Town planning in the Dutch Indies

Abstract

Three hundred years of colonialism have left Indonesia with a distinctly Dutch heritage. In the major Indonesian towns and cities old Dutch neighbourhoods can still be recognized. On their arrival, the Dutch imposed a settlement pattern copied from their own towns; for example, Batavia — nowadays Jakarta — was modeled after Amsterdam. Eventually, modern techniques like building lines and zoning were introduced. In many Indonesian towns colonial building ordinances still apply, whilst the colonial Town Planning Act has never been repealed. This article gives an overview of Dutch influence on Indonesian towns from the arrival of the Dutch in Indonesia until the declaration of Indonesian independence in August 1945 and the difficult years following until 1949. It shows that town planning in Indonesia went through several stages. In the seventeenth century the Dutch applied renaissance town planning concepts copied from their own towns. Later on, Dutch and Indonesian culture intermingled: the ‘Indische’ cultu...