A Tale of Two Cities: Re-Envisioning the Future of Indonesia’s Capital City

Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, is sinking at an unprecedented rate. For this reason, the current government proposed to relocate the nation’s capital to Nusantara in Borneo. The project, initiated in 2019, sets out to build an “eco” and “forest” city from the ground up to ensure Indonesia’s sustainable urban future. However, critics argue that the project is causing more environmental and ecological complications than it is alleviating. This paper suggests amendments to the plans for the new capital that would reduce the environmental impacts of relocation. In addition, this paper argues that the value and importance of Jakarta will not diminish regardless of the relocation and that the government must take action to increase the resilience and sustainability of the city. This paper proposes strategies to retrofit Jakarta and prevent further degradation. Finally, this paper argues that neither city should be considered in isolation or as two contenders for one outcome. On the contrary, the two cities provide opportunities in their own right and for one another; each can guide the other in planning - Nusantara can learn from mistakes made in Jakarta, and Nusantara can serve as a place of innovation and inspiration for Jakarta. In their current form, Jakarta and Nusantara are unsustainable solutions for Indonesia’s urban future. Thus, this paper suggests methods to transform these cities into beacons of hope for the future of urban living in Indonesia, the South East Asian region, and the world.