Rural-to-urban reclassification and its impact on urbanization in Indonesia: a case study of West Java Province

Rural-urban reclassification is a process in which rural areas evolve into urban areas, leading to significant changes in population, economy, and infrastructure. This process is a component of urbanization. Generally, urbanization studies focus on major cities and their surrounding areas as rural regions transform into urban ones. Meanwhile, according to the latest reclassification data, the conversion of rural areas into urban ones has also occurred in locations distant from existing city centers, thus creating new urban areas. This article’s objective is to analyze the pattern of rural-to-urban reclassification in West Java, focusing on the gradual shift of localities from rural to urban. The study employs descriptive analysis of statistical data related to rural-urban transformation, population size, and growth. The study reveals that the rural-urban transformation in West Java is multifaceted and dynamic, encompassing challenges and opportunities. The study’s findings underscore the need for effective policies and strategies to manage the urbanization process and address the challenges related to rural-urban transformation.


Introduction
The urban population in Indonesia has seen a consistent upward trend, as revealed by the 2020 longform census data.According to this census, the urban population has now reached 56.4%.This percentage has progressively increased from 22.4% in 1980, 31.0% in 1990, 41.9% in 2000, and 49.7% in 2010 [1][2][3].Statistic data also reveal that the majority of urban population growth has been concentrated on Java Island, particularly in well-developed major cities.In 2020, 65.8% of the urban population in Indonesia resided on Java Island [4], a relatively lower share compared to 68% in 2010, suggesting that the growth of urban population is spreading beyond Java Island.
Urban population growth is generally influenced by three main determinants: natural increase in urban areas, migration, and reclassification (i.e., shifting boundaries or changes in the definitions of settlements) [5,6].According to the UNFPA Monograph series on Urbanization in Indonesia [7], internal migration in Indonesia experienced a slowdown between 1995-2000 and 2005-2010.Meanwhile, data on rural-urban reclassification from Statistics Indonesia [8,9] indicate a significant increase.Reclassification generally occurs when the urban boundaries are extended or reduced, leading to the enlargement or reduction of continuous urban zones.Additionally, this involves including or removing separate urban or rural regions based on changes in population, economic size, and density [10].
Historically, studies on urbanization have focused mainly on urban areas, particularly large cities and their surrounding regions [5,11].By examining the reclassification data, it is demonstrated that urbanization occurs not only in major cities and their immediate vicinity, but also extends to regions far from the existing urban areas.In this era of globalization, rural areas have become integral to the global capital accumulation process, experiencing similar urbanization processes as urban areas [11,12] which have not often been the focus of previous urbanization studies.Moreover, according to Jiang et al. in 2022 [13], reclassification has received significantly less focus than natural growth and migration.This discrepancy is mainly attributed to constraints in data availability and methodological limitations.
The classification of urban villages is based on three main variables: population density, percentage of agricultural households, and availability of urban facilities.More than 50% of the reclassifications in Indonesia occurred on Java Island, with West Java Province contributing 11.8% to the national reclassification rate.This reclassification was governed by the Statistics Indonesia regulations number 120 in 2020 and number 37 in 2010 [8,9], defining two categories: rural-rural (perdesaan) and urbanrural (desa perkotaan).Within a decade (2010-2020), the proportion of urban villages (desa perkotaan) in Indonesia increased from 20.47% to 35.31%.This study aims to examine the trend of reclassification in Indonesia, with a specific focus on the West Java Province, which has experienced one of the most significant reclassification processes in the country.The article analyzes the patterns of rural-to-urban transformation in West Java, focusing on the gradual change in localities from rural to urban, population growth, and the development of small and medium cities.The study uses descriptive statistical data analysis on rural-urban classification in 2010 and 2020, GDRP in the study area, policy documents, and relevant previous studies.

Methods
This research is descriptive-analytic, based primarily on secondary data.This study uses data from Statistics Indonesia, including the Rural-Urban Classification in 2010 and 2020, the number of populations, and the structure of the economy from the study areas in 2010 and 2020 obtained from the province and regencies figures, as well as data from the National Population Censuses in 2010 and 2020.The data are available online on the Statistics Indonesia website.The study also overlays the data on the classification of rural-urban villages in West Java in 2010 and 2020 with the geospatial data of the administrative boundaries of the villages in West Java obtained from the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) in 2021.
West Java Province is selected as the research study area based on rural-urban classification data.West Java is one of the provinces with the highest increase in the number of urban villages in Indonesia.The highest number of reclassifications in West Java occurred in non-industrial regions, namely Garut, Kuningan, and Tasikmalaya Regency.These three regencies have the highest proportion of Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) from the agricultural sector, which decreased over the past ten years.

