Example of a USD100 billion Smart City fail
Journal of Territorial and Maritime Studies
This is a short story about a city built in Malaysia. A Chinese consortium initiated the project with enough funding to neglect significant risks.
The project was built on reclaimed land with such a rush that it may be unlikely that the ground is stable enough to hold the significant construction of the city.
The city is called the Forest City. I thought this was a great project when I heard of it first. Finally, someone is thinking of bringing more nature into the city.
But… I was wrong.
This project is a forest of high-rises aimed at attracting the mainland Chinese upper-middle class through an agreement with Malaysia, my second home permit. And provide a way to stash investment outside of China.
One exciting thing was that this city is a so-called Freezone. This means that you limit what you purchase in the tax-free city shops. Well — maybe this is a great thought, but where is the idea of smart urban planning and its impact on the environment and benefiting citizens?
In 2019, the city won a sustainable award, published in SmartCityWorld. But how was this measured?
Just because some huge high-rises are thrown up somewhere, and very few people live in the properties, even the shops or Malls are barely operating. Then what are the criteria for evaluating this as a sustainable city?
What makes this project a Smart City fail?
- COVID travel ban reduced opportunities to travel to the location
- Malaysia my second home, was suspended during COVID, which resulted in the majority of potential property investors no longer having access or interest to relocate to the city.
- The city was built on the basis of profits, and it is hard to prove the sustainable aspect of the design.
You may question what makes a better city? — During these times, there are a lot of talks around resilience and including communities.
A better city may be a more inclusive and responsive city, where citizens are more involved and where social enterprises support the local economy and built resilience for the city and its citizens.
