desakota

D2E1S1A1K5O1T1A1

noun

An 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.

Scrabble 13

Meanings

noundesakota (plural desakotas)

plural desakotas

  1. 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
APA

desakota. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desakota

MLA

“desakota.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desakota. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desakota,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desakota.

Source: desakota on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.