Rapid Urbanization in Jakarta Metropolitan Area (JMA) also shaped its spatial landscape. To accommodate this rapid urbanization, Jakarta quickly expanded to provide homes and place of work for the people. In the process, JMA experienced an urban sprawl situation despite many attempts by Indonesian authority to manage its urban development.
Attempts by authority to managed JMA development were embodied into several spatial plans implemented by the state government. Planning system in JMA characterized into two eras. During the centralized prior to year
2000, the planning system was led by the state. In this era, local governments were required to follow state direction as local autonomy was relatively restricted. After year 2000, state government reformed its policy on local government and transitioned into a decentralized system. With this new approach, state government recognizing more local participation, accountability, and local needs in spatial plans. These two types of state planning also influenced JMA spatial planning in the last six decades.
Despite all the spatial planning, unplanned urban expansion characterized JMA growth in the last half century. Sprawl in JMA is organically induced by its own spatial plan. The designation of new urban center that have good toll road access, without restraining land consumption, will encourage more continuous urban sprawl in JMA along with its never-ending urbanization
Early state-led planning was able to introduce new places to accommodate JMA growth. However, the private sector need to accommodate economic growth outstripped the ability of state efforts to controlled urban land use transformation. Further enactment of decentralized planning proved not to be the remedy for sprawl. If anything, urban sprawl became worsened due to the fragmented local spatial plan.
The latest JMA spatial plan only focused on designated new urban growth center and efforts to connect them with road networks. Discourse related to development control was not well covered in the latest spatial plan. Henceforth the spatial plan became more of the tool to accommodate growth and less concerned as a tool to control growth, especially in the prone areas.
Expansion of the toll road network also exacerbated JMA urban sprawl. The toll road network always had its special place in the spatial plan. Started in the latest 70’s, toll road become the main backbone of urban mobility. The articles shown that urban sprawl began mostly in the areas with toll road access. JMA needs to expand its toll networks but must combined them with better mobility strategies to ward off urban sprawl.