Jakarta Residents Prefer In-Person Meetings to Obtain Information

A Breathe Cities Jakarta survey conducted with Populix reveals several preferences among Jakarta residents regarding information access.

The most preferred option is direct meetings or community discussions, chosen by 64% of respondents. This preference is most prominent in Pejagalan, Joglo, and Semper Barat.

WhatsApp group chats ranked second at 58%, followed by community social events such as religious gatherings or communal work (gotong royong) at 55%. Interestingly, announcements via mosque or mushola loudspeakers are still popular with 46% of respondents, highlighting the strength of community-based communication channels.

Other methods still in use include RT/RW bulletin boards (43%), home visits (32%), and leaflet/brochure distribution (32%).

The least preferred methods are local social media accounts and posters. Breathe Cities Jakarta notes that local social media and posters are not primary choices and are minimally used. This reinforces the finding that face-to-face and community-based approaches remain the mainstay of communication in Jakarta.

Here's a breakdown of DKI Jakarta residents' preferred ways of receiving information in their neighborhoods:

• Community meetings or direct discussions: 64%
• Information via resident WhatsApp groups: 58%
• Information via social events or community activities (religious gatherings, community service, etc.): 55%
• Announcements via mosque/mushola loudspeakers: 46%
• Community bulletin boards in RT/RW areas: 43%
• Home visits: 32%
• Flyers or brochures distributed to homes: 32%
• Posters or banners in the neighborhood: 15%
• Resident social media (Facebook groups, Telegram, etc.): 1%

The survey involved 622 respondents evenly distributed across Jakarta's five administrative regions, encompassing 10 main sub-districts as research locations. The selection of areas aimed to represent socio-economic diversity and exposure to air pollution.

In terms of age, respondents were dominated by millennials (40%), followed by gen X & boomers (37%) and gen Z (23%). Educationally, the majority of respondents had secondary to higher education, and came from the middle socio-economic group.

Most respondents work as private employees and professionals. MSMEs, particularly in the culinary sector, also formed a significant group in this survey. Additionally, the survey included professional groups vulnerable to air pollution who frequently work outdoors, such as street vendors, couriers, motorcycle taxi drivers, construction workers, sanitation workers, and traffic police.

The majority of respondents live in their own homes near main roads—a condition indicating high potential exposure to traffic pollution. A smaller percentage live in rented accommodation, boarding houses, or near other pollution sources such as terminals and industrial areas. The survey results were published in May 2025.

For information, Breathe Cities is an initiative launched by the Clean Air Fund, C40 Cities, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and implemented in Jakarta with Vital Strategies, to help cities address the global air pollution crisis.