Geographical Context

Bandung, the capital city of West Java Province situated at 107^o 32' 38.91" East Longitudes and 6^o 55' 19.94" South Latitude, is known as the fourth largest city in Indonesia. Located approximately in the center of West Java Province, Bandung is strategically connected to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia.

Topographic data shows that the Bandung Basin is surrounded by mountains, located at approximately 791 m above Sea Level; with the highest point around 1.050 meters above Sea Level in the North and the lowest point around 675 meters above Sea Level in the South. The mountainous climate influences the climate of Bandung to be humid and cool with an average temperature of around 23,6^o C. Other geographical data shows that the Cikapundung River which flows from North to South of the city, divides the 167,67 square kilometers of the Bandung area.

Historical Context

In 1488 Bandung was a small region under the authority of the Padjajaran Kingdom. It was a fertile region where the Sundanese, the natives of West Java, live as farmers. When the European came to Hindia (former name of Indonesia) and built Bandung as farmland to supply their trade commodity in 1786, a new road was built to connect Batavia (Dutch East-Indies trade center, now Jakarta), Bogor, Cianjur, and Bandung (farmlands). The traffic flow was once again increased by the establishment of the Grote Postweg (Great Post Road) in 1809, built 11 miles North of the then capital of Bandung under the ruling hand of H.W. Deandels, as a mission of military defense in Java against the English. When the capital of Bandung ordered to be relocated by Deandels, Bupati Wiranatakusumah II chose a site south of the road on the western bank of the Cikapundung River to built the dalem (palace) and the alun-alun (city square).

In 1880, the development of Bandung – Batavia railway, which was aimed to transport Bandung�fs agricultural yield and also as a step to expand the Gementee (autonomous region), caused significant changes in activities at Bandung. New economic activities, mostly businesses in food, beverage and hospitality rose, particularly around the area of Bandung Station. Such activities, in addition to the easy accessibility to reach the region, eventually increased the number of visitors with various cultural backgrounds to come to Bandung. These improvements of transportation infrastructure was an important aspect that exposed the isolated region of Bandung and connected it both to the hinterland of its surroundings as well as to the emerging of large cities throughout Java Island such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Madiun, and Surabaya.

Due to the Decentralization Policy and a plan to transfer the capital from Batavia to Bandung in the early 20^th century, the Dutch East-Indies government was in the process of completing a rush and intensive development of Bandung. City's infrastructures were prepared during turn of the century, including establishment of the Technische Hoogeshcool (today known as Institute Technology of Bandung) in 1920 to fulfill the demands of experts needed for the development.

In 1930, Bandung municipal government assigned Prof. Ir. Karsten to develop a city plan including its future plan for expansion, which was later known as the "Karsten Plan". He adopted the Garden City concept of Ebenezer Howard. The plans and designs were represented within the city and regional planning concept based on both transportation modes and market as activity nodes to create a balance between the Eastern and Western regions that were divided by the Cikapundung River. Hence Bandung would be recognized as a city with "multi centers".

Social Context

Nowadays, Bandung is a growing multi-cultural city for more than 2,5 millions inhabitants with its attractive variety of activities. As home to more than 35 schools of higher education, with many prestigious institutes of art, science and technology, Bandung is a popular place as a destination for young people from around the country. Moreover, Bandung has become a city with numerous choices of annual cultural activities because of its great number of progressive students and young people, combined with its background in traditional local culture. Examples of fascinating events held in the city include Art Event, Pasar Seni ITB (Institute of Technology Bandung's Art Fair) and Bandung International Folklore Festival. The abundant amount of creative communities in Bandung becomes the underlining factor for the suitable tagline of a 'Creative City' for Bandung. Furthermore, the creative energy of mostly young people in many forms of art and design activities is channeled through the loosely formed organization called Bandung Creative City Forum.

Many areas of Bandung have their own unique form of creativity which is formed by its multi-cultural background. They are groups made up by similar interests such as Academic type, 'Anak jalanan', hobby communities, and other activities such as street cafés, boutiques, distro (small-scale clothing industries), which are growing gradually and creating their own space and place for their creativities.

Economical Context

Currently, Bandung's economy is mainly built upon the service sector such as tourism, education institutions, textile/apparel, information, and technology among others. In 2010, the general vision of Bandung is to become a major Service City and as the foremost partner of Jakarta, the country�fs capital. One of the strategies to bring out this vision is to develop an evenly distributed economy. The government primarily focuses on the services, tourism, and garment/fashion industries sector within their economic policies.