The Impact of the Java Monarchy Involvement In the Colonial Railway Network Establishment on Contemporary Urban Development

This paper discusses the role of the monarchy in Java in establishing railways in the colonial period. How did the rulers of the Principalities (Surakarta and Yogyakarta) become involved in and grant their land for the development of a new type of transportation infrastructure in the 19th century? Purpose of the study: We aimed to reveal the impact of the colonial-era railway network as an urban artifact and the monarchs’ participation in railway building on the contemporary urban morphology of Java. Methods: The conceptual framing is based on Aldo Rossi’s theory of the evolution of urban artifacts, which emphasizes the urban artifact as the main element of the city’s morphological and cultural evolution. Results: Java’s contemporary urban morphology demonstrates the power of the monarchy to shape its cityscapes and how some aspects of city layouts today are related to railway development in colonial times, which adds significance from the perspective of the engineering component.