ABSTRACT

Jakarta is the most populous city in Southeast Asia, the largest city in a nation

and a region where cities account for less than half the total population. The rural

village, not the urban neighbourhood, remains the dominant form of habitation

and, according to some observers, Jakarta is really an overgrown cluster of

villages. When measured as a whole, this cluster of villages makes up an urban

area with nearly 10 million residents, which grows to nearly 11 million during the

working day. Jakarta’s rapid growth, as well as that of cities throughout the region,

has largely been the product of the past half-century. In 1950, according to data

from the United Nations, only 14.8 per cent of Southeast Asians lived in urban

areas compared to 63.9 per cent in North America and 52.4 per cent in Europe.