Urban neoliberalism and environmentalism as local initiatives in Indonesia

Massive industrialisation in urban Indonesia has resulted in the emergence of neoliberalism that capitalises the space in the city. With Bandung as a case in point, this paper briefly discusses several key triggering issues that have led this city to experience recurring environmental problems. The emergence of local initiatives enacted by groups of young people provides an insight into how environmental problems have become issues for the future leaders in the country. Drawing on fieldwork in Bandung between 2013 and 2014, the paper discusses nine youth-based environmental organisations whose common visions are educating urban citizens with actions for sustaining pro-environmental behaviour. Examining their actions and trajectories, it concludes that these organisations have transformed the key environmental issues in the city into real actions which bring together urban citizens from varied backgrounds.