Land Governance and Flood Resilience in Greater Jakarta, a Spatial Study

Rapid land conversion across the upstream-downstream continuum of Greater Jakarta has systematically compromised the hydrological buffering capacities of critical catchment corridors [1][5]. Uncontrolled urban built-up expansion across the Ciliwung and Cisadane river basins diminishes natural water absorption zones while intensifying downstream runoff accumulation and localized inundation hazards [5][7]. When compounded by acute coastal and inland subsidence dynamics across northern lowlands, spatial exposure transforms seasonal meteorological events into recurring catastrophic flood disasters [7][8].

Conventional mitigation frameworks in the metropolitan region have historically prioritized hard hydraulic engineering structures over integrated spatial land governance mechanisms [4][5]. Administrative fragmentation between regional authorities, municipal governments, and sectoral planning agencies creates severe enforcement discrepancies within statutory spatial plans (RTRW) [5][7]. Upstream zoning violations proceed largely detached from downstream retention requirements, leaving private and public land developments misaligned with broader basin-wide hydrological resilience objectives [2][5].

Bridging these structural governance deficiencies requires a rigorous spatial-institutional synthesis capable of evaluating the spatial interdependence between statutory land zoning, morphological sprawl, and hazard mitigation [1][3][7]. Examining how cross-jurisdictional decision-making processes interact with multi-scale geospatial indicators is essential for transitioning from disjointed reactive measures to proactive polycentric basin governance [3][5][7]. Such an analysis provides clear empirical diagnostics regarding the institutional bottlenecks that currently impede sustainable water retention and adaptive land management across transboundary river networks [5][7].

This spatial investigation evaluates the operational alignment between land administration instruments, urban form dynamics, and flood vulnerability across Greater Jakarta [1][5][8]. By integrating multi-source cartographic datasets, regional spatial planning inconsistencies, and basin-level institutional frameworks, the study advances actionable insights into spatial flood governance [3][5][7]. The resulting empirical and theoretical synthesis equips regional spatial planning bodies with transferable spatial strategies to strengthen long-term urban resilience against accelerating environmental stresses [1][7][8].