This research explores how landscape gradients can shape a new urbanisation framework for Nusantara, Indonesia’s planned capital city. As Jakarta struggles with rising sea levels and the pressures of climate change, the creation of Nusantara offers a rare opportunity to rethink the relationship between urban development and ecological systems on a grand scale.

Nusantara’s development site is located on the island of Borneo, between mountainous rainforests and estuarine mangroves. Much of the lowland rainforest in the area was converted into agricultural land and production forest in the 1900s, resulting in the fragmented landscape seen today. The natural gradient transitions between landscape typologies, which allow species movement, foster biodiversity, and carry cultural significance, have been disrupted by logging, agriculture, infrastructure, and mining. Since Nusantara is situated along a broad spatial gradient from the hilly rainforest to the mangroves, an alternative planning approach is required to preserve and regenerate these landscape structures.

This research explores whether landscape gradients can serve as a formative force in Nusantara’s development. The study begins with an analysis of the historical, spatial, ecological, and cultural characteristics of the site to uncover its underlying logic for subsequent design exploration. A collection of principles for designing with landscape gradients emerges from fieldwork and research, offering potential for future research. Key locations identified in the vision are developed in greater detail to illustrate the spatial quality of the proposed framework.