Urban systems and equitable energy transitions: A multi-scalar approach to decarbonising Indonesia

Supervisors

A/Prof Alyas Widita (Monash University, Indonesia)

The project

This project looks at how the different design and construction methods of residential buildings, and the layout of their neighbourhoods affect their electricity usage across different types of housing and urban areas in Indonesia. As a result, the study will analyse decarbonisation pathways for predominant self-built housing practices and how these pathways may diverge from those of formal housing production amid Indonesia’s urban transformation, noting that most homes in Indonesia are self-built by individual owners, rather than by developers or formal housing companies.

The research will combine two kinds of data: detailed, ongoing time-series electricity usage records from Indonesia’s state-owned power company (PLN), and detailed information about buildings and their surrounding neighbourhood structures.

The research will subsequently investigate the energy use in and carbon emissions of self-built houses, and how these could be reduced. It will then compare if this path looks different from the path available to formally built housing (e.g. developer-built estates or apartments). It is important to research how energy and emissions could be reduced in the context of self-built homes, as Indonesian cities continue to grow apace and change.

The reasoning behind the need for this research is, if we don’t understand how building design and neighbourhood contexts affect energy use, decarbonisation policies risk favouring formal housing and will continue to overlook the self-built homes most Indonesians actually live in.

This research aims to fill this knowledge gap and provide evidence to support decarbonisation policies that work for the full range of housing in Indonesian cities, not just the most visible or formally documented types. Understanding both is necessary for a fair, inclusive energy transition and a low emissions future.