Commentators often enthusiastically point to the growth of Indonesia's middle class as a major force of social and political change in Indonesia. Yet, alongside the growth of the middle class, striking changes have occurred in middle-class lifestyles, especially in urban areas. Arguably one of the most dramatic developments in urban life and landscapes in Indonesia over recent decades has been the growth of privately run real estate complexes, commonly referred to as gated communities, where middle-class residents sequester themselves from the sometimes chaotic urban landscapes that surround them, enjoying amenities that can only be dreamed of by the kampung1 residents beyond their walls. As I argue in this chapter, the growing physical separation of urban middle-class people in such communities points also to their growing social and political separation, even withdrawal, from broader Indonesian society, with potentially far-reaching consequences.

I present this argument by studying the municipality of South Tangerang (Tangerang Selatan), which is located about 30 kilometres south-west of central Jakarta. This municipality is home to some of the most extensive and famous private real estate developments in Indonesia, such as Bintaro Jaya, Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) city and Alam Sutera, housing hundreds of thousands of middle-class people. The residents of these communities not only have access to comfortable and often luxurious private housing, they also get most of their basic needs such as electricity and water from the private companies that run them, and they can enjoy sports facilities, shopping malls and other facilities there, rarely having to leave their estates except to work. As I explain, many of the residents of these gated communities have little interaction with, or concern for, the wider municipality of South Tangerang within which they live. This situation may help to explain why South Tangerang has been dominated by one of Indonesia's most notorious and scandal-prone political dynasties, despite having some of the country's wealthiest and best-educated inhabitants.