Government housing policy in Indonesia 1900–1940

Colonial society in Indonesia during the first forty years of the 20th century faced housing problems for both the European and native populations analogous to those in many Third World countries today. Some colonial cities tried to provide more housing first by annexing more land and so making building sites available and second by supporting the few private building societies which arose. In the mid-1920s housing proponents organized two national housing congresses. One result was the creation of limited liability public housing companies financed jointly by the central and city governments. By 1940 these companies had failed to provide more housing and so improve housing conditions particularly for the urban native population. The poverty of the masses, the shortage of funds, increasing populations, and government priorities which existed in colonial Indonesia are different in scale in Third World countries today and one may wonder if present-day solutions to housing problems will be any more effective.