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For the 12 million people who call the Indonesian capital home, there may be no other city they would choose to live in. But life in Jakarta is certainly not all rosy, as residents are forced to battle horrendous traffic congestion and pollution each day. And when the rains come, many have to tolerate the inconvenience and destruction of flooding, including of their homes, and also the millions of rupiah in damage that comes with the rising waters.

Because Jakartans have had to live with traffic congestion and floods for so long, many residents have come to accept such inconvenience as part and parcel of living and working in the city. But as Vice President Boediono has pointed out, this sorry situation can and must change.

Many other cities in the world and in the region have overcome similar challenges and there is no reason why Jakarta cannot do the same if the political will is there. The Jakarta administration and the central government must work together with the full support of the bureaucracy if the capital is to take its place as among the most livable cities in the region.

What is badly needed, as the vice president noted, is a comprehensive transportation plan that incorporates all public transportation, the use of private vehicles on public roads and proper housing planning within the city center. In this regard, the city government must work with the large property companies to reach a win-win situation.

It is now widely acknowledged that if there is no improvement in managing Jakarta’s traffic, the capital will face gridlock in a few short years. Yet there seems to be no sense of urgency on the part of city officials to tackle this pressing problem. For all purposes, progress seems to move at a snail’s pace, if at all, when it comes to dealing with traffic.

Like many other cities, Jakarta has no option but to build more high-rise apartments within the city to lessen the time and distance that residents have to travel. But Jakarta must also offer proper recreational facilities and green spaces to encourage and attract people to live in the city. It is telling that a city the size of Jakarta has practically no large open public space, let alone a New York City-style central park.

Now that the vice president has publicly raised this issue, we sincerely hope the bureaucracy will take up the challenge. There is no shortage of urban planners in the country. If needed, we can also use the expertise of countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, which have successfully developed modern public transportation systems with proper city planning. It is time Jakarta stopped being identified worldwide with crippling traffic jams and annual destructive flooding. We can and we should do better.