Under a highway connecting the city center of Jakarta with Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, 4 illegal settlements have grown over the course of 30 years.
Homes are integrated into the highway's concrete. Some have tiles or truck banners laid out on the ground, and wooden and metal walls divide the individual partitions. Doors and windows provide some privacy and protection for what few possessions they have. Others live in communal spaces deep beneath the roadways, with woolen blankets marking the individual living spaces.
Lurking in the highway’s shadow, natural light is luxury and most families bribe workers of local electricity providers to get electricity into their homes.
Many came from far-flung provinces of the country to try their luck in the big city, and are not even registered, as these neighbourhoods were built illegally.
Homes are integrated into the highway's concrete. Some have tiles or truck banners laid out on the ground, and wooden and metal walls divide the individual partitions. Doors and windows provide some privacy and protection for what few possessions they have. Others live in communal spaces deep beneath the roadways, with woolen blankets marking the individual living spaces.
Lurking in the highway’s shadow, natural light is luxury and most families bribe workers of local electricity providers to get electricity into their homes.
Many came from far-flung provinces of the country to try their luck in the big city, and are not even registered, as these neighbourhoods were built illegally.
This story provides a little insight into this coexistence.