil service police (Satpol PP) to clear the lake area of street vendors and unregulated stalls (RRI.co.id, 2026).

As reported on 19 June 2026 by RRI.co.id, the cleaned and reorganised lake area is used by 'masyarakat sekitar dan para mahasiswa' (the surrounding community and students, not students alone), who go there to jog, fish and take photographs, and the article describes the area as an ideal spot for 'bersantai gratis' (relaxing for free) in the middle of the city (RRI.co.id, 2026).

The report frames the clean, vendor-free condition as the lake area's current, ongoing state rather than a single scheduled event: it records a resident's hope that 'kondisi Danau Unesa yang bersih dan tertib ini dapat terus dipertahankan' (this clean and orderly condition can keep being maintained), and it names no entry fee, ticket or gate for anyone using the lake area (RRI.co.id, 2026). UNESA's own 2016 and 2022 accounts of opening green-space areas for education, conservation and recreation, and of its campus forest shown to UI GreenMetric assessors, describe the same eco-campus grounds but predate the 2025-2026 evidence window and are not cited as proof here.

Occasional free access

UNESA also opens its newest sports ground to the public for free events. From 13 to 15 February 2026 the university turned its athletics field at the Lidah Wetan campus into the third Durenan Rek durian festival, with at least 20 durian stalls, music by student bands and free massages by its massage therapy students. Residents of Surabaya and the surrounding area came in without paying any entrance fee, and the report describes the festival as a way to introduce the public to the athletics field, the petanque arena and the football pitch in the same complex, which the community can enjoy (KECEMedia UNESA, 2026).