Book excerpt: In this book, the first on the planning history of Jarkarta, able expert Christopher Silver describes how planning has shaped urban development in Southeast Asia, and in particular how its largest city, Jakarta, Indonesia, was transformed from a colonial capital of approximately 150,000 in 1900 to a megacity of 12–13 million inhabitants in 2000. Placing the city's planning history within local, national and international contexts, exploring not only the formal planning actions, but how planning was shaped by broader political, economic, social and cultural factors in Indonesia’s development, this book is an excellent resource for academics, students and professionals involved in urban planning, history and geography as well as other interested parties.