Highlight urbanization in Indonesia
According to Statistics Indonesia's report on the 2020 Census of Indonesia, the nation's population has reached a total of 270.20 million [14], an increase of 32.56 million compared to the 2010 Census results.The population growth rate for 2010-2020 was 1.25%, which was slower than the previous period 2000-2010, which was 1.49%.Meanwhile, more than half of Indonesia's population now resides in urban areas, a continuous increase from previous decades.Java Island remains the main center of urbanization in Indonesia, accounting for 66.3% of the country's urban population, with a share of 65.8%.All provinces in Java Island have urbanization levels greater than 50%.Notably, the highest level of urbanization after DKI Jakarta is found in the Riau Islands, reaching 87.1%.The rapid development of Batam City significantly influences the high level of urbanization in the Riau Islands.In Kalimantan, East Kalimantan is the province with the highest level of urbanization, aligned with ongoing development plans.Urbanization rates are believed to be an essential indicator of socioeconomic development.To gain a more in-depth understanding of the dynamics of urbanization within a specific region, further analysis should be performed on a smaller regional scale.

One of the characteristics of urbanization that occurs in Indonesia and other countries in Southeast
Asia is the shift of urban areas from having a single center to having multiple centers of activity [14].The urban center has grown outward in all directions, surpassing its official borders.These expanded areas now consist of various economic entities, where agricultural and non-agricultural operations frequently co-exist near urban centers [15].Another characteristic frequently mentioned is the reduced population growth in urban centers, accompanied by an increase in population growth in the surrounding areas [5,16].As per Brennan-Galvin's findings (2001) in Firman (2016), this trend has been observed in numerous major cities within developing nations, such as Mexico City, Bangkok, Shanghai, and Bogota.
The increase in urban population is closely related to the rural-to-urban reclassification process between 2010 and 2020.At the national level, Indonesia experienced an addition of 13,854 urban localities (desa perkotaan), indicating the transformation of rural areas into urban territories and the expansion of urban areas.The provinces with the highest increase in urban localities were Jawa Tengah (Central Java), followed by Jawa Timur (East Java) and Jawa Tengah (Central Java).Outside of Java Island, the provinces that showed significant increases were Aceh, Sumatera Utara (North Sumatra), and Lampung.An interesting observation was made in Jawa Barat (West Java), where the proportion of its urban population was the highest among the provinces on Java Island (excluding DKI Jakarta) and ranked third in Indonesia.However, the number of urban locality reclassifications in Jawa Barat was lower than that of Jawa Tengah (Central Java) and Jawa Timur (East Java).The subsequent sub-chapter will provide a more detailed analysis of Jawa Barat.

Rural-urban reclassification in West Java
West Java Province is a province that directly borders the capital city of Indonesia, DKI Jakarta, with the largest population in Indonesia.It consists of 18 regencies and nine cities, covering an area of 35,377.76square kilometers (Figure 1).The results of the 2020 Population Census show that 48.27 million people live in this province, with a growth rate of 1.11% per year [14].The largest population is in Bogor Regency, with 5.43 million people or 11.24% of the total population of West Java.This is followed by Bandung Regency, with 3.62 million people or 7.51%.Meanwhile, the highest population growth rate (PGR) is in West Bandung Regency (1.65%), followed by Bekasi Regency and Depok City (1.64%).On the other hand, the area with the lowest PGR is the provincial capital, Bandung City (0.2%).The level of urbanization in West Java in 2020 reached 77.5%, an increase of 11.8% from 2010.Unfortunately, the 2020 urban population data is currently only available at the provincial level and has not been broken down to the district/city level.Therefore, information regarding the level of urbanization at the district/city level will refer to the data from 2010 [17].Areas with autonomous city status have a level of urbanization of 100%, except Tasikmalaya City (91.0%) and Banjar City (70.5%).Meanwhile, for municipalities, Bandung Regency has the highest level of urbanization (84.1%), followed by Bekasi Regency (80.1%) and Bogor Regency (79.0%).Bandung Regency is adjacent to the provincial capital, while Bekasi and Bogor directly border the national capital.The level of urbanization is closely related to the dominant economic sector in that area.The most significant proportion of the regional gross domestic product (GDP) of areas with high levels of urbanization comes from the manufacturing sector, with a contribution of more than 50%.On the other hand, the lowest level of urbanization is in Tasikmalaya Regency (25.2%),Ciamis Regency (29.4%), and Subang Regency (31.36%), which are areas dominated by the agricultural sector.The increase in urbanization levels in West Java is closely related to the increase in the number of urban localities, which has occurred through the reclassification process.The gradual change of localities from being 'rural' to 'urban' can be seen as a fundamental representation of the overall rural-urban transformation in Java [14].The number of West Java's villages underwent a rural-to-urban reclassification was 2,659 in 2010 and 4,295 in 2020, indicating an increase in the number of urban localities by 1,636.In general, districts that experience significant growth in urban villages (desa perkotaan) are those with relatively low levels of urbanization.These regions are currently undergoing growth and development due to various triggers.The region with the highest reclassification is Garut, followed by Kuningan, Tasikmalaya, and Cianjur Regencies.These three regencies have relatively low urbanization levels compared to other West Java areas.In areas with high levels of urbanization (more than 50%), the reclassification of rural to urban areas is not significant.The change in rural-to-urban classification in West Java can be seen in the Figure 3.  Looking at the reclassification map, many changes have occurred in the northern part of West Java, where urban areas are almost merging.Depok City, Bekasi Regency and City, and Bogor, which are extended urban areas of Jakarta, form an urban corridor along with the Bandung Urban Area, extending to the Cirebon and Tasikmalaya Urban Areas.Areas that were primarily rural ten years ago have mainly transformed into urban villages.Evidently, the extended urban area from Jakarta has reached Karawang Regency and continues to Purwakarta and Bandung.Examining the changes at the village level, the reclassification pattern involves the expansion of existing urban areas and the formation of new urban areas that are separate from the former urban areas.Meanwhile, the southern part of West Java is still predominantly rural.However, as mentioned earlier, the regencies in this southern region, namely Garut, Tasikmalaya, and Cianjur, experienced the most growth in urban villages.This situation requires special attention because the change in status from rural to urban is accompanied by a shift in land use from agriculture to non-agricultural and from non-builtup areas to built-up areas.Such conditions have broad and complex implications related to other aspects, such as the environment, food security, and demographic aspects of the population.Although the changes are currently more pronounced in the northern part of these regencies, if early anticipation measures are not taken, the trend will likely spread to the southern region, which has a significant conservation function.

