The Special Capital Region of Jakarta

The Special Capital Region of Jakarta (in Indonesian known as Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI) Jakarta) is Indonesia's largest and most important city. It has a status equal to a province. The city has been established for over 460 years, and in the past 40 years has grown at an explosive rate. After more than four centuries of limited population and spatial growth, Jakarta has expanded rapidly over the past four decades. The growth of Jakarta in this period has resulted in a significant shortfall of infrastructure in terms of public services and has highlighted the urgent need to consider means of coordinating the management of the city's development and growth with the surrounding regions, namely, the kabupatens of Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi (fig. 11.1).

Jabotabek, the Jakarta metropolitan area

The Special Capital Region of Jakarta (in Indonesian known as Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI) Jakarta) is Indonesia's largest and most important city. It has a status equal to a province. The city has been established for over 460 years, and in the past 40 years has grown at an explosive rate. After more than four centuries of limited population and spatial growth, Jakarta has expanded rapidly over the past four decades. The growth of Jakarta in this period has resulted in a significant shortfall of infrastructure in terms of public services and has highlighted the urgent need to consider means of coordinating the management of the city's development and growth with the surrounding regions, namely, the kabupatens of Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi (fig. 11.1).

In 1948 the population of Jakarta was about 2 million, with a builtup area of 20,000 ha, including Kebayoran Baru, a new town in the south. In 1965 the population of Jakarta was about 4 million, with a built-up area of 35,000 ha. By 1980, Jakarta occupied 65,400 ha with a population of 6.5 million, and it was by this time that the influence of the city on the region (rather than simply on its fringes) was clearly demonstrated. The 1990 Population Census showed that Jakarta had 8.2 million inhabitants.

The initial response to the accelerated growth of Jakarta was to expand the boundaries of Jakarta in order to accommodate the growth. The expansion took over some of the areas of the Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi regencies. Subsequently, as growth extended beyond the revised boundaries, the government adopted a different approach in the mid-1970s, and the concept of Jabotabek was introduced.

This metropolitan region comprises DKI Jakarta and the kabupatens of Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi. A joint development cooperation board was established with the responsibility of coordinating development activities in this region.