From Metropolitanization to Megaregionalization: Intentionality in the Urban Restructuring of Java’s North Coast, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper examines the intentionality behind the emergence of megaregion in Indonesia’s reinvented developmentalist state tradition. Illustrated by the case of Java, this paper explores the role of regional planning in facilitating megaregion emergence. It reveals that sectoral and ad hoc national planning policies, although not intentionally aimed to guide spatial development, implicitly promote the emergence of this megaregion. This is particularly registered in the construction of megaprojects aimed at increasing regional competitiveness through the improvement of interregional connectivity and facilitating exurbanization through the building of in-between cities.