Spatial extension as a housing strategy in Kampung Kota: A case study from Kampung Kingkit, central Jakarta

Abstract

The massive flood of urbanization implicates the shortage of affordable housing for low-income people in the big cities, especially in Jakarta. To live and survive in Jakarta, the kampung kota becomes the housing solution rather than problems, due to its ability in providing low-cost housing. While it solves the affordability and the proximity to job location issues, this type of settlement is responsible for several wicked problems to its dwellers, such as space scarcity. Additionally, it creates inevitable health and social problems. In order to overcome these ever-growing problems, the dwellers develop an adaptable social system, which takes form as a spatial extension in the alley for domestic and social activities. This paper takes Gang Kingkit (Central Jakarta) as one of the high-density kampung kota settlements to examine the type of spatial extension and how dwellers produce it. Through in-depth interview and direct observation, we discover that there is a social system which allows several types of spatial extension to emerge simultaneously or reciprocally in public space. The social systems are embedded and manifested in the distinctive spatial system, which effectively minimizes the problems of living in kampung kota.