Indonesia's new capital a blank slate for its designer

Hopes riding high for clean break from issues like poor planning plaguing other cities in nation

Architectural and urban planning firm Urban+'s winning entry for Indonesia's new capital (artist's impression above) includes plans for mass transit consisting of an electric tram network that can be replaced with an MRT network or a light rail later
Architectural and urban planning firm Urban+'s winning entry for Indonesia's new capital (artist's impression above) includes plans for mass transit consisting of an electric tram network that can be replaced with an MRT network or a light rail later. Urban+ founder Sibarani Sofian also envisages drones for package delivery and generous pavements. PHOTO: MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS AND PUBLIC HOUSING
An artist's bird's-eye-view impression of the new capital. More than half of its 40,000ha area will be off-limits to construction and set aside for parks or restored rainforest.
An artist's bird's-eye-view impression of the new capital. More than half of its 40,000ha area will be off-limits to construction and set aside for parks or restored rainforest. PHOTO: MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS AND PUBLIC HOUSING
Some of the issues plaguing Indonesia's current capital Jakarta include (from left) dense settlements, congested traffic and polluted waterways. There are hopes for the new capital to rise above such problems. Urban+'s plan envisages a compact downto
Some of the issues plaguing Indonesia's current capital Jakarta include dense settlements (above), congested traffic and polluted waterways. There are hopes for the new capital to rise above such problems. Urban+'s plan envisages a compact downtown core that will allow a resident to walk from a cluster of housing down a generous boulevard through the business district to the presidential palace in the north in about an hour. PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Architectural and urban planning firm Urban+'s winning entry for Indonesia's new capital (artist's impression above) includes plans for mass transit consisting of an electric tram network that can be replaced with an MRT network or a light rail later
Some of the issues plaguing Indonesia's current capital Jakarta include dense settlements, congested traffic (above) and polluted waterways. There are hopes for the new capital to rise above such problems. Urban+'s plan envisages a compact downtown core that will allow a resident to walk from a cluster of housing down a generous boulevard through the business district to the presidential palace in the north in about an hour. PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Architectural and urban planning firm Urban+'s winning entry for Indonesia's new capital (artist's impression above) includes plans for mass transit consisting of an electric tram network that can be replaced with an MRT network or a light rail later
Some of the issues plaguing Indonesia's current capital Jakarta include dense settlements, congested traffic and polluted waterways (above). There are hopes for the new capital to rise above such problems. Urban+'s plan envisages a compact downtown core that will allow a resident to walk from a cluster of housing down a generous boulevard through the business district to the presidential palace in the north in about an hour. PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Jeffrey Hutton Regional Correspondent In Jakarta
Updated
Mar 01, 2020, 05:00 AM
Published
Mar 01, 2020, 05:00 AM
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It may not even have a name yet, but hopes are riding high that Indonesia's new capital represents a clean break from the poor planning and low living standards that bedevil nearly all of the country's cities.

"Name a good city in Indonesia," challenged Mr Sibarani Sofian, founder of Jakarta-based architectural and urban planning firm Urban+, during an interview with The Sunday Times.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 01, 2020, with the headline Indonesia's new capital a blank slate for its designer. Subscribe

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