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The choice of transportation for Jakarta residents has developed along with the city, from walking and cycling to driving and, for a privileged few, flying.

It may come as a surprise, then, to hear that the future of Jakarta may not involve flying cars, supercharged helicopters or space capsules, but rather a nostalgic return to Java’s three-wheeled pedicabs, popularly known as becak.

Meet Budi Pradono and his vision for the urban jungle that is Jakarta in the year 2030, which he lays out in the New York-based project “Our Cities Ourselves.”

Pradono, a prominent architect in Indonesia, envisions what Jakarta would look like if it prioritized safe and enjoyable walking, cycling and public transit. His urban design involves the use of vehicles like the becak because they are environmentally friendly, powered by human energy.

Becak, however, have been banned from Jakarta’s city limits since the 1980s because they are slow and frequently caused traffic jams. Pradono aims to do away with that shortcoming with his new becak design.

First, the body of the vehicle will be redesigned to be lighter and easier to steer.

Second, since traditional becak are notoriously strenuous on the driver, modern ones will be equipped with motors powered by renewable energy. The vehicles could have solar panels on their roofs, for instance, to power small electric motors that would supplement the power from the pedals. And unlike fossil fuels, solar energy is renewable and non-polluting.

Pradono also calls for a visual makeover. His becak are inspired by Amsterdam’s bicycle cabs, although the Indonesian becak driver would pedal from behind the passenger seat in a nod to the classic style.

Pradono said that becak only represented the symbolic need for a sustainable and efficient transportation system for the city. He does not expect his designs to be fully realized, but merely to inspire the government as it deliberates future policies. Pradono has been invited to present his ideas to government officials.

What is most urgently needed, he says, is a sustainable and efficient transportation system in Jakarta — what he calls a “comprehensive system of integrated infrastructure.”

Pradono explains: “A disunited transportation network is the biggest problem the city’s commuters face today. To travel to work, many must use the busway, walk a distance to the train, go up and down several flights of stairs, and so on. These separate systems need to be integrated with one another to be efficient.”

If re-engineered becak become popular, they will reduce the amount of pollution emitted through the use of private vehicles. The recent implementation of the TransJakarta busway system itself has been touted as reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 37,000 metric tons in 2009 alone, or the equivalent of taking 6,800 cars off the road, according to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.

As part of the “Our Cities Ourselves” project, nine other leading architects have similarly re-imagined how their cities might create a safe and enjoyable environment for walking, cycling and public transit.

The heads of this project have specifically focused on cities because they predict that by 2030, 60 percent of the world’s population will live in cities, compared to 37 percent in 1970 and 47 percent in 2000. This growth is equivalent to an additional seven megacities each year, the project’s Web site says.

Indeed, Pradono’s designs remind urban dwellers that progress often involves embracing the simpler things in life, and how a city can be retro without taking a step back.