City Spread

The Jakarta Post - WEEKENDER | Sun, 10/26/2008 6:30 PM |

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Jakarta is changing all the time. There are the constants – the traffic jams (getting worse, as we all know), the social divide, the air pollution – but the city looks very different from 10 or even five years ago. Suburbs like Kelapa Gading have come into their own and snazzy restaurants are refuges from the grime for a young, emerging middle-class.

These young people, in reasonably well-paying jobs and with disposable income to spare, are enjoying the good life at the malls, restaurants and recreation spots around the city. And even when they don’t have the cash, they are getting into the lifestyle of living on credit to fuel their lifestyle.

The embracing of paying-with-plastic is part of our centerpiece in this issue. Another part is the ballooning of the young generation’s waistlines, as changing eating patterns lead to early onset of middle-aged spread. Their own “urban growth” from fast food, entertaining and a sedentary lifestyle is an inevitable offshoot of the so-called modern lifestyle, and ironic in a city where many of our fellow residents are struggling to fill their stomachs.

Catering to that need to look good despite all the temptations around us are the booming fitness clubs. They have got young urbanites lifting weights and hitting the treadmill with the aim, they say, of getting healthy. And, of course, keeping up appearances.

 

Bruce Emond

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