North Jakarta

North Jakarta contains some of Jakarta's original natural mangrove forests. As the city has developed, some of this mangrove forest was converted into urban areas. However, a reforestation project aimed at planting mangroves within an area of 400 hectares was enacted in 2011 and was scheduled to be finished in 2012. The main goal of the project was to minimize abrasion in the coastal area, especially around the Pantai Indah Kapuk area.

North Jakarta is bounded by Java Sea to the north; Bekasi Regency to the east; West Jakarta, Central Jakarta and East Jakarta to the south; and Tangerang Regency to the west.

History

The present-day city of Jakarta grew from the area which is now North Jakarta. In the 5th century, at the mouth of the Ciliwung-Angke River, the development began with the port city Sundapura (now near Tugu, Jakarta and Bekasi), which was the main port for the Kingdom of Tarumanegara under the leadership of King Mulawarman.

During the 16th century, the city, which covered only the area of what is now North Jakarta, was known as Jayakarta. The system of government in Jayakarta has been amended several times, including changes of rulers, and shifting borders of the administrative area. This area consisted of three forms of government: first, the city government which was controlled directly by the Lord of Jayakarta (the area of which is located in what is now the Port of Angke); second, the state government controlled by leaders inferior to the Lord of Jayakarta (the area of which is located in what is now Pasar Ikan and Kota; and third, the worldwide government (the area of which is located in what is now Tanjung Priok.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the area was controlled by Chinese and other native people who later had to submit to the Dutch East Indies.

In 1854, the Law of Comptabuliteit 1854 divided the Jakarta Bay area into three categories: the Voorsteden (the suburbs), Regentschap Batavia (the Regency of Batavia) and private areas (supervised by the Department of Security - Afdeling I)

The government system changed again in 1905. After the formation of Gemeente Batavia, the area around Jakarta Bay was transformed into Batavia District (kewedanan) which includes Penjaringan, Tanjung Priok, Meester Cornelis and Bekasi. Meanwhile, Tanjung Priok came to be under the control of Haven Directie Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij.

When Japan entered into the region, the form of the government changed into Shiku (district level), and so North Jakarta was divided into districts such as Shiku Penjaringan, Shiku Tanjung Priok and Shiku Bekasi.

After the formation of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia on 17 August 1945, Jakarta Bay was divided into several administrative regions, namely Kawedanan Penjaringan, Tanjung Priok and Bekasi. These three kawedanan were controlled by the mayorship of Jakarta Raya, which is a part of West Java.

In 1957, after the formation of the Kotapraja Jakarta Raya, the area of Jakarta Bay was transformed into the Kotamadya of Jakarta Utara or "City of North Jakarta".