Home to over 10 million people,
Jakarta is a city of contrasts; the traditional and the modern, the sacred and
the worldly. Its population comprises of all
ethnic groups in the Indonesian archipelago, living under the national motto: Bhineka
Tunggal Ika,
meaning: Unity in Diversity.
Spanning an area of 661 square
kilometers (255 sq mi) Jakarta is one of the
world's largest cities. Capital of the Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta is an
autonomous province consisting of five municipalities, namely : Central
Jakarta, North, West, East and South Jakarta and the District of Pulau Seribu or
the Thousand Islands.
Since Indonesia’s Independence in
1945, Jakarta’s population grew by leaps and bounds, new suburbs emerged,
absorbing the one-time surrounding rural villages or kampungs. The
metropolitan capital spread to all directions, first adding the Kebayoran
area, then PondokIndah, in the south, but now growing east, north, further south and west, so
that today, Jakarta has become one almost seamless city with the
adjoining towns of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and
Bekasi.
The greater Jakarta area is, therefore, known following its acronym: Jabodetabek.
Fortunately, town planning in this
sprawling metropolis is such that each suburb is self-contained, complete with
facilities like hospitals, schools, universities, shopping centers, and
religious buildings that are all available within easy reach in one neighborhood.
Nonetheless, since the thousands of
offices in high rise buildings are still centralized in the city, the millions
of commuters who travel at peak hours in the morning and in the evenings from
and to the suburbs, cause daily traffic snarls that are almost impossible to
overcome, even with the construction of wide toll roads, overhead roads and
traffic tunnels.
Source: Greater Jakarta
Source: Greater Jakarta
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