This study explores urbanization and flood events in the northern coast of Central Java with river basin as its unit of analysis. Two types of analysis were applied (i.e., spatial data and non-spatial data analysis) at four river basin areas in Central Java—Indonesia. The spatial analysis is focused on the assessment of LULC change in 2009–2018 based on Landsat Imagery. The non-spatial data (i.e., rural-urban classification and flood events) were overlaid with results of spatial data analyses. Our findings show that urbanization, as indicated by the growth rate of built-up areas, is very significant. Notable exposure to flood has taken place in the urban and potentially urban areas. The emerging discussion indicates that river basins possess dual spatial identity in the urban system (policy- and land-use-related). Proper land use planning and control is an essential instrument to safeguard urban areas (such as the case study area) and the entire island of Java in Indonesia. More attention should be put upon the river basin areas in designing eco-based approach to tackle the urban flood crises. In this case, the role of governance in flood management is crucial.

Purpose: This study aims to prove that land-use change plays a role in the occurrence of hydro-meteorological disasters in Central Java, especially in relation to its upstream and downstream. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents empirical findings from quantitative research using a spatial analysis and descriptive analysis. Findings: The upstream and downstream area of Central Java is categorized as a rapid development area that results in changes in land use and land cover. The findings showed that there was an increasing number of hydrometeorological disasters such as floods and landslides as the impact of land-use change and rainfall conditions. Research limitations/implications: Analysis of the relationship between rainfall and disaster events with more technical and specific analysis could be done in the further research. Originality/value: In this study, more analysis in the context of river basin systems including upstream and downstream in different periods to examine the linkage between them have been considered and incorporated.

Ease of doing business is a pillar of a nation's development. Creating fast, easy, transparent, accountable, and integrated business registration licensing services requires the collaboration of actors across sectors and government levels. This study aims to explain how actor collaboration in business licensing is integrated with the Land Use Framework in Indonesia. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach with a case study method. The results showed that integrated business licensing is a collaborative process between actors from various government institutions, both central and regional. This collaboration is shown through integrating the Online Single Submission Risk-Based Approach (OSS-RBA) system with the spatial system, as well as the active role of actors in synchronizing licensing and spatial utilization. However, implementing this policy faces challenges in the form of a sectoral ego, limited capacity, and unoptimal coordination between actors. For this reason, it is necessary to strengthen collaborative governance through role clarity, capacity building, and coordination between actors. These findings provide implications for formulating business licensing policies in Indonesia to be more adaptive to spatial dynamics and the needs of business actors.

Various studies have been conducted on the barriers to climate change adaptation in specific contexts, but they often focus only on particular sectors. This research aims to comprehensively assess the barriers to climate change adaptation across various stakeholder sectors at the city level. The case study in Semarang City is expected to provide insights for other cities, given that Semarang has extensive experiences in implementing climate change adaptation measures in Indonesia. The assessment of barriers is conducted through Focus Group Discussions and validated through in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders in Semarang City. Our findings indicate that sectors prioritizing water, coastal, and marine resources face lower barriers and challenges compared to non-priority sectors such as agriculture, health, and other related sectors. The highest barrier in non-priority sectors is the limited funding for climate change adaptation, as it is not prioritized or mandated. Meanwhile, the highest barrier in priority sectors is the lack of participation and concern from local communities regarding climate change programs. A transdisciplinary approach is offered to ensure mutual learning and knowledge exchange among various stakeholders to generate innovative, comprehensive, and sustainable climate change adaptation initiatives. Semarang’s experience in forming a "City Team" as a platform for exchanging ideas and knowledge provides evidence that such approach can be operationally viable.

The upstream-downstream area of the north coast of Central Java is categorized as a rapid development area that results in changes in land use and land cover. This region is also prone to floods, landslides, and drought. Land-use change contributes to climate change, increasing disasters such as sea-level rise, erosion, rising surface temperatures, floods, landslides, and droughts. Moreover, hydrometeorological disasters caused by human activity damages the river basin ecosystems, especially land use and land cover changes. This study aims to prove that land-use difference does matter for hydrometeorological disasters in the North Coast River Basin of Central Java in terms of the upstream and downstream areas using a quantitative method and GIS. The river basins are Jratunseluna, Bodri Kuto, Pemali Comal, and Wiso Gelis. The results indicate that from 2009 to 2018, the midstream and upstream river basins areas show the highest land use change compared to downstream. This study also finds that forests reduced significantly in the Central Java river basin, one of the disaster drivers. Above all, through this research, hydrometeorological disaster mitigation efforts in the north coast river basin in Central Java can be appropriately identified.

For years, Central Java has been hit by hydrometeorological disasters that have resulted in huge socioeconomic losses. Exposure and potential losses from hydrometeorological disasters increase as economic growth and disaster mitigation increase. Few studies have compared the potential risk to the actual loss it causes. Previous research has focused exclusively on risk assessment. This article describes a study that evaluates Central Java from a temporal and spatial perspective on a regional scale. In order to analyze flood risks and losses, a method based on flood data from the Central Java province disaster database (from 2008 to 2018) is utilized. Using a disaster system with the variables of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability, the influence of natural, economic, and social factors on flood risk is also studied. In practice, the findings of this study can be used to highlight disaster prevention priorities in disaster-prone areas, as well as specific measures that can help improve the efficiency of resource allocation.