Maya Chen Building a More Livable Jakarta

The urban planner on cooler neighbourhoods, flood resilience and cities designed for people.

Maya Chen, a fictional urban planner in this illustrated profile, begins a Jakarta neighbourhood workshop with a map of shade and flood-prone paths. Residents mark the routes children take to school and the places where water interrupts access. Those everyday journeys help set the order of proposed improvements.

Her imagined team combines drainage work with trees, covered waiting areas and small spaces for local traders. The design is reviewed with maintenance crews before construction so responsibilities are clear. The profile’s argument is that a more livable city emerges when technical expertise and local knowledge can correct one another.

Illustrated inaugural edition · Fictional editorial copy