Case in Point: Jakarta, Indonesia

There is an urgent need to improve the environment and quality of life in cities, particularly in the rapidly growing megacities of developing countries. Consider Jakarta, Indonesia, with a population of about 13 million. Jakarta is plagued with many of the problems found in other rapidly growing megacities in the developing world.
The air in Jakarta is badly polluted with the exhaust from cars, buses, and motorbikes that transport about 2 million commuters into the city each day. The lack of public transportation contributes to congested traffic, with vehicles sitting in traffic jams, spewing air pollutants into the air. Currently, Jakarta is considered among the top Asian cities with the worst air quality.
Water pollution is also a critical problem. At least 95% of human wastes produced in the city are not cleaned up at sewage treatment plants. Instead, human sewage and garbage are dumped directly into nearby rivers (Figure 25.11). Jakarta’s municipal water supply is so polluted that piped water must be boiled before drinking.
Figure 25.11 Water pollution in Jakarta, Indonesia.
As groundwater has been depleted to meet the city’s needs, parts of Jakarta have subsided, making many areas more flood-prone, particularly during the rainy season. In 2007, for example, low-lying areas of Jakarta were inundated by floods that forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes. About 40% of Jakarta is below sea level.
Illegal squatter settlements proliferate; here the poorest inhabitants build dwellings on vacant land using whatever materials they can scavenge. As in other megacities around the world, squatter settlements in Jakarta have the worst water, sewage, and solid waste problems.
Although we have painted a grim picture of Jakarta, we also note that improvements are slowly beginning to occur. As part of an ambitious long-term