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pecks of dust float in the air, with the afternoon haze scattering soft light on the faces of want-to-be famous Instagrammers posing against the kaleidoscopic street art mural on the inner wall of Kalijodo Park in North Jakarta.

Looking over the park from the top of the steps leading over the inner wall of Kalijodo, it is a very different scene to before then-governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama forcefully cleared out the area in February 2016.

Once Jakarta’s largest and oldest red-light district offering illegal gambling and adult entertainment, Kalijodo has transformed into a vibrant community where skaters, creatives and families can gather together in a melting pot of people from different social classes.  

“Even though we are different, we are one and we don’t see the differences,” said 20-year-old skateboarder Indra Nur Halim.

“I don’t just skate for fun, I want to be able to get a sponsor and become a professional skateboarder,” Indra said while taking a break, with beads of sweat on his forehead.

Indra is part of a burgeoning community that gathers at Kalijodo.

“Kalijodo has changed a lot. It has become a good place, a positive place. It’s a lot better than before,” 16-year-old skater Andika Priyandi said. Just like Indra, he comes to Kalijodo to practice skateboarding.

Designed by architect Toto Anggoro, the skate park is the first international-standard venue in the city that is free of charge for the public.

Though the skate park is a central feature of Kalijodo, it’s not the only reason visitors come. The playground in the front of the entrance attracts children and their families.

“I come here at least once a week with my daughter because she loves playing here,” said Nunung Musrifah, a mother and resident of Jl. Teluk Gong Raya, North Jakarta.

Situated by Ciliwung River in North Jakarta, Kalijodo has a varied and colorful history. In Dutch colonial times, it was a popular meeting place for Chinese-Indonesians who wanted to find their soul mate.

It wasn’t until the late 1960s that the area became Jakarta’s red-light district, den of organized crime, urban unemployment and a corrupt bureaucracy.

Kalijodo has been transformed into a 3.4-hectare green space and is one of the few integrated child-friendly public spaces (RPTRAs) in Jakarta — a welcome relief for locals in the otherwise concrete jungle.

The latest data from the city administration shows that green and blue spaces in Jakarta covered less than 10 percent of the city, far behind the 30 percent required by the Spatial Planning Law.

Deden Rukmana, an urban planning expert from Savannah State University, said Kalijodo should be used as a model for future transformation of urban spaces into green spaces in Jakarta.

“Kalijodo Park offers many activities for people all ages and backgrounds, which will improve the health, inclusiveness and social cohesion of Jakarta’s residents,” he said.  

— Dominic Elsome, Natasha Harianto and Clarissa Adeline also contributed to the story.
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Marisa Kuhlewein visited Indonesia with support from the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan mobility program. The writer is a journalism student at Queensland University of Technology (QUT).