Urbanization and the Development of the Kampung in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is a highly urbanized and geographically diverse country guided by two interrelated planning systems, namely, spatial planning and development planning systems. Despite overall improvements in living standards, rapid urbanization has led to increasing costs for housing, services and infrastructure especially for the urban disadvantaged. A major consequence of Indonesia’s urbanization process has been the inability of the planning system to keep pace with the provision of affordable housing. This systematic failing has meant that many households and residents are forced to engage in processes of self-organization and self-help housing in settlements known as kampungs so as to meet their shelter and day to day living needs. In the Indonesian context, kampungs are classed as informal settlements, being clusters of housing and support uses that are often illegally constructed on small plots using low-quality building and ad-hoc recycled materials. While originally on the edge of towns and cities, kampungs have become consumed within the expanding urban fabric and fulfil many social, physical and economic needs of the urban disadvantaged. There have been many attempts at kampung upgrading and what form this should take, the most successful being the Kampung Improvement Program (KIP).