An Illustration of the Social Landscape of the Coastal Community of Donggala, Indonesia: A Picture from Social Cohesion and Resilience

Describing the social landscape of coastal communities is an intriguing endeavor. The limitations of coastal communities in depicting their socio-economic potential often lead to the emergence of misguided policies. In general, the aim of this research is to examine how coastal communities depict themselves based on indicators of social cohesion and social resilience. Therefore, these two domains are combined into one, which is perceived as the social landscape. The social landscape indicators used are 15 in total, distributed across two dimensions: social cohesion and social resilience. These include six social cohesion indicators and nine social resilience indicators. Data collection was conducted by interviewing 205 informants spread across 14 coastal districts in Donggala Regency, Central Sulawesi. To simplify the complex variables from that combination, principal component analyses (PCA) were used. The next step is the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test, which is used to measure sample adequacy. PCA data processing using R software version 4.3.2. The main variables that contribute to the formation of identity and pride are obtained as a representation of the intended social landscape. The PCA results identified six main indicators that collectively explain 53.135% of the variation in the social landscape of coastal communities: discrimination levels, cultural identity and traditions, community participation, access to public services, income inequalities, and economic diversity. This finding indicates that the social sustainability of coastal communities is highly dependent on the balance between cultural strength and economic adaptability. Coastal area management strategies need to be directed toward strengthening community-based social institutions.