Connecting Identity and Image of City Branding in Kota Tua (Old City) Jakarta

Abstract

The Old City which is called Kota Tua is a historical tourism place in Jakarta which was built by Dutch colonialism in the 17th century. At that time, this location was the center of a Dutch company for spice trade also provided the original town hall as a public sphere for the colonialist. After the independence era, the most famous buildings in this area were Jakarta History Museum and a town hall which is considered a landmark and an icon for this location. The purpose of this paper is to explain the construction of the city branding in the urban landscapes. At this point, this paper draws the attention to the connection of both the identity and the image of the city beyond city branding. On the other side, this paper also focuses on the impact of city branding on the tourism aspect in Jakarta. This study used a qualitative method with a case study research design conducted in Kota Tua. Kota Tua is one of the tourism objects that is still maintaining the historical-cultural-social identity of Jakarta. Kota Tua is one of the icons of the city of Jakarta. As the icon, Kota Tua becomes the model of the city branding project. The subjects in this study were the parties involved in branding Kota Tua Jakarta. The subjects were purposively selected and divided into three categories as follows: key informants, additional informants and triangulation informants. Based on the findings of this study, it is argued that city branding is a potential tool to bring new perspectives as well as new creations which particularly help a site promote the identity and image of the city. In practice, city branding is a part related with the cultural identity of the Kota Tua, which represents colonialism history during the Ducth colonialism. In addition, it was potentially strategic for imagining the urban landscapes. In this case, city branding can be a strategy to connect the historical and cultural heritages with tourism attraction in an advance urban changing. Moreover, this paper covers how city branding contributes to urban landscape which is an urban project for the alternative development in the city.