Planning the Megacity examines the dramatic transformation of Jakarta over the past century. In 1900, the colonial capital of the Netherland Indies, then known as Batavia, was a compact city of approximately 150,000 inhabitants. During the next hundred years, but especially after 1950, it was transformed into the sprawling 'megacity' of more than 9 million in an urbanized region that boasted nearly 18 million by 2000.

How this metamorphosis took place and what it meant for the life of Jakartans are questions central to the story of the city, as is the role of both local and national leaders in the control and manipulation of processes of growth. As Christopher Silver reveals, Jakarta's place as Indonesia's most prestigious city, and its capital city, subjected it to conflicting approaches to planning, and placed its development within the vortex of national development. He reveals how colonialism, the struggle for independence and for improving the national condition, together with aspirations for economic modernization, contributed to the distinctive character of Southeast Asia's largest metropolitan area.