Double Exposure and Fractal City: Cultural Disengagement and Disembodied Belonging due to Outdoor Thermal Changes

Abstract. The irresistible global phenomenon of climate change is widely known as an emerging challenge that threatens the sustainability of public life. This article examines climate change complexities in urban areas of Indonesia, particularly those that are the result of massive urban infrastructure development. In Indonesia, urban infrastructure development has been observed to have reduced the number of open green spaces, resulting in increased temperatures, primarily in city areas. This environmental issue is exacerbated by the presence of prolonged drought due to El Niño. Several studies have demonstrated that climate change causes mental disorders among urban residents, characterized by emotional and cultural disengagement from their place of residence, clinically called ‘solastalgia’. This term was coined by Professor Glenn Albrecht, an Australian environmentalist, formerly based in Newcastle NSW. This study examined the concept of solastalgia through ethnographic interviews with five young people who have permanently lived in the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia for more than 20 years. This study captures their personal solastalgia experiences resulting from climate change complexities. Solastalgia, as confirmed by the respondents, covers various socio-cultural symptoms like social tension, immobility, distress, and future insecurity. The narratives of the respondents indicate that climate change in addition to urban infrastructure development has uprooted their belongingness to the city, valued by them as a space for communal cultural identity formation. Subsequently, after analyzing their subjective experiences, this study confirms that spatial development of the urban area of Yogyakarta in favor of the economy neglects the future of young people.