Rural to urban dynamics in the highest reclassification region in West Java
This section will delve into the dynamics within three regions that experienced the most significant reclassification of urban villages between 2010 and 2020: Garut, Kuningan, and Tasikmalaya Regencies.As seen in the table, Garut Regency had an addition of 143 urban villages for ten years, Kuningan had 123, and Tasikmalaya had 119.Not all new urban villages originated from rural villages that changed their status; new urban villages also formed by dividing or splitting existing urban villages.Urbanization is often associated with the level of economic development of a country [5].Regions with high levels of economic development also tend to have high urbanization rates.The same applies to urbanization through reclassification processes, which are linked to the economic structures of each respective area.As regions become more urbanized, agricultural activities or extractive sectors tend to decrease, as shown in Figure 7,8,9.All regencies experience a decrease in the contribution of the agricultural sector in Gross Domestic Regional Product (GDRP) and an increase in the sector of trade and services, while the manufacturing sector has not developed significantly.In accordance with a study conducted by Sampurno et al. in 2017, the extent of rice fields in West Java experienced a significant reduction of 17.35% during the period from 2006 to 2016 [20].Furthermore, the Agricultural Survey of 2013 also indicated a decline in agricultural activities, with the number of farming households in West Java decreasing by 29.61% between 2003 and 2013 [21].
Figure 7 illustrates that over a span of ten years, the percentage of Garut Regency's GDRP derived from the agricultural sector has decreased by 14%, accompanied by an overall increase in the contributions from the construction, trade, and services sectors.Additionally, based on Sampurno et al.'s study, Garut Regency has experienced a substantial reduction in rice field area, amounting to 26.44% [20], which is higher than the average reduction observed in West Java.This trend is mirrored in Kuningan and Tasikmalaya Regencies.Sequentially, the contribution of the agricultural sector in these two regencies has declined by 9% and 12%, as depicted in Figures 8 and 9.The extent of rice fields in both regencies experienced a substantial reduction, specifically 41.55% for Kuningan and 41.93% for Tasikmalaya during the period from 2006 to 2016.The trigger for the growth of urban areas in these three regions is primarily driven by trade and services, including tourism and other sectors.Kuningan Regency, which directly borders the industrial area of Cirebon, has experienced significant development in the sector of trade and services, transportation and warehousing, and education services.However, this area has not extended its activities to the industrial sector concentrated in the core city.

Conclusion
Over the past decade, rural-urban reclassification has transformed the urban landscape of Indonesia, including West Java.The reclassification underscores the expansion of urban areas into rural territories, revealing two distinct patterns.Firstly, it unfolds within extended metropolitan areas, leading to the enlargement of existing urban zones, affecting major, medium-sized, and small cities with varying scales of expansion.Secondly, it materializes in entirely new areas separate from established urban regions, typically smaller in scale and characterized by non-agricultural economic activities like tourism, exemplified by places such as Garut and Tasikmalaya.While this reclassification signifies improvements in service facilities, it also raises concerns about the shift of rural areas to urban status, impacting infrastructure development and land use changes.As urban status expands, agricultural land diminishes, posing challenges for regional food security and environmental sustainability.The direction of urban development requires careful management to address the increasing urbanization levels coupled with a decrease in agricultural areas without systematic substitutions.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Administrative map of West Java.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Urban percentage in West Java by municipalities and cities in 2010 [17]. 79