Blok M is a business and shopping quarter located in

Kebayoran Baru Kebayoran Baru is a List of districts of Jakarta, district () in the administrative city of South Jakarta, Indonesia. The name was derived from a planned satellite city of the same name which was developed in the Aftermath of World War II, post-wa ...

South Jakarta South Jakarta (; ), abbreviated as Jaksel, is one of the five administrative cities which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. South Jakarta is not self-governed and does not have a city council, hence it is not classified as a ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. It runs east from Iskandarsyah street to Bulungan street in the west. North from Falatehan street to Melawai street in the south. The development is similar to some developments near Kota,

West Jakarta West Jakarta (; ), abbreviated as Jakbar, is one of the five administrative cities of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. West Jakarta is not self-governed and does not have a city council, hence it is not classified as a proper mu ...

. On a daily basis, crowds of people throng its street, and even more so during nighttime. Much of the popularity of the quarter is due to the prices of goods (which are often low due to the relatively inexpensive property costs for vendors), and the

nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

History

Blok M is part of the

district, which is subdivided into sections named from Blok A to Blok S. Originally conceived by the Dutch colonial government in 1938 as a satellite city of Batavia (now Jakarta), the development of Kebayoran Baru was delayed for a decade due to war and political instability. The project was finally initiated in 1948, based on a master plan by architect Mohammad Soesilo, a student of

Thomas Karsten Herman Thomas Karsten (22 April 1884, Amsterdam – 1945, Cimahi) was a Dutch people, Dutch engineer who gave major contributions to architecture and town planning in Indonesia during Netherlands East Indies, Dutch colonial rule. Most significa ...

, the designer of urban plans for Malang, Bandung, and Bogor. To implement the project, the Dutch government partnered with Centrale Stichting Wederopbouw (CSW / Central Foundation for Reconstruction), a contractor already involved in several other construction projects in and around Jakarta. CSW established its own headquarters in the area, at what is now known as the CSW intersection. In 1951, control of the Kebayoran Baru project was transferred from Dutch authorities to an agency under Indonesia’s Ministry of Public Works. The development, which included the displacement of rural villages, farmland, plantations, and livestock areas, eventually covered around seven square kilometers. By 1953, Kebayoran Baru began functioning as a planned garden city intended to accommodate up to 100,000 residents while remaining integrated with Jakarta. The district was equipped with schools, traditional markets, residential areas, green spaces, an organized road network, offices, and a transit terminal. Located at the center of this development, Blok M was envisioned as a hub for economic activity and urban mobility. In the 1970s, the opening of Pasar Raya Blok M marked the emergence of modern retail in the district, followed by Aldiron Plaza. Blok M reached its peak popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s, with the construction of new shopping centers such as Blok M Plaza and the underground Mal Blok M, which connected the terminal to surrounding areas. The district also became home to a growing Japanese expatriate community, giving rise to "Little Tokyo", an enclave of Japanese restaurants, cafés, supermarkets, and entertainment venues. During its heyday, Blok M also emerged as a hub of pop culture. Its vibrant atmosphere was captured in the film Blok M (Bakal Lokasi Mejeng), starring Paramitha Rusady and Desy Ratnasari, and inspired songs like “Jalan-jalan Sore” by Denny Malik, “JJS Lintas Melawai” by Hari Moekti, and “Lintas Melawai” by Karimata. Blok M began to decline toward the late 1990s due to the

Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide economic meltd ...

and the rise of modern shopping malls in other parts of Jakarta. Throughout the 2000s, its role was largely reduced to serving as a public transportation hub for buses and minivans.

Shopping

Mal Blok M, the main shopping portion of the quarter. Built on the terminal basement since 1993. The mall is known for having low prices, but bargaining is considered a requirement. Blok M Square, Blok M Plaza and Pasaraya Grande are the main shopping centres in Blok M. Built in 1992, the Plaza is a modern mall. Pasaraya Grande is a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

run by Abdul Latief. Its two contiguous buildings include a large

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

in the basement are international standard with corresponding prices. A movie theatre is at the top floor. Ratangga in the front of Plaza Blok M

Part of Blok M Square is known as ''Little Tokyo'' from its collection of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

restaurants, food stalls, karaoke bars and

massage parlour A massage parlor (American English), or massage parlour (Canadian/British English), or massage salon is a place where massage services are provided. Some massage parlors are front organizations for prostitution and the term "massage parlor" has ...

Clubs and cafés

There are several cafés, Karaoke, massage parlour within the area. Jalan Melawai, which is known as ''Little Tokyo'' has many Japanese style restaurants, bars and cafés. Jalan Falatehan also has many cafés, bars and massage parlors.

M Bloc Space

It is a creative complex, which was previously an abandoned housing complex. The place has music venue, trendy restaurants, coffee shops, bar, beauty clinic, record store, museum Gallery and community Hall. The M Bloc Market is an eco-friendly market for small businesses products, such as coffee, fruits and vegetables. It's a popular hangout place, specially among youngsters.

Transportation

Blok M has the largest

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

s in Jakarta, which many

TransJakarta Transjakarta (stylised in all-lowercase, often erroneously called Busway, sometimes shortened as TJ and branded as TiJe) or Jakarta BRT is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first BRT system in Southeast Asia, it commenc ...

(via its Blok M bus station) buses depart from. The area is also served by Jakarta MRT with the Blok M BCA MRT station which directly connects to Blok M Plaza.

References

Shopping districts and streets in Indonesia Tourist attractions in Jakarta Red-light districts in Indonesia South Jakarta Japantowns

External links

Blok M InformationAudio recording of Blok M street sounds
{{Commonscat, Blok M