![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/Nusantara-indonesia-5021888.jpg?r=1697725704496\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Indonesia’s bold plan to replace its sinking capital, Jakarta, with a sustainable ‘eco-city’ named Nusantara on the island of Borneo has sparked a mixture of excitement and scepticism.<\/p>\n
The ambitious endeavour is not unique; it mirrors a global trend of constructing new cities from scratch, observed in Asia and Africa.<\/p>\n
Dr Sarah Moser, director of the Urban Studies Program at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, has documented 170 such cities across 50 countries, emphasising the growing enthusiasm among governments for this approach.<\/p>\n
While proponents hail these new cities as solutions to problems like overcrowding and pollution, critics voice concerns.<\/p>\n
Nusantara, covering an area four times the size of Jakarta and intended to host 1.9 million people by 2045, faces accusations of ecological disaster.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> Fears one of world’s most violent volcanoes on brink of major eruption<\/strong><\/p>\n Environmentalists fear massive deforestation and habitat destruction for endangered species and indigenous communities. Moreover, the potential links between new cities and the spread of infectious diseases have raised alarm bells among experts.<\/p>\n In 2015, Carl-Johan Neiderud, MD at the section for Infectious Diseases at Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden, wrote: \u201cNew megacities can be incubators for new epidemics, and zoonotic diseases can spread in a more rapid manner and become worldwide threats.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople see enormous potential in starting over, abandoning existing cities, and doing something that will solve all their problems,\u201d says Dr Moser.<\/p>\n \u201cI think globally new cities are seen as a kind of cure-all for all the problems that plague big cities in the global south \u2013 traffic congestion, pollution, overcrowding, housing deficits and all of this. New cities are very seductive and have a lot of curb appeal.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> \u201cI can only see this accelerating. With climate change, it\u2019s going to intensify. I thought a few years back that we might have hit peak new cities, that the ruse was up, that people were realising there were enough failed projects, and that we should be suspicious about this trend, but that doesn\u2019t seem to be happening.<\/p>\n \u201cThe deep irony is that they are claiming they are going to have the solutions. By my calculations, 30 to 40 per cent of all of them are being built at sea level, on the coast, or on reclaimed land.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite its promises, Nusantara only offers a limited solution for Jakarta’s 30 million residents grappling with flooding, congestion, and poor living conditions. For many, especially those in impoverished shanty towns, the new eco-city seems distant and irrelevant.<\/p>\n
China issues veiled warning to Washington as fears of ‘new Cold War’ emerge[INSIGHT] <\/strong>
US launches major war drills with SIX nations in warning to China[ANALYSIS] <\/strong>
Horror as missing man found inside python as massive snake eats him whole[VIDEO] <\/strong><\/p>\n\n