Between Sacred Nagara and Resilience Planning: The Transformation of Banten Port City in the 16th to 17th Century

This writing is a result of research to study the development and transformation of Banten Port City located in the west part of Java, Indonesia, during the early stage of the development in the 16th Century until the peak of its glory in the 17th Century. The aim is to better understand the urban culture, specifically the resilience of traditional cities in Indonesia, through observations on the development and transformation of traditional archipelago cities such as Banten. This research is an architectural and urban history study that relied on 16th to 17th-century historical data included local and colonial histories available in various maps, drawings, records, and journals. In conclusion, Banten Port City has a strong character of sacred nagara typology commonly used in traditional Javanese cities that keep on developed following the city's growth. Despite the contradiction between the mandala order and irregular plan, the development of the Banten port city does not fully match the conclusions made by previous researchers. The city transformation shown resilience consideration through adaptation and planning expressed in the city elements related to defense, economic, and food supply to support self-sustain of the city. The continuous development has proven to withstand all incoming attacks from constantly turbulent situations in that region and many other challenges, making Banten a safe city for international trade and reach its peak at this era.