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The Line, Saudi Arabia

Coordinates: 28°06′00″N 35°18′00″E / 28.10000°N 35.30000°E / 28.10000; 35.30000
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The Line
ذا لاين (Arabic)
City
Map
Coordinates: 28°06′00″N 35°18′00″E / 28.10000°N 35.30000°E / 28.10000; 35.30000
Country Saudi Arabia
ProvinceTabuk
CityNeom
Announced10 January 2021; 3 years ago (2021-01-10)
Founded byMohammed bin Salman
Government
 • DirectorNadhmi Al-Nasr[1]
Area
 • Total34 km2 (13 sq mi)
Dimensions
 • Length170 km (110 mi)
 • Width0.2 km (0.1 mi)
Time zoneUTC+03 (Arabian Standard Time)
Websitewww.neom.com/en-us/regions/theline Edit this at Wikidata

The Line (stylised THE LINE; Arabic: ذا لاين) is a linear smart city under construction in Saudi Arabia in Neom, Tabuk Province, which is designed to have no cars, streets or carbon emissions.[2][3]

The city is one of the nine announced regions of Neom and is a part of Saudi Vision 2030 project, which Saudi Arabia claims will create around 460,000 jobs and add an estimated $48 billion to the country's GDP.[2] The Line is planned to be the first development of a $500 billion project in Neom.

The original plans were for the city to be 170 kilometres (110 mi) long and accommodate a population of 9 million (25% of Saudi Arabia's 2022 population of 35.5 million) by 2030.[4] According to a 2024 Bloomberg report, this was later scaled down to a population of 300,000,[5] housed in 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) by 2030.[6] Saudi officials denied this claim and stated that the project was continuing as planned.[7]

Proposal

Artist's conception of the outdoor interior space within The Line.

The Line is eventually planned to be 170 kilometres (110 miles) long.[3][8][9] It could stretch from the Red Sea approximately to the city of Tabuk and could have nine million residents, resulting in an average population density of 260,000 per square kilometre (670,000/sq mi).[4] By comparison, Manila, the world's most densely populated city in 2020, had a density of 44,000 per square kilometre (110,000/sq mi).[10] The Line's design consists of two mirrored buildings with an outdoor space inbetween, having a total width of 200 metres (660 ft) and a height of 500 metres (1,600 ft).[4] This would make it the third tallest building in the country after the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower and the proposed Jeddah Tower, and approximately the 12th tallest building in the world.

The plan is for the city to be powered entirely by renewable energy.[8] It will consist of three layers, one on the surface for pedestrians, one underground for infrastructure, and another underground for transportation.[2] Artificial intelligence will monitor the city and use predictive and data models to find ways to improve daily life for its citizens,[2] with residents being paid for submitting data to The Line.[11]

The estimated building cost is US$100–200 billion (400–700 billion SAR),[9] with some estimates as high as $1 trillion.[12] It is claimed by the Saudi government that it will create 460,000 jobs, spur economic diversification, and contribute 180 billion SAR (US$48 billion) to domestic GDP by 2030.[4] According to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2022, the first phase project is expected to cost SAR 1.2 trillion (USD 320 billion), and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) would provide half of the sum.[13]

On 5 April 2024, Bloomberg News reported that the project had been scaled back as a result of restrictions over funding by the PIF. Bloomberg cited Saudi officials as expecting a 2030 completion of a 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) section of the city which would contain fewer than 300,000 residents, a reduction of more than 98%.[13]

Planning

The Line contains elements of architectural ideas from the industrial era.[14]

  • In 1882, the Spanish urban planner Arturo Soria imagined a linear city, based on innovative use of the tramway. He applied part of his idea to a neighborhood in Madrid but lack of support ended the scheme.
  • In the 1950s, the French architect Yona Friedman proposed the concept of an integrated, modular and vertical "spatial city" to solve the problem of urban sprawl, but the idea remained an intellectual curiosity.
  • In the 1960s, the Italian avant-garde group Superstudio presented a radical artistic project: the continuous monument, "an architectural model for total urbanization," which was supposed to cover the entire Earth, but without any feasibility or real utility. The proposal was a criticism of Modernism, monumentality, design and capitalism.[15]

The first plan for The Line was announced on 10 January 2021 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a presentation broadcast on state television.[3] Earthworks began in October 2021, and crews working on the project were to move in during 2024.[16] As of July 2022, the first phase of the project was scheduled to be completed in 2030.[4] Bin Salman, as chairman of the Neom board of directors, released a statement and promotional video on 25 July 2021 which led to more widespread media coverage of the project.[17] This caused questions to be raised about the merits of the design and environmental issues, with critics concerned that the project would create a "dystopian"[18] and "artificial" facility[19] that had already displaced the Huwaitat indigenous tribe[20][21] and would impact the migration of birds and wildlife.[22]

Construction

Excavation progress of The Line (marked with blue arrows, 150-kilometre (95-mile) ruler for scale), October 2022

The Line will consist of connected communities called modules. The total structure will consist of 135 modules, each 800 metres (2,600 ft) in length and 500 metres (1,600 ft) tall.[23] In October 2022, drone footage released by Ot Sky confirmed that construction on The Line was under way, with excavation taking place along the entire length of the project.[24]

Architects

The project management required all architects to sign confidentiality agreements, which is why there are no references to The Line on any of their websites. German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung learned that two architects had terminated their participation in the project because of human rights and ecological concerns, Norman Foster and Francine Houben from Mecanoo. The paper also reported that several high-ranking architects were still on board, David Adjaye, Ben van Berkel (UN Studios), Massimiliano Fuksas, the London office of the late Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) as well as Delugan Meissl and Wolf D. Prix from Coop Himmelb(l)au. The Süddeutsche criticized the lack of sustainability and the double standards of the architects in moral issues.[25]

Modules 40–50

By March 2023, more than 4,500 piles had been driven in module 43, reaching a peak of 60 piles per day. Piling work then shifted towards modules 45, 46 and 47 located at the marina. Excavation of about 1 million cubic metres (35 million cubic feet) of earth was taking place each week at the marina.[26]

The Hidden Marina

The design includes a marina, twice the size of existing marinas, on the northern side of the buildings, away from the sea. The plan calls for a tunnel and canal to be made through The Line, large enough for large cruise ships to pass through. Construction started in April 2022, aiming to open to visitors and residents by 2030. As of February 2024 over 90 million cubic metres of material had been moved.[citation needed] [27]

The Spine

Early plans proposed an underground railway with 510-kilometre-per-hour (317 mph) trains that could travel from one end of The Line to the other in 20 minutes. As of 2023, short tunnels had been dug for the start of the railway and a train was in a prototype stage of development.[28]

2024 scaling back

In April 2024 it was reported that the project had been "scaled back" after foreign direct investment investors had not "bought into the crown prince's vision", according to Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal analyst at risk consultancy Maplecroft. Fluctuating global oil prices had contributed to the decision.[5]

The Line was now expected to be reduced to a short section at the western end 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) long, a 98.6% reduction from the original design, with a population of 300,000 rather than the intended 1.5 million.[5]

The Saudi minister of economy and planning rejected the claims of scaling back. He said in an interview during World Economic Forum special meeting in Riyadh that "For NEOM, the projects, the intended scale is continuing as planned. There is no change in scale".[29]

Reception

Urban planning concerns

In an interview with Dezeen, associate professor Marshall Brown at Princeton University said he believed that in such large-scale urban planning, it would be difficult to achieve the slick, futuristic aesthetic seen in the concept art because of the large number of factors involved; for example, one of the images depicts a picnic on a 200-metre-high (660 ft) ledge, which would probably be dangerous in real life.[30] Hélène Chartier of C40 Cities compared The Line to other unrealised linear city projects, such as the 1882 design by Soria and a 1965 proposal for a linear settlement in New Jersey.[30] Dutch architect Winy Maas said that while he would love to live in such an environment, its profile as seen in the concept art was monotonous, and he believed it would facilitate unfavorable wind flow through the interior.[30]

Philip Oldfield of the University of New South Wales said that the quality of life would probably come down to whether the city was well-managed, rather than to its visual flair.[30] Oldfield said the project would have a carbon footprint of about 1.8 gigatonnes (2,000 million short tons) of CO2 equivalent in the glass, steel, and concrete, because "you cannot build a 500-meter-tall [1,600 ft] building out of low-carbon materials". He said the 170-kilometre (110-mile) profile would create a large-scale barrier to adjacent ecosystems and migratory species similar to that created by highways, and the mirrored exterior facade would be dangerous for birds.[30]

Researchers from the Vienna Complexity Science Hub suggested that a circular city of a 3.3 km (2.1 mi) radius would have had much shorter commuting times than a linear city. The average distance between two inhabitants of a linear city would be 57 km (35 mi), as opposed to 2.9 km (1.8 mi) for a circular city. In a linear city, each inhabitant would have only 1.2% of the population in walking distance as "people are as far away from others as possible", as opposed to 24% in a circular city. In a linear city, walking and cycling would not be popular and travel time in a fast train would be disproportionately long, while a compact circular city would allow active mobility and fast trains would not be needed. The required density in a circular city would be much lower, which would allow it to be built with existing technology, reducing the environmental footprint of buildings. A railway line disruption would immobilize a linear city, but have less impact on a circular city.[31]

Concerns about policy and human rights

Digital rights researchers such as Vincent Mosco have suggested that the city's data collection scheme could make it a "surveillance city", because of arrangements that would distort consent to sharing data, and because Saudi Arabia's poor human rights record might imply potential misuse of data. Neom CEO Joseph Bradley said that the Neom coordinators were resolving privacy issues and that Saudi Arabia had a personal data protection law.[11]

Aside from the merits of the projected city, there was also scrutiny of the actions of the Saudi government in pursuing the project. In October 2022, three men of the Howeitat tribe, Shadli, Ibrahim, and Ataullah al-Huwaiti, were sentenced to death when they refused to vacate their village as part of the NEOM project.[32] Shadli al-Huwaiti was the brother of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti, who was shot dead by security forces in April 2020 in his home in Al-Khariba, in the part of Tabuk province earmarked for NEOM, after he posted videos on social media opposing the displacement of local residents to make way for the project.[33] In response to reports of human rights violations, one company, Solar Winds, pulled out of the project in 2022.[34]

Feasibility

According to architect and urban planner Etienne Bou-Abdo, "the 3D images presented are not classical 3D architecture images", and the designers of the project "have rather called upon video game designers". Bou-Abdo stated that the plan included "a lot of technology that we don't have today".[14] Many of the project's key announcements, particularly in the areas of energy and transportation, were based on technologies that did not exist even in prototype form.[35]

See also

References

  1. ^ "PROFILE: Who is Nadhmi al-Nasr, the new CEO of Saudi Arabia's NEOM?". Al Arabiya English. 3 July 2018. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Summers, Nick (11 January 2021). "Saudi Arabia is planning a 100-mile line of car-free smart communities". Engadget. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Top Global Oil Exporter Saudi Arabia Launches Car-free City". Barrons. 10 January 2021. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Saudi Arabia plans 100-mile-long mirrored skyscraper megacity". The Guardian. 27 July 2022. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Nolsøe, Eir (9 April 2024). "Why Mohammed bin Salman has been forced to rein in his dreams of a mirror city". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Bea (15 April 2024). "Plans for The Line at Saudi Arabia's Neom scaled back". Blooloop. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  7. ^ Turak, Natasha (29 April 2024). "Saudi Arabia says all NEOM megaprojects will go ahead as planned despite reports of scaling back". CNBC. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b "What is The Line? All you need to know about Saudi Arabia's plan for a futuristic zero-carbon city". Free Press Journal. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  9. ^ a b Rashad, Marwa (10 January 2021). "Saudi Crown Prince launches zero-carbon city in NEOM business zone". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Census of Population (2020)". Philippine Statistics Authority. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021.
  11. ^ a b "FEATURE-Saudi 'surveillance city': Would you sell your data to The Line?". Reuters. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  12. ^ Nereim, Vivian (14 July 2022). "MBS's $500 Billion Desert Dream Just Keeps Getting Weirder". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Saudis Scale Back Ambition for $1.5 Trillion Desert Project Neom". Bloomberg.com. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b "The Line : ville du futur ou dystopie ?". 4 May 2023.
  15. ^ Keats, Jonathon (22 March 2021). "Is The 100-Mile-Long Desert City Just Proposed By Mohammed Bin Salman A Copy Of A '60s Architectural Dystopia?". Forbes. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  16. ^ Nereim, Vivian (31 October 2021). "Saudi Arabia Starts Moving Earth for Its Futuristic Linear City". Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  17. ^ "HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announces designs for THE LINE, the city of the future in NEOM". neom.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  18. ^ Bantock, Jack; Brown, Benjamin (27 July 2022). "Future or fantasy? Designs unveiled for one-building city stretching 106 miles in Saudi Arabia". CNN. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  19. ^ Chappell, Bill (26 July 2022). "A 105-mile-long city will snake through the Saudi desert. Is that a good idea?". NPR. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  20. ^ "This is what Saudi Arabia's 100-mile long emission-free smart city could look like". Engadget. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  21. ^ Hurst, Luke (27 July 2022). "'The Line': Saudi Arabia unveils plans for two 170km-long skyscrapers". euronews. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  22. ^ Alcido, Macy; Ramdeen-Chowdhury, Kamini (28 July 2022). "The Jetsons Meet West World: Saudi Arabia's Smart City Promises Flying Taxis And No Carbon Emissions". theskimm.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Saudi Arabia to build 170 kilometres-long city as part of Neom project". 13 January 2021.
  24. ^ Ravenscroft, Tom (19 October 2022). "Drone footage reveals The Line megacity under construction in Saudi Arabia". Dezeen. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  25. ^ Briegleb, Till (21 March 2023). "Im größten Bordell der Welt / Öko-Stadt "Neom" und die Rolle der Stararchitekten" (in German).
  26. ^ "World's largest piling project shifts to the Line's marina". 26 March 2023.
  27. ^ NEOM, THE LINE : Update 2024, retrieved 22 March 2024
  28. ^ NEOM, THE LINE : Update 2024, retrieved 22 March 2024
  29. ^ Turak, Natasha (29 April 2024). "Saudi Arabia says all NEOM megaprojects will go ahead as planned despite reports of scaling back". CNBC. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  30. ^ a b c d e "Sustainability and liveability claims of Saudi 170km city are naive, say experts". Dezeen. 8 August 2022.
  31. ^ Prieto-Curiel, Rafael; Kondor, Dániel (19 June 2023). "Arguments for building The Circle and not The Line in Saudi Arabia". npj Urban Sustainability. 3 (1): 1–4. doi:10.1038/s42949-023-00115-y. ISSN 2661-8001. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  32. ^ Rasool, Mohammed (11 October 2022). "Saudi Arabia Sentences 3 Men to Death For Refusing to Vacate NEOM Development Site".
  33. ^ Younes, Ali (15 April 2020). "Saudi forces kill man who refused to give up property: Activists".
  34. ^ "Energy CEO said he canceled a $100M contract with Neom when he realized the Saudis were bulldozing villages to make space". Business Insider. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  35. ^ "The Line – Saudi Arabia's Controversial 170-Km-Long Linear City of the Future". www.odditycentral.com. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
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