From ‘global city’ to ‘city of crisis': Jakarta metropolitan region under economic turmoil

By mid-1990s the development of Jakarta Metropolitan Region (JMR) appeared to be heading towards global city status. However, the current economic crisis has largely squeezed the JMR economy which in turn rapidly increased unemployment and poverty incidence in the region. Meanwhile, the capacity of local government to provide urban public service and infrastructure largely declined as the city revenues decreased substantially. The near future of JMR will depend on how soon the economic crisis ends and whether political situation can stabilize, but for now urban poverty becomes the most pronounced issue in JMR development and planning.