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View all search resultsLonger access to free public spaces eases Jakartans’ lives
For someone whose day unfolds while most of the city sleeps, the park offers more than just open space. It is where Dewi can pause to catch her breath and summon the strength to carry on.
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Illuminating Jakarta: Residents observe lighting installations on May 23 at the Jakarta Light Festival 2025 in Lapangan Banteng Park, Jakarta. The festival features various interactive light art installations, video mapping performances on building facades around the park as well as performances by several well-known Indonesian musicians. (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
A
s the sun sets behind the skyline of South Jakarta, 36-year-old Dewi Rihayaningsih heads to Langsat Park, her quiet refuge after a long day working as a housekeeper at a nearby restaurant. Beneath the rustling trees and the warm glow of park lamps, she finds a moment of calm.
On Saturday evening, the night before Jakarta’s 498th birthday, the park buzzed with more life than usual. Yet for Dewi, it remains what it has quietly become: A resting place, a brief sanctuary between the demands of her two jobs. After her day shift, she spends her nights driving for a ride-hailing app, often working until 3 a.m.
For someone whose day unfolds while most of the city sleeps, the park offers more than just open space. It is where she pauses to catch her breath, listen to the music and summon the strength to carry on.
A single mother of three living in Jagakarsa, 15 kilometers away, Dewi does not see the park’s 24-hour access as a luxury; to her, it is a lifeline.
“I’m glad they won’t send me away anymore if I sit here past midnight,” she said.
Read also: Pramono’s 24-hour parks plan raises security concerns
Langsat Park, covering 3.6 hectares of greenery, has been under public scrutiny in recent weeks following reports of inappropriate behavior among some nighttime visitors. But Dewi is undeterred.
