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.

The Indonesian government is planning a new capital city in East-Kalimantan, Borneo, called Nusantara. The total appointed area for Nusantara is 56.000ha, including areas for urban development, nature reserves, industrial, and agricultural areas . The city should support two million residents in 2045. The area is in a severely degraded state caused by large scale deforestation, oil palm and eucalypt plantations, coal mining and uncontrolled urbanization. The remnants of the original ecosystems, including dipterocarp lowland forest and mangroves, are small in size and largely fragmented. Soils are impoverished, polluted, compacted and eroded. Water runs off quickly over the exposed lands, causing flooding, erosion and water shortages. The Indonesian government aims to build a ‘green, sustainable forest-city’, and to take the development of the area as an opportunity to restore ecosystems on site. In the current plans, this aim seems to be consolidated through appointing large nature reserves for restauration and a large urban area separately. The aim of this thesis is to integrate urbanisation with the restoration of the natural systems through design. Two challenges are addressed: the existing problems in the landscape, and the design of a context - sensitive future city. Many aspects of these two challenges are bound by water as an essential substance (H20) and as a force shaping physical landscapes, culture and power relations. Beyond being the connecting factor, water can be a formative power for design, creating long-term sustainability through integrating natural system dynamics. The main concepts to create an integrated approach with water as a formative power for design are derived from Landscape Based Urbanism and Design With Nature. The thesis reconsiders the large-scale planning of Nusantara with a vision and elaborates this vision through designs on the smaller scale that result in socially and ecologically valuable spaces.

The Mekong Delta, a vital region for Vietnam’s food production and home to diverse communities, faces escalating environmental pressures due to climate change, including rising sea levels, land subsidence, and salinity intrusion. Coupled with growing socio-economic demands, these challenges make sustainable water management increasingly urgent. This report investigates how the Mekong Delta can sustainably and resiliently coexist with water, using the island of Cồn Khương as a case study. Central to the research is the integration of traditional knowledge with innovative design strategies and stakeholder engagement.

Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, the study explores technical solutions such as a soft dike system that combines ecological restoration with flood protection, and floating pontoons designed to accommodate housing, agriculture, and renewable energy systems in response to fluctuating water levels. These solutions align with the delta’s natural rhythms to support long-term ecological health. A structured stakeholder engagement strategy, using a power-interest matrix, ensures inclusive participation and effective governance across sectors. Additionally, the project proposes sector-specific management strategies to support regional adaptation of national policies in urban, agricultural, and water planning.

The findings from Cồn Khương offer a scalable and resilient model of water management that harmonizes local needs with international sustainability goals. This integrative framework presents valuable insights for similar vulnerable regions and highlights a pathway toward sustainable adaptation in the Mekong Delta.