Meanings
plural desakotas
- geographyAn area in the extended surroundings of a large city, especially in Southeast Asia, in which urban and agricultural forms of land use and settlement coexist and are intensively intermingled.
1 more example
McGee identified six characteristics of desakota regions: 1) a large population of smallholder cultivators; 2) an increase in non-agricultural activities; 3) extreme fluidity and mobility of population; 4) a mixture of land uses, agriculture, cottage industries, suburban development; 5) increased participation of the female labor force; and 6) “grey-zones”, where informal and illegal activities group.
2015 September 24, “Evidence for the Convergence Model: The Emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) in Viet Nam”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI
Origin
Coined around 1990 by urban researcher Terry McGee, from Indonesian desa, village, and kota, city.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
desakota. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desakota
“desakota.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desakota. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desakota,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desakota.
Source: desakota on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.