Session 4: A Responsible Urban Rejuvenation of Jakarta

Patrick Daly
Design Director and Principal
Woods Bagot, San Francisco

Sinking faster than any other big city on the planet, over 40 percent of Jakarta is now below sea level. Solutions to prevent the decay of one the world’s great cities must address permeability, reducing sprawl and building dense high-rise communities.

Jakarta sits on aquifers which are being depleted by both legal and illegal wells pumping out water and, consequently, the city is sinking. By adhering to future-thinking urban planning—intrinsically connected to nature and biomimicry—and building tall, we can reverse the damage and save the city. The proposed plan has been derived, tested and proven successful in various case studies throughout China, Australia, and the Middle East. It includes restoring water balance with wetlands and blueways; linking eco-corridors through responsible agriculture and oxygenating the heart of the city; retrofitting the city into an optimized, measurable infrastructure and communicating the energy system and building compact, mixed-use, transit-oriented communities that provide a healthy quality of life and education. These must all occur whilst underscoring Jakarta’s identity through quality places and a sustainable economy.

The centerpiece of the plan, Responsible Urban Rejuvenation of Jakarta, is the preservation of Jakarta as one of its region’s leading cities with a macro urban concept that aims to increase the density of mixed-use high-rise development throughout the central spine of the city, using advanced sustainable strategies currently deployed successfully in other regions of the world.