Jakarta Urban Challenge Winner Announced

Three promising teams of young Indonesian innovators have each scooped a share of US$20,000 at the final stage of the Jakarta Urban Challenge, our contest championing effective, homegrown solutions to mobility and transport in Jakarta.

The winner and runners-up were announced at the closing of the New Cities Summit in Jakarta today.

The results of the Challenge are as follows:

First Prize (US$10,000): Squee Mobile App

A sharing app that unifies pedestrians and cyclists to travel together on shorter, safer non-motorized routes across Jakarta’s urban kampongs (villages).

Arlene Nathania from Squee said: “With an approach that Jakarta’s urban nature as it is, Squee answers the Jakarta Urban Challenge with an idea to integrate urban kampongs with our transportation system; two things that, at first, might not seem interrelated. We believe that our “jalan tikus”-sharing concept – walking and biking through shorter and non-motorized routes via urban kampongs – will enhance accessibility, freedom of movement, and create a social value in mobility.”

Second Prize: (US$6,000): Jalan Aman (Safe Passage)

A mobile application that focuses on the safety of female commuters, allowing users to share their location, report incidences of assault and access information on safe transportation options from other users.

Paulista Surjadi from Jalan Aman said: “We can’t wait to work with community members to bring about change and improvement to the city of Jakarta. Most of us are women, a lot the Jalan Aman proposal is based on our personal experience of commuting on Jakarta’s streets. They have been challenging and even frightening. We would like for our idea to be able to contribute to the overall improvement of mobility by giving a targeted solution for the most impacted group of daily commuters.”

Third Prize: (US$4,000) – Cyclist Urban System:

A plan to create dedicated “cyclist hubs” across Jakarta, where cyclists can park their bikes, get dressed, buy refreshments, repair their bikes, obtain first aid assistance and route information, and eventually rent bikes.

Ucha Kautsar from Cyclist Urban System said: “We wanted to stop complaining about our city, and be a part of the solution. The Beatles said, “the movement you need is on your shoulder.” And we agree with it. Besides exercise, we often cycle to reach our desired destinations. We believe CUS can encourage cycling if we can provide easy access via bike parking facilities, lockers, and showers for cyclists. By doing this, we hope we can make a positive contribution to Jakarta.”

The Jakarta Urban Challenge is a call for innovative project proposals from Indonesia’s youth to address Jakarta’s mobility and traffic congestion problems.

The winner and runners-up were chosen by an international panel of global experts, who judged the three finalists’ project presentations at the main stage of the New Cities Summit in Jakarta on Tuesday, June 9. The judging panel featured Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, who joined our Chairman, John Rossant, alongside the Governor of Jakarta to award the prizes on stage at the Summit.

Each winner will use the prize money to implement their project in the bustling Indonesian capital. Their progress will be tracked by NewCities and Connect4Climate.

We launched the Jakarta Urban Challenge in collaboration with Connect4Climate in March 2015, in order to build a lasting legacy in Jakarta well beyond the New Cities Summit. Find out more.

Watch the finalists present at the New Cities Summit 2015: