Jakarta | urban snapshots II

October 6th, 2008 • cities, movingmemos

Jakarta, October 5. A journey into the heart of Jakarta’s public transport system. Crossing the city with TransJakarta, the city’s rapid bus transit system. Currently it has 7 lines, while 32 are said to be under construction. Jakarta is a city without any subway network, so rapid bus transport is the means to move. The system is modeled on the TransMilenio system in Bogotá, Colombia.

Taking it to the end of the red line (Koridor I), one arrives in an area called Blok M, a business and shopping quarter located in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, Indonesia. Strolling around this transportation hub, one finds oneself in an architectural setting of the self-build postmodern kind. In-between these buildings, merchants float, street vendors shout and traffic seems to come from all directions at once. After a trip on the city’s ground level, I needed a break, so went in search for the comfort of the bird’s eye view, saw the Grand Hyatt Jakarta, entered it, went up and couldn’t resist taking pictures. An impression in snapshots.

Pictures by Bert de Muynck | movingcities.org

tags: jakarta, urbanism

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