This paper investigates how the creative economy discourse is interpreted and implemented in the context of Indonesia as a developing country. Our main conclusion is that the discourse is interpreted differently across localities. Bandung appears to be the only locality whose interpretation aligns with the general understanding of a creative economy that emphasises knowledge creation and innovation. This was made possible by the strong support from academia and communities who wanted to experiment with this policy idea. Our study also provides an insight into a creative economy developing not only as a discourse, but also as a workable framework for development policies, in this city. Conversely, other cities seem to pragmatically use the policy idea without considering the local context in a rebranding exercise in order to drive economic development, whereby traditional cultural industries are relabelled as creative despite performing hardly any innovation activities. Despite this, Bandung illustrates that there are possibilities for a developing country such as Indonesia to adopt the vision of a creative economy by reshaping local institutions to support successful experimentation with this new idea.

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Recent metropolitan development in developed countries is associated with “post-suburbia,” or a decline in population in the former central city and the growth of polycentric structures outside the traditional core. Current urban development in Asian cities, particularly in the Jakarta metropolitan region (Jabodetabek), also reflects an early stage of post-suburbia. We examine physical development patterns and the changing role of public and private sectors, although our approach is descriptive in nature. The rapid growth in fringe areas that have developed from dormitory communities into independent towns, triggered by privatization of industrial estates and multifunction new towns, shows typical post-suburban patterns. The national government's pro-growth economic policies and the local autonomy granted to local governments have given the private sector the power to largely control the acquisition, development, and management of land in fringe areas, accelerating post-suburban development patterns. Takeaway for practice: Planners in developing nations must be alert to the rapidly increasing role of the private sector, recognizing how the private sector can help the government to respond to regional needs for housing, jobs, shopping and educational opportunities, and infrastructure while understanding the key role that planning can and should play in ensuring private sector actions do not exacerbate regional problems and lead to uncoordinated public responses.