Jakarta, the most populated city on the planet with 42 million inhabitants, is sinking rapidly.
This situation, which threatens the lives of the population of the capital of Indonesia, is at a critical point.
Currently, urban development and the environmental crisis converge alarmingly, causing Jakarta to sink.
Why the city of Jakarta is sinking
Firstly, the excessive extraction of groundwater is currently the main reason why the city of Jakarta is sinking.
According to data from the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN, this practice, along with the weight of the urban infrastructure and the natural subsidence of sediments, has generated ground subsidence rates that in many areas exceed several decimeters annually.
In particular, it is the north of Jakarta that records the most critical levels. There, several areas are already below sea level.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the absence of a sufficient drinking water network has forced a considerable part of the population to extract water from the aquifers.
This dynamics increased the subsidence and compromised the balance of the subsoil, raising the vulnerability of the capital as the 21st century progresses.
A megacity without structured planning
The demographic magnitude of Jakarta exceeds the sum of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Portugal, according to the UN.
The city gathers more inhabitants than 23 of the 27 countries of the European Union, with one of the highest urban densities on the planet.
Throughout its history, Jakarta has been shaped by successive historical layers, from the colonial era to the present.
The sustained arrival of migrants seeking employment and better services intensified the pressure on spaces and resources, shaping a social and urban environment of enormous contrasts.
This growth did not arise from structured planning, which contributed to the current problems of the megacity.
Climate vulnerability and recurrent threats
As a coastal city, the capital suffers from increasingly frequent floods, exacerbated by the rise in sea level due to climate change and extreme rainfall.
The combination of meteorological phenomena and sea level rise has generated recurrent episodes that threaten both the infrastructure and the quality of life of its inhabitants.
“This scenario makes Jakarta a paradigmatic case of the challenges faced by Asian megacities in the face of advancing climate crisis,” emphasized analysts from the UN cited in Wired.
Extreme events have become a structural concern for the most populated city in the world.
Solutions to flooding in Jakarta and ongoing projects
In response to this issue, national and local authorities are implementing various strategies to address the crisis.
One of the most significant is the “Giant Sea Wall.” It is a system of coastal defenses designed to protect the city from tides and sea incursions.
Other key projects include:
- Strengthening public transportation with the expansion of metro lines and light rail systems
- Program for the restoration and normalization of urban rivers to optimize drainage
- Partial relocation of the central administration to the new capital, Nusantara, on the island of Borneo
The administrative relocation is presented as a territorial redistribution strategy to reduce pressure on Jakarta.
However, the city faces difficulties and will not immediately solve the high economic density of the main city and, therefore, the problem of it sinking.
The coexistence between modern business areas and informal neighborhoods creates social fragmentation.
This requires decisive public policies in housing, healthcare, and infrastructure, according to UN analysts.
