Features of Urbanization and Changes in the Thermal Environment in Jakarta, Indonesia

Asian megacities have experienced rapid population growth and continue to grow, causing serious environmental problems. The characteristics of urbanization in these areas differ from those experienced during the growth of cities in Western countries. It is perilous to consider an environmental planning system only from the experience of a highly developed country, since the underlying processes in developed countries often differ from those in developing countries. In order to deal with urbanization and environmental problems caused by urbanization in Asian megacities—adding to the interactions between humans and the natural environment—what environmental functions the landscape elements exhibit, how they connect with each other, and how the relationships between them change in the course of urbanization must be understood. This study describes landscape changes and processes that occurred in the urban fringe of Jakarta, and examines the environmental impacts of the changes in urban climate through numerical simulation analyses and field surveys. It then discusses how to guide urbanization along a more sustainable trajectory in terms of the future landscape structure and human behavior.