Extended urbanization in smaller-sized cities and small town development in Java: The case of the Tegal Region

Abstract

Urbanization processes in Java are characterized by the extended urbanization of its cities, that also create and develop small towns in surrounding areas of large and much smaller cities. This paper aims to bring greater attention to processes unfolding in smaller Javanese cities, and elaborates these processes through Tegal case study. To do this, long-term development is studied in the Tegal region through a time-series comparison by examining the development of urban villages within the administrative area of the region, based on statistical data collected from the Village Monographs (potensi desa) over a period from 1990 to 2017. Urban development in the Tegal Region is described in urban spatial development and urban population concentration to identify and analyse the small towns developed in the region. The study reveals that Tegal has undergone a similar process of core-periphery spatial development patterns that are experienced among larger urban agglomerations. The scattered towns surrounding the core city developed in a variety of sizes. The development of the city and towns in the surrounding areas in Tegal Region converging into an urban agglomeration that could already be considered its own metropolitan region with the city of Tegal as the core.