Forest City. The most expensive ghost town of the world

© Francesca Pompei - Fog enveloping a ruined building, in the deep vegetation of Forest City downtown. © Francesca Pompei - Traffic roundabout at the entrance of the city. © Francesca Pompei - An architectural perspective of one building in the complex downtown. View all images ↓
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Forest City, the new place built from scratch on four artificial islands off the coast of the Malay Peninsula, was designed to accommodate nearly one million people. Today, just over 1% of the development is inhabited and it is a no-man's-land.

 Forest City was an audacious new city project created by Country Garden, one of China’s top property developers and it was the largest Chinese urban investment outside of China.

Located in Malaysian territorial waters off the coast of the Malay Peninsula between Johor and Singapore, Forest City intended to be a new ‘city’ being built from scratch on four artificial islands designed to accommodate nearly one million people.

Started in 2016, it should have had a geopolitical function in China’s aim to expand its economic and political influence and, although it has been awarded many green design certifications and it was initially presented to the market as “a dream paradise for all mankind”, Forest City is actually a ghost town.

The eco-rhetoric of a model city of the future raised a lot of criticism and it didn't manage to cover the economics speculation and the greenwashing accusations. Today, just over 1% of the development is estimated to be inhabited and the few residents are completely abandoned in a no-man's-land of deserted streets and empty stores, unable to re-sell or leave their property because no one wants to live there.

Nevertheless, the developer insists that the current situation is just “noise” and that the project's operations continue as usual, also with plans to include Forest City in a new special economic zone between Malaysia and neighboring Singapore.

At the moment, the fate of what was supposed to be one of the most expensive urban projects is still unclear and there are many questions to be answered about the real assets and the financial support of the Chinese government to Country Garden, the strategic position of the area and the idea of an effective  multi-scalar politics of urban greening and green infrastructure.

© Francesca Pompei - Fog enveloping a ruined building, in the deep vegetation of Forest City downtown.
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Fog enveloping a ruined building, in the deep vegetation of Forest City downtown.

© Francesca Pompei - Traffic roundabout at the entrance of the city.
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Traffic roundabout at the entrance of the city.

© Francesca Pompei - An architectural perspective of one building in the complex downtown.
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An architectural perspective of one building in the complex downtown.

© Francesca Pompei - An architectural perspective of a terrace in a private building.
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An architectural perspective of a terrace in a private building.

© Francesca Pompei - Waste sorting-rubbish bins in a corner of a deserted condominium.
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Waste sorting-rubbish bins in a corner of a deserted condominium.

© Francesca Pompei - Empty postboxes inside a condominium.
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Empty postboxes inside a condominium.

© Francesca Pompei - A perspective of an inner staircase of a building in the blocks in the centre of Forest City.
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A perspective of an inner staircase of a building in the blocks in the centre of Forest City.

© Francesca Pompei - The facade of one building in the central blocks of Forest city.
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The facade of one building in the central blocks of Forest city.

© Francesca Pompei - An old Chinese communication hung on a local store. It dates back to 2023.
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An old Chinese communication hung on a local store. It dates back to 2023.

© Francesca Pompei - A road signal without any indication outside a car park.
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A road signal without any indication outside a car park.

© Francesca Pompei - A luxury car abandoned in front of old vehicles' resellers of Forest City.
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A luxury car abandoned in front of old vehicles' resellers of Forest City.

© Francesca Pompei - A view of the luxuriant landscape downtown.
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A view of the luxuriant landscape downtown.

© Francesca Pompei - The facade of one building in the central blocks of Forest city.
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The facade of one building in the central blocks of Forest city.

© Francesca Pompei - A cat relaxing in the garden of a playground in the yard of a building.
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A cat relaxing in the garden of a playground in the yard of a building.

© Francesca Pompei - An empty swimming pool, a private comfort for the hypothetical inhabitants.
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An empty swimming pool, a private comfort for the hypothetical inhabitants.

© Francesca Pompei - A lonely worker in front of some Chinese shops in the hill of Forest City.
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A lonely worker in front of some Chinese shops in the hill of Forest City.

© Francesca Pompei - What remains of the setting of a past wedding celebrated in a pavilion along the beach.
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What remains of the setting of a past wedding celebrated in a pavilion along the beach.

© Francesca Pompei - A rusted boat with the local logo in the abandoned beach of Forest City with a local fisherman.
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A rusted boat with the local logo in the abandoned beach of Forest City with a local fisherman.

© Francesca Pompei - The abandoned beach of Forest City and the landscape of the uninhabited buildings.
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The abandoned beach of Forest City and the landscape of the uninhabited buildings.

© Francesca Pompei - Image from the Forest City. The most expensive ghost town of the world photography project