Urban change in Indonesia has been faced to an increasing pattern in which the urbanization process has also been taken place in a regional scale. In this process, small and medium cities have also been facing the densification process of urban growth and facing the process of concentration of urban activities. However, not all of small and medium cities in Indonesia can be considered prepared to face the process of urbanization as well as densification and the concentration of urban activities; because not all of them are municipal cities that are prepared for managing the development and urbanization process. Most of them are non municipal towns, which are located in the territory of kabupaten, a non urban region in Indonesia. This research focuses on the process of urbanization of kabupaten in Indonesia, which has formed and developed small and medium cities as the place where most of the urban growth in the kabupaten took place. The objective of the study is to contribute, in this context, to the understanding of the mechanisms of urban development of small and medium cities in developing countries, with reference to the situation in the kabupaten in Indonesia. The research analyses the urbanization process in the kabupaten, and the policy responses of local government to meet the demands of the urbanization process in the region, in responding the pressures of urbanization of their region. The study focuses on two main contexts. The first context is the urbanization process in the kabupaten, especially those in the Java Island, the densest populated island in the archipelago. The region is also the first region to know the regional dimension of urbanization since the 1980s, which resulted in the increase of the urban population in the kabupaten. In addition, this analysis also relates to the comprehension to the key problems arising in the urbanization process of the kabupaten, in the perspective of sustainable development. The second context is the analysis of urban development policies adopted by the local authority and the weaknesses of the government of the kabupaten in dealing with their urbanization process. From the comparative element resulting from the analysis of these institutions to urban development in the kabupaten, the research will confront the local perception on urban development, the policies adopted to deal with the problems, and the weaknesses in urban development policies at the local level. By doing so, the research puts into perspective the conditions for a possible improvement in the local capacities in managing their urbanization and urban development process, their alignment with local realities and their relevance to the challenges of sustainable development. Hence, it is expected that this study provides a better understanding regarding current conditions and how to improve the future of urban development institutions in the kabupaten, in accordance with sustainable development issues
