Reclaiming residual spaces in urban life: The act of occupancy beneath pedestrian bridges in Jakarta

A pedestrian bridge can be more than just a crossing facility as it provides a gateway that connects communities. While rush and flow are taking place on the bridge, there’s also a possibility of underworld happening beneath a pedestrian bridge, as shown in several spots throughout Jakarta. Based on the data of the local government in 2015, Jakarta has 324 pedestrian bridges all over the city mainly used for crossing highways and mostly placed near transit areas. It is a very common sight; as the elevated urban infrastructures in public space constructed, some residual spaces subsequently appear; consumed and owned by no one but the public— which what de Solà-Morales describes as the “terrain vague” (1985) or “superfluous landscape” according to Nielsen (2002). The residual spaces beneath these pedestrian bridges connote freedom and opportunity for engagements. As the residual spaces are open to free way of perceiving, it provides potential outlets for unexpected and informal events. This paper explains further upon the phenomena of unexpected and informal events discovered beneath pedestrian bridges in crowded transit area using the study case of Lenteng Agung Pedestrian Bridge, located in South Jakarta.