Spatial Justice for Urban Informal Sector: The Case of Indonesia

Urbanization and urban development in Indonesian cities had resulted in co-existence of formal and informal sector, despite the fact that restructuring of physical and economic activities had caused the core of the city to shift from a manufacturing center to a services and financial activities. Intensive and borderless flows of investment, goods, information and people contribute significantly to the co-existing formal and informal sector, creating spatial injustice. The condition was further enhanced by the Asian Economic Crisis at the end of 20^th century, which for Indonesia was coupled by political crisis that led to the ending of the 33 years long centralized-regime. The commencement of 21^st century in Indonesia –known in Indonesia as the era of reformation– was marked with the implementation of a new decentralization law in 2001, which should have given more opportunities to city government in their attempt at creating spatial justice for the citizen including the informal sector. This study will elaborate the positioning–contestation–repositioning of the informal sector in two local cities in Indonesia whose city governments have adopted contrasting standpoint on informal sectors. By applying qualitative approach on two local cities through on-site observation, coupled with several interviews of key person from the city governments and informal sectors, as well as other important actors, also through study on secondary data, conducted approximately one decade after the implementation of the new decentralization law in Indonesia, this study aims at understanding the underlying process of the production of spatial (in)justice.