Tracing and Photographing Street Culture in Jakarta

Through Scene & Sound Vol.1, Unframed.it invited the younger generation to a city walking tour and casual discussion about the culture of public space usage in the Menteng area, Central Jakarta, on Saturday, 27 June 2026. The event, held at Balai Budaja, was themed ‘Cultural Exploration: Safeguarding Shared Living Space on the Streets’. Quoting a popular saying, ‘to see the culture of a nation, look at its traffic.’ Therefore, the way people use public spaces often reflects the values that live within them. How society treats pedestrians, respects fellow road users, responds to differences, maintains cleanliness, and shares space with others are daily habits that shape the experience of living together, while also becoming the cultural face of a city. The event began with participants joining a city walking tour in Menteng, a historic area designed as Indonesia’s first garden city during the Dutch colonial period. Along the way, participants were asked to observe violations or improperly used public spaces, including the use of pavements for trading and parking, vehicles going against the traffic flow, pavement areas that are not disability-friendly, and so forth. After the city walking tour, during a casual discussion, participants were invited to see the city not merely as a space to pass through, but as a space that holds experiences, memories, and meaning for the people who live in it. The chairman of the Peruja (Greater Jakarta Artists) community, Rindy Atmoko, admitted to experiencing culture shock in Jakarta. ‘Jakarta is indeed chaotic, the hustle and bustle is, in my opinion, very different from when I am in my hometown,’ he said. CEO of Step Into Jakarta, Indra Diwangkara, stated that previously no one cared about pedestrians. For this reason, he started walking. ‘Because walking is an activity with many benefits, it is healthy, then it costs nothing, and that eventually made many people start to join. Eventually, after the pandemic, walking tours exploded,’ he said. ‘This is in line with the Jakarta government’s focus on urban tourism.’ Brigadier Susan from the National Traffic Management Centre of the Indonesian National Police Traffic Corps reminded road users to always be careful and drive safely. ‘Everyone on the road has the same rights. Whether pedestrians, cyclists, or car users, all have the same rights. So do not encroach on other people’s lanes,’ she said.