Using morphological and functional polycentricity analyses to study the Indonesian urban spatial structure: the case of Medan, Jakarta, and Denpasar

The existence of polycentric urban form has been widely discovered in worldwide urban development, yet the topic has received little attention in Southeast Asia. This study aims to explore urban spatial development in Indonesia, focusing on three historically globalized regions: the metropolitan areas of Medan, Jakarta, and Denpasar. It comprises subcenter identification and comparative morphological and functional polycentricity analyses using the latest economic census and commuter surveys data. The study confirms the polycentric structure of the Jakarta Metropolitan Area, while the other two metropolitan areas have a monocentric structure. The structural difference is due to the process of industrialization that shaped the development of metropolitan areas in Indonesia in various ways regardless of the spatial planning strategies.

Automated summary

This study explores urban spatial development in Indonesia, focusing on the metropolitan areas of Medan, Jakarta, and Denpasar. While the Jakarta Metropolitan Area exhibits a polycentric structure, the other two metropolitan areas have a monocentric structure, shaped by the process of industrialization regardless of spatial planning strategies.