T

he abhorrent living conditions of the destitute, the absurdly mismanaged traffic systems, the lack of adequate and reliable public transportation, and the absence of sidewalks are all unfortunate symptoms of Jakarta'€™s social illness.

But now, Jakarta'€™s future seems to at last show some signs of imminent change.

In June, Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama, Jakarta'€™s governor, unveiled two exciting public housing projects to the public.

The projects, according to Ahok, will be incorporated, in one instance, above the underground MRT station in Kampung Bandan, North Jakarta.

The other will serve as '€œmixed-use'€ apartment complexes, which are believed to house traditional marketplaces on their lower levels, not dissimilar to the more pricey private complexes typically situated above high-end shopping malls throughout the city.

Though Ahok hasn'€™t specified the costs of living for the 12 marketplace-incorporated complexes, he has claimed that the new tenement situated above Kampung Bandan will range from only Rp 45,000 (US$3.35) to Rp 65,000 per month (water and sanitation maintenance included).

And though Jakarta is one of the most populous cities in the world, still it is incredibly barren of human access.

Jakarta, marred by its incredible wealth disparity, seems to at last be making strides to achieving more balanced social conditions.

Of course, the city has a long way to go to even be mentioned in the same breath as its more accessible metropolitan neighbors, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

As fortune would have it, however, Jakarta appears to be on the threshold of achieving this progress, if only gradually.

The 2015 New Cities Summit convened in Jakarta in June, where nearly 800 representatives of governments, multi-national corporations, think-tanks, artists and innovators met to discuss the future of the world'€™s cities, with Jakarta at the heart of its program.

But for any change to become lasting, the social milieu of the city needs to be wed with the innovation of the modern city.

After all, integrated cities equate to more sociable cities.

Take, for instance, mass transit. Subways '€” as opposed to private taxis or traffic-prone buses '€” allow easy, quick, and cheap access to every corner of a city, thus connecting its habitants not only to more remote parts of the city, but to each other.

Jakarta'€™s administrators seem to acknowledge the importance of this role, and the upcoming MRT system should speak to its merit.

But the lack of public parks and sidewalks remain an elusive necessity. As the cornerstones of modern-city infrastructure, parks and sidewalks serve as essential
breeding grounds for social interaction and offer a healthy alternative to the vast, lonely passages of the modern shopping mall.

Jakarta needs fresh air, not another Abercrombie.

And though Jakarta is one of the most populous cities in the world, still it is incredibly barren of human access.

Outdoor exploration on foot has to be navigated on the narrow edges of major thoroughfares, wherein loss of limb or even death lurk behind every Blue Bird or angkot (public minivan).

Ahok'€™s example is a good one. By affording low-rent housing based on the model of private mix-housing accommodations, he has lifted a lever to upward social mobility. But his example cannot be confined only to housing.

Jakarta will remain plagued by social inequality and the continuation of the status quo if all aspects of city life aren'€™t made more accessible.

Jakarta is a city torn between the two extremes of hyper wealth and poverty.

In order to bridge this gap and turn one of the most unlivable cities of the world into a global powerhouse of social modernity, Jakarta needs to invest in the future of its people, not its world-class shopping malls.

With one of the world'€™s fastest rising middle classes, it seems only appropriate that its capital city resemble the new face of its rising people.