ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the processes and challenges involved in the planning, urbanisation, and governance of Jabodetabek, the megacity region encompassing Jakarta and its adjacent cities and districts. Planning for the region began in the 1960s as the Indonesian capital city sought to manage anticipated growth through the development of satellite cities on agricultural lands in its periphery. The Suharto New Order government embraced the unfettered development of Jakarta's periphery by private developers that expanded urbanisation in rural villages and led to the creation of several new cities. In the decentralised post-New Order Indonesia beginning in 2000, the urbanisation result was a disconnect between the plans and the reality on the ground, creating unanticipated environmental, infrastructure, and social challenges. The fragmented governance structure in the megacity region has proven ineffective in addressing these challenges. The uncontrollable developmental challenges in the continuously expanding megacity region beyond Jakarta's boundaries help explain the Indonesian government's decision in 2019 to transfer the nation's capital to East Kalimantan and to use this new capital city as a model of sustainable urbanism, which is seemingly unrealisable in Jabodetabek.
