POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE

Popul. Space Place 10, 421434 (2004)

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/psp.339

Demographic and Spatial Patterns

of Indonesias Recent Urbanisation
Tommy Firman*
Department of Regional and City Planning, Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia

a,more
in
patterns
tion
surbanisa
examine
study
This
from
data
Urbanis
2000.
Census
Populati
National
Indonesi
rised
characte
ation
concentr
urban
disparity
interurb
indicates
ek),
(Jabotab
Area
litan
Metropo
Jakarta
notably
few
cities.
smaller
large
between
cities,
other
integrati
an
reflect
kalso
Jabotabe
y.
econom
global
ons
outskirts
while
rapidly,
growing
have
areas
core
very
iate
intermed
small
The
growth.
of
rate
dthe
compare
growth
on
populati
higher
cing
experien
are
islands
cities
and
towns
those
that
suggest
might
which
aJava,
playing
role
nt
significa
ht
Copyrig
ment.
develop
regional
Wiley
John
2004
Ltd.
Sons,
is
and
into
with
using
The

large
in
of
high
outer
still
on
in
low
aby
the
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ain
on
are
It
&
Urbanisation in developing countries is occur-ring
ABSTRACT
This
in
Population
Indonesia
concentration
large
(Jabotabek),
disparity
and
also
the
outskirts
while
of
cities
higher
those
towns
role
2004
Indonesia,
growth.
global
between
in
reflect
study
cities,
John
in
on
those
and
population
regional
Java,
the
of
between
is
economy.
cities
Wiley
The
examines
Census
an
large
in
notably
still
outer
which
large
using
which
of
integration
core
small
development.
are
urban
characterised
cities
&Jabotabek
growth
islands
and
2000.
data
areas
indicates
Sons,
Jakarta
playing
might
The
urbanisation
towns
smaller
population
are
from
have
populations
Urbanisation
compared
are
of
Ltd.
growing
suggest
Metropolitan
and
aJabotabek
and
an
experiencing
the
Copyright
more
aby
cities.
interurban
intermediate
very
other
National
the
patterns
inthat
significant
rapidly,
with
alow
It
high
onfew
cities,
in
into
might
those

the
Area
rate
at a lower level of per capita income and ina totally
different global economic situation thanthat which
This study examines urbanisation patterns in prevailed when the cities of the devel-oped world
Indonesia, using data from the NationalPopulation
were growing most vigorously in thepast. As Cohen
Census 2000. Urbanisation inIndonesia is still
(2004) argues, recent urbanisationin developing
characterised by the highconcentration of urban
population in a fewlarge cities, notably Jakarta
countries is characterised by anunprecedented scale
Metropolitan Area(Jabotabek), which indicates an of urban change, while thedirection of urban change is
interurbandisparity between Jabotabek and other more stronglyaffected by the global economy than
cities,and between large and smaller cities. It ever before.In many ways the traditional ruralurban
mightalso reflect an integration of Jabotabek intothe dis-tinction made by scholars is becoming
global economy. The populations on theoutskirts of redundantas a result of the emergence of new
large cities are growing rapidly,while those in core globalisingprocesses (Cohen, 2004: 23).
areas have a very low rateof growth. The small In recent research, urbanisation in developing
towns and intermediatecities on the outer islands
countries has been associated with globalisationin
are experiencinghigher population growth
terms of the process of expansion and deep-ening of
compared withthose in Java, which might suggest
that thosetowns and cities are playing a more
global markets for both commoditiesand services. The
significantrole in regional development. Copyright former has been facilitated bythe rapid development
2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. of transportation andcommunication technologies,
while the latterreflects trade liberalisation (Cho,
1997). Theprocess has resulted in the rapid integration
Received 8 June 2003; revised 15 December 2003; ofvarious parts of the world, and most notably the
accepted 30 April2004 linkage of large cities in a global financialsystem
(Dicken, 1992; Cho, 1997; Beaverstockand Boardwell,
Keywords: world cities; urbanisation;Indonesia; 2000). The nature of global citieshas meant that they
population growth
function in relation toprocesses operating to sustain a
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES OF URBANISATION IN cross-border,global network of cities which control
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES strategicsites in the global economic system. The
citiesserve as centres for the control, coordination
Co ntemporary urban transitions in the developing andservicing of global capital (Sassen, 1997b: 12),and
countries are different from those that the
in turn become poles that are central to
developed worldexperienced a century ago (Gugler,
thehierarchical organisation of labour and
1996: 11)
migrationflows. As Castells (1989, 1996) argued, the
*Correspondence to: T. Firman, Department of fact isthat the traditional perspective of seeing
Regional andCity Planning, Institute of Technology, urbansystems as a space of relative locations should
Bandung, Indonesia.E-mail: tfirman@melsa.net.id be changed to one favouring the understandingof the
space of flows that sustain these globallocations.

Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.