What Exactly is “The Line”?
Have you ever imagined living in a city where everything you need is just a five-minute walk away? Where the balance between nature and urban living is not just an afterthought but a fundamental principle?
Well, hold onto your hats, because “The Line” promises just that.
"THE LINE will tackle the challenges facing humanity in urban life today and will shine a light on alternative ways to live. We cannot ignore the livability and environmental crises facing our world’s cities, and NEOM is at the forefront of delivering new and imaginative solutions to address these issues. NEOM is leading a team of the brightest minds in architecture, engineering and construction to make the idea of building upwards a reality."Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Chairman of the NEOM Company Board of Directors
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s unravel what “The Line” actually is. Envisioned as a part of NEOM, a mega-city project being developed in Saudi Arabia, “The Line” is a proposed linear city stretching over 170 kilometres. Yes, you read that right – a city built in a straight line! The radical idea behind it is to create a city that prioritizes people’s health, time, and interaction with the environment over cars and streets.
Planned as the first part of a huge $500 billion project, The Line aims to house 9 million people, a quarter of Saudi Arabia’s current population. But, is it a visionary breakthrough or a fleeting dream?
Let’s dive deep into this fascinating concept and explore its potential to redefine the future of urban living.
Proposal
“The Line is being planned to be stretched by 170 kilometres (110 miles) while keeping intact 95% of nature inside of Neom. It’s being stretched from the Red Sea, nearing the city of Tabuk. It hopes that it contains approximately 9 million residents, giving an average population density of 260,000 per square kilometre (670,000/sq mi). For a bit of comparison!!! Manila, became the world’s most densely populated city in 2020, got a density of 44,000 per square kilometre (110,000/sq mi).
According to The Line’s plan, it includes two mirrored buildings with a free space in between. Total width going to be 200 metres (660 ft), and a projected height of 500 metres (1,600 ft). It looks like it would make it the 3rd biggest building in the country, after Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower and the proposed Jeddah Tower. Also, it could be something like, ah, more or less the 12th tallest building in the world.
The city plans to be powered, completely by renewable energy, The city will have three layers, one on the top, for walking people, and one buried down for infrastructure. Also, another buried one for transportation. The fruits and vegetables will be growing directly in some of the buildings. Advanced intelligence (not humans), will keep an eye on the city, and use predictive and detailed models to help improve the days of its citizens. The people living there will be paid, yes paid, for providing data to The Line.
It’s estimated that the building cost will be in the range of US$500 billion (400–700 billion SAR). And yet some people think it might be as costly as $1 trillion. The Saudi government said that the project will build about 460,000 jobs it will boost economic diversification, and contribute 180 billion SAR (US$48 billion) to the GDP of the country; by around 2030.”
Planning
The Line might seem like a futuristic idea, but it’s actually based on architectural concepts from the past:
In 1882, Arturo Soria, a Spanish urban planner, came up with the idea of a