Urban settlement

The overall level of urbanization in Indonesia is low in relation to other countries that are at a comparable stage of economic growth. This can be explained in part by the phenomenon of nonpermanent, or “circular,” migration on Java and elsewhere: individuals from rural families live and work in the cities, but they return to their homes at least once every six months. Nevertheless, although there is some regional variation in urban growth rates, cities of every population size are, for the most part, growing rapidly.

With the exception of most of the largest urban areas (e.g., Jakarta, Surabaya, and Medan), few of Indonesia’s cities have the heterogeneity of a true urban centre. Instead, they are the economic, governmental, cultural, and social centres for highly populated and distinct regions. The growth of the cities has not been accompanied by a parallel growth of industry, and the outlook of much of the urban population is still rural. Large parts of the population, even in Jakarta, live in settlements that amount to urban kampongs (villages), maintaining rural customs. Urban dwellers generally have a higher standard of living than their rural counterparts, but the availability of adequate housing, potable water, and public transportation services has remained a critical concern.

Four of Indonesia’s five largest cities—Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Bekasi—are on Java; the other, Medan, is located on Sumatra. These five cities may be considered metropolitan areas rather than large provincial towns, since they contain the major government, financial, and business offices. Other large cities, such as Semarang, Padang, Palembang, and Makassar (Ujungpandang), are centres of provincial government and of local trade and, with the exception of Semarang, have relatively limited international ties.

The cities have individual characters. Jakarta, as the country’s capital, largest city, and centre of finance, has well-maintained and historic buildings, broad avenues and large fountains, and an increasing number of high-rise hotels and office buildings. Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city—roughly one-fourth the size of Jakarta’s urban centre—is a major port and industrial hub. Bandung, a former resort area and military centre, has much light industry, mostly related to garment production. Bekasi is a rapidly growing city in the greater Jakarta urban agglomeration. Semarang is the administrative capital and commercial core of central Java. Yogyakarta, which was the capital of the revolutionary government between 1946 and 1949, is the seat of the ruling family of the sultan of Yogyakarta. It also is the site of a major university, Gadjah Mada, and of schools of art, traditional dance, and music, and it is the centre of the batik cloth industry. In Sumatra, Medan and its port of Belawan constitute the commercial nexus for the rich northern agricultural districts, and Palembang, Sumatra’s second largest city, is a major port for the petroleum industry and for a variety of other industries in the south.

The ethnic composition of Indonesia’s largest cities is highly diverse and reflects the heavy flow of migration from rural areas. Jakarta shows the greatest diversity; while many people may have been born or raised there, they often continue to refer to themselves in terms of their regional heritage—such as Batak, Javanese, or Minangkabau—and it is not uncommon for them to use their local languages at home. These ethnic ties often are strengthened by trips to home villages during times of harvest or during the Muslim month of Ramadan (a period of fasting and atonement).

Indonesia’s urban areas also display great social and economic diversity, which underlies a social hierarchy. The upper class consists of government officials, military officers, and business leaders with a Western orientation; the growing middle class includes civil servants, teachers, and other professionals, as well as skilled workers who typically must struggle to maintain their economic position; and the lower class comprises a larger number of minimally educated and unskilled labourers, traders, and other members of the informal economy who strongly identify with their villages and frequently move back and forth to engage in economic pursuits in both areas. This three-tiered hierarchy also conforms closely to an economic structure that is based on various government opportunities and on formal and informal business activities.

A transient foreign element of diplomats and company representatives plays a minor role in city structure. There are people born of immigrant families—mainly of Chinese, Indian, or Arab origin—who are more fully integrated, but each group maintains its own social network and patterns of life. Nonetheless, Indonesia is gradually becoming a cosmopolitan society. This is most conspicuous in Jakarta and those parts of Bali that have been fully absorbed into an international socioeconomic matrix. Association with international culture generally implies a degree of wealth and consequently is largely confined to the families of officials, professionals, and prominent businessmen.