Formal land rights versus informal land rights: Governance for sustainable urbanization in the Jakarta metropolitan region, Indonesia

Co-existence of informal settlements and gated communities is a common phenomenon in many developing countries. In the Jakarta metropolitan region, one of the high-density Asian urban centers, it is observed that informal settlements are ubiquitous in its central city, while gated communities are prevalently concentrated in the suburbs. This dual process of informal and formal urbanization is a result of territorialization of informal land rights and formal land rights without the presence of effective state governance over the rapid urbanization. Informality emerges when housing needs are not satisfactorily met within the formal framework managed by the state and the market. When public governance fails, private governance arises to fill the void. The mode of gated housing estates facilitates the private provision of urban amenities and facilities needed for the fulfillment of the emerging middle class' housing aspiration. However, social polarization is exacerbated by the spatial segregation. The key to the ending of spatial dichotomy of social segregation lies in the collective action and effective state. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.