Flood Vulnerability Mapping in Jakarta

Jakarta, Indonesia faces risks of catastrophic floods, to the extent that the capital city is being relocated to mitigate mass devastation. But who will be left behind amidst the near-term possibility of a climate disaster? Jakarta is not only Indonesia’s capital city, it is home to a large number of informal settlements that have historically been marginalized and forgotten. Our research seeks to assess the flood risks to North Jakarta as a whole and to identify which slum or slums are most vulnerable to flooding based on a set of climate stressors and topographic criteria. We then zoom in and apply layers of socioeconomic analysis, and infrastructure and services assessments to provide a framework on identifying informality, as well as assess the quality and quantity of data to reveal the gaps in knowledge around informality. We have tried to map out what factors make these areas more vulnerable to flood risks from a spatially focused lens. In doing so, we hope to illuminate questions around the inequitable distribution of vulnerability in marginalized populations (informal settlements), mapping justice, and to contribute to the discourse around what a community gains or loses with the process of mapping, and the right to remain unmapped.