Urban land expansion in Indonesia 1992–2012: evidence from satellite‐detected luminosity

Land conversion to urban use typically accompanies economic development but raises concerns about food security. Debates of these issues often rely on incomplete and incompatible evidence. This study uses satellite‐detected luminosity, from 1992 to 2012, to examine the urban land expansion of 41 major urban areas in Indonesia. The trend annual expansion rate is 2.0 per cent, which is comparable to the rate for India and just one‐third of the rate for China, as estimated with the same data and methods. Prior to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/98, the rate of urban expansion was faster, and the income elasticity of urban expansion was much higher. About 85 per cent of the area of urban expansion had formerly been grassland, shrub or woodland, and just 7.0 per cent was former cropland so food security concerns about urban expansion may be overstated.