Fragmented Realities: Middle-Class Perception Gaps and Environmental Indifference in Jakarta and Phnom Penh
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Study Context: Urban Fragmentation in the Southeast Asian City
2.1. Converging Crises: Flooding, Pollution, and Congestion
2.2. Contexts of Distrust: Governance, Politics, and Public Cynicism
2.3. The Rise of an Aspirational Middle Class
3. Methodology
3.1. Data Source and Parent Study
3.2. Sampling Strategy and Site Selection
3.3. Data Collection and Survey Instrument
3.4. Operationalizing Middle Class
3.5. Data Analysis
3.6. Methodological Justifications and Limitations
4. Results and Discussion
4.1. Respondent Profiles and a Tale of Two Urban Middle Classes
4.2. The Perception Gap: Jakarta’s Insulation vs. Phnom Penh’s Pervasive Reality
4.3. Agency and Silence: Interpreting Residents’ Voices
4.4. Intra-City Fragmentation: The Neighborhood as the World
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Jakarta | Phnom Penh | ||
---|---|---|---|
summary statistic/frequency | |||
Age | Age | ||
min | 18 | 18 | min |
mean | 44.31 | 43.65 | mean |
max | 83 | 96 | max |
sd | 12.74 | 13.88 | sd |
Gender | Gender | ||
Male | 33.65% | 46.26% | Male |
Female | 66.35% | 53.74% | Female |
Household monthly income | Household monthly income | ||
Prefer not to disclose | 20.38% | 9.85% | Prefer not to disclose |
0–268 (USD) * | 50.87% | 2.19% | No income |
269–534 USD (USD) * | 25.77% | 5.20% | 1–249 (USD) |
535–800 (USD) * | 2.40% | 26.19% | 250–499 (USD) * |
>800 (USD) * | 0.58% | 28.74% | 500–749 (USD) * |
11.77% | 750–999 (USD) * | ||
8.03% | 1000–1500 (USD) * | ||
8.03% | >1500 (USD) * | ||
Education level | Education level | ||
No education | 4.42% | 4.65% | No education * |
Elementary school | 16.73% | 29.29% | Elementary school * |
Junior High school * | 21.06% | 30.93% | Lower Secondary * |
Senior High school * | 42.69% | 23.45% | Upper Secondary * |
Technical school/Diploma * | 5% | 2.10% | Others (associate degree, technical school, etc.) * |
University * | 9.04% | 7.76% | University * |
Postgraduate * | 1.06% | 1.82% | Postgraduate * |
Vehicle Ownership | Vehicle Ownership | ||
No vehicle | 18.14% | 4.47% | No vehicle |
Car * | 1.44% | 0.64% | Car * |
Car and motorbike * | 9.88% | 33.57% | Car and motorbike * |
Motorbike * | 70.54% | 49.45% | Motorbike * |
11.87% | Others (tricycle, remork motor, etc.) * | ||
Total respondents | 1040 | 1096 | Total respondents |
Middle class | 385 (37.02%) | 907 (82.76%) | Middle class |
Jakarta | Phnom Penh | |
---|---|---|
p-value | p-value | |
Air Pollution | 0.049 | 0.573 |
Flooding | 0.001 | 0.003 |
Foul smells | 0.020 | 0.697 |
Noise pollution | 0.001 | 0.471 |
Water pollution | 0.009 | 0.159 |
Neighborhood | Waste | Flooding | Traffic | Total Issues Mentioned |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. Benhil | 11 (26.2%) | 11 (26.2%) | 20 (47.6%) | 42 |
2. Cengkareng | 5 (12.2%) | 28 (68.3%) | 8 (19.5%) | 41 |
3. Tanah Merah | 5 (62.5%) | 1 (12.5%) | 2 (25%) | 8 |
Total | 21 | 40 | 30 | 91 |
Neighborhood | Roads | Drainage/Sewer | Security/Law | Environment/Waste | Total Issues Mentioned |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Boeng Trabaek | 1 (12.5%) | 2 (25%) | 1 (12.5%) | 0 (0%) | 8 |
2. Tuol Sangkae | 18 (30%) | 0 (0%) | 12 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 60 |
3. Krang Thnong | 35 (35.7%) | 0 (0%) | 13 (13.3%) | 1 (1%) | 98 |
4. Dangkao | 2 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (30%) | 0 (0%) | 10 |
Total | 56 | 2 | 29 | 1 | 176 |
Cengkareng—Benhil | Tanah Merah—Benhil | Tanah Merah—Cengkareng | |
---|---|---|---|
Air Poll. | C > B (***) | TM > B (***) | ns |
Flooding | B > C (**) | TM > B (***) | TM > C (***) |
Noise poll. | B > C (***) | ns | TM > C (*) |
Traff. cong. | B > C (***) | B > TM (**) | ns |
Water poll. | B > C (**) | TM > B (***) | TM > C (***) |
Foul smells | B > C (***) | ns | TM > C (***) |
Tuol Sangkae—Boeng Trabaek | Krang Thnong—Boeng Trabaek | Dangkao—Boeng Trabaek | Krang Thnong—Tuol Sangkae | Dangkao—Tuol Sangkae | Dangkao—Krang Thnong | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Air Poll. | ns | KT > BT (***) | ns | KT > TS (*) | ns | KT > D (*) |
Flooding | ns | ns | D > BT (***) | ns | D > TS (***) | D > KT (***) |
Noise poll. | ns | ns | BT > D (**) | ns | TS > D (*) | KT > D (**) |
Traff. cong. | ns | BT > KT (***) | BT > D (*) | TS > KT (***) | TS > D (*) | D > KT (*) |
Water poll. | ns | ns | BT > D (***) | ns | TS > D (***) | KT > D (*) |
Foul smells | ns | ns | D > BT (***) | ns | D > TS (***) | D > KT (***) |
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Benita, F.; Yaacob, H.; Martinez, R. Fragmented Realities: Middle-Class Perception Gaps and Environmental Indifference in Jakarta and Phnom Penh. Urban Sci. 2025, 9, 427. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9100427
Benita F, Yaacob H, Martinez R. Fragmented Realities: Middle-Class Perception Gaps and Environmental Indifference in Jakarta and Phnom Penh. Urban Science. 2025; 9(10):427. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9100427
Chicago/Turabian StyleBenita, Francisco, Hamzah Yaacob, and Rafael Martinez. 2025. "Fragmented Realities: Middle-Class Perception Gaps and Environmental Indifference in Jakarta and Phnom Penh" Urban Science 9, no. 10: 427. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9100427
APA StyleBenita, F., Yaacob, H., & Martinez, R. (2025). Fragmented Realities: Middle-Class Perception Gaps and Environmental Indifference in Jakarta and Phnom Penh. Urban Science, 9(10), 427. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9100427