Urban Greening for New Capital Cities. A Meta Review

Abstract

In light of the discussions on relocating the capital city of Indonesia to a new location in Kalimantan, and create a new green capital city (referred to as IKN), the purpose of this meta-review paper is learn from experiences from other relocations of capital cities and creations of green cities in the world. Specific emphasis is hereby given to urban greening and gentrification. This article applies a meta-analytical approach by connecting the basic tenets of the 8R framework of responsible land management to assess the pros and cons of a selected set of capital city relocations and green cities. From the comparison, it is possible to generate general recommendations for Indonesia's new green capital city. The comparison reveals that each of the selected cases falls short in one or more aspects of the 8R framework. In all cases, constructing green capitals requires a mixed and integrated land use planning, a transparent regulatory framework toward land use control, extensive consultation with both local, national and international stakeholders, and participation with local residents. Only under these conditions, one can ensure ownership, respect and trust in the decision. The quandaries highlight the complexity of capital city relocation and green city creation. The originality lies in the specific land management framework perspective and discursive analysis of documented discourses on constructing new capital and green cities. This provides new options for devising and extending regulatory guidelines and for assigning responsibilities for such new mega-endeavors. Given the conceptual and discursive character of the paper, a limitation of the approach may be that there are no specific empirical data collected, yet several recommendations for further research include expanding the boundary work between the land management, the spatial planning and governance domains.

Implementation and Challenges of Environmental Law in The Context of the Nusantara Capital City

“…Balancing development and environmental preservation in building new capital cities like Nusantara is a complex endeavor. [20] The transformation of land use has significant consequences on the surrounding environment, demanding a focus on sustainable development and environmental protection. The main challenge is harmonizing modern infrastructure development with nature and existing environments.…”

Greening the Change: Macro-Micro Perspectives in Sustainability Challenges in Indonesian Capital Relocation

“…Given that East Kalimantan Province is part of the lunge of the world, the lower achievement of SDGs in climate actions strongly confirmed the concern of many opponents of the plan. East Kalimantan Province has adopted the Green Growth Compact or GCC concept to improve its performance in climate action [23]. GCC is an initiative from the province to build a movement to make East Kalimantan a new green development model for Indonesia and the world by highlighting partnerships between the government, the private sector, and the community.…”

Achieving Sustainable Urban Development for Indonesia's New Capital City

“…It will have an effect on the vegetation and land cover in the Nusantara region, causing the forest to shrink and the carbon stock, especially biomass stocks, to decline. Carbon sequestration can be used to preserve the carbon balance at Nusantara and the green city concept of the new capital city of Nusantara [26].…”

“…In some cities, such as Singapore, parks provide not only a place for people to participate in activities with their friends and family but also a place where they can experience being with others [25]. In general, relocation of a capital city is intended to create a green city and serve as a symbol for new sustainable ecologically and environmentally friendly policies, such as Indonesia's goal for its new capital city, which should be the greenest, smartest, and most sustainable capital city in the world [26]. In the 21st century, the fundamental concept of a new capital city will fully adopt new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things, which are designed with modern technology and an eco-friendly concept in mind [27].…”