Regional governance in decentralizing Indonesia: Learning from the success of urban-rural cooperation in metropolitan Yogyakarta

Abstract

Asian urbanization has been typified by, among other things, the growth of rural-urban regions, in which functional urban areas have extended beyond established city boundaries into their immediate rural zones. In dealing with this extended urbanization, in the context of decentralizing Indonesia, urban-rural cooperation has become an important issue. This chapter explores key success factors of interlocal government cooperation in Greater Yogyakarta, which has shown evidence of effective regional infrastructure provision and rural environmental protection. By assessing the mechanism, process, and typology of the cooperation practiced, it reveals that there are several key success factors enabling effective interaction and collaboration between the participating urban and rural governments. The key success factors include common vision sharing and the building of strong leadership, a horizontal dialogue process, and openness and transparency.