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Jakarta–Bandung Mega Urban Region (JBMUR), located in the western part of Java Island, Indonesia, is experiencing rapid regional development which can be observed from its increase in population density, massive changes of land-use from agricultural land into built-up area, rapid development of infrastructure and facilities, and advances in economic activities. Unfortunately, problems related to sustainability emerge along with this rapid regional development, primarily in decrease in environmental quality and social performance, leading to unsustainable development. This study aims: (1) to develop indicators promoting sustainable development at the subdistrict level, named the local sustainability index (LSI), utilizing factor analysis; (2) to observe local-scale spatial interdependency by employing local indicator of spatial association (LISA) statistics; and (3) to identify regional clusters based on LSI scores using K-means clustering method. Our LISA results show that spatial interdependency of local sustainability performances exists between local-scale spatial units: the LSI of a subdistrict is influenced by the sustainability state of the surrounding areas. Meanwhile, the clustering results show that most subdistricts in JBMUR are categorized as members of cluster 1 with low LSI values in economic and social dimensions but moderate in environmental dimensions.

The complexity of regional disparity has encouraged viewing this issue from various perspectives, one of which is the role of physical geography in disparity. On Java Island, an observation on the role of geographical aspect is needed due to the spatial sturdiness of disparity. This study aims to provide quantitative proof that differences in the physical geography of Java’s regions account for the persistent regional disparity. We applied two approaches namely correlation and typology, employing data of physical geographical attributes and development level. The methods used were correlation analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and one-way ANOVA. Based on the correlation approach, we found the association of regional development level with terrain ruggedness, soil parent materials, sea depth, elevation, and precipitation. Then, based on endowment-based typology approach, Java’s regions could be grouped into lowland, volcanic, old volcanic, and calcareous dry regions. The two latter performed poorly in all socio-economic indicators examined.

Although uneven regional development has long been an issue in Java, most parts of the territory experienced an increased level of development over the last two decades. Due to the variance in local background and spatial heterogeneity, the driving factors of the development level should, theoretically, vary over space. Therefore, in this study, we aim to investigate the local factors that influence the development level of Java’s regions. We used the spatiotemporal pattern analysis, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, and geographically weighted regression (GWR), utilizing the regional development index as the predicted variable, and the social level, economy, infrastructure, land use, and environmental barriers as predictors. As per our results, it was found that the level of development in Java has improved over the past two decades. Metropolitan areas continued to lead this improvement. All the predictors that we examined significantly affected regional development. However, the spatial pattern of the local regression coefficients of Human Development Index (HDI), landslide, paddy conversion, and crime shifted due to changes in the spatial concentration of development activities.

The internet penetration on young villagers gives rise to question about its effects on the social interaction and behavior patterns as it accelerates the interaction with the wider network. However, the internet could possibly decrease both the social interaction with local people at the village and the dependency toward native villagers as internet utilization allows the users to be more selective in terms of interactions according to their interests. This research aims to examine the impacts of the Internet through a dystopian view by comparing the degrees of senses of place, participation in local activities, and social capital among internet and non-internet users using a statistical approach. The analysis of variance and linear regression were employed in the present study. The results revealed that the internet did strengthen both broad and local social capital. It also supported young villager&rsquo, s participation in local activities. Nevertheless, the internet was observed to decline the villager&rsquo, s sense of place, especially the desire to remain a resident in the native village. Better access to information and network gained by the users elevated their chances to move outside the village when better opportunities were observed elsewhere.