ABSTRACT

The dominant narrative of housing policy in developing countries has been rapidly changing since the 1980s. Housing provided by the state as a welfare and political apparatus is being fast replaced by private capital. The narrative assumes that prior to market provision, the state had provided housing for its population. But in the postcolonial capitalist peripheries shaped by a particular form of governance, the Indonesian state, historically, has never quite recognised state provision of housing for the majority of its population. The state has selectively left the masses alone to find their own accommodation via informal means. This saves the state the cost of housing the population and also enables it to keep the loyalty of business sectors, local administrators, leaders, thugs, dealers and land brokers by giving them a role in maintaining order and stability through their control of housing markets. This chapter, with a focus on Indonesian cities, particularly Jakarta, addresses this particular form of rule by considering four parts that link power to the housing question, namely power, gentrification, violence and resistance. It is about housing as it is embedded in and shaped by a larger sociocultural and political field which, in turn, it helps to shape.