Jakarta’s Villages Face Displacement Amid Heritage Projects

Irna Nurlina completed a PhD thesis examining how heritage projects impact housing in Jakarta’s urban villages, known as kampungs. The research focuses on the period between 2013 and 2018, when evictions increased and grassroots heritage movements emerged in response to state and private sector-led urban management. Nurlina used ethnographic methods in Jakarta’s Kota Tua and the kampungs of Luar Batang and Pekojan to analyze how constructions of heritage affect residents’ housing security.

The study argues that top-down heritage projects prioritize capital and often lead to gentrification through the commodification of space. Residents are actively employing “heritage-making from below” to resist displacement and reclaim their place in the city.

However, these grassroots efforts also have unanticipated consequences. The research highlights the complex interplay between different authorities and the new political dynamics emerging from these tensions, leaving open questions about the long-term sustainability of resident-led heritage initiatives and their ability to fully address the root causes of displacement.