Monarchy and urban change: The post-independence development of the Pesanggrahan Ambarrukmo, Yogyakarta

This article explores the role of Indonesia’s royal house of Yogyakarta in the development of a site called Ambarrukmo. Originally a royal garden retreat, Ambarrukmo has undergone two significant phases of urbanization: the construction of an international hotel during Indonesia’s immediate post-independence period, and the more recent construction of a large-scale mall. These commercial development projects have been used by the Sultan to defend its royal status in a context of political change. Urbanization processes that are elsewhere neatly accounted for as singular effects of neoliberal globalisation are here realised through the convergent aspirations of national government and a regional monarchy. The Sultanate’s role challenges dominant, western-centric understandings of city building agency, which emphasise the state, the market and civil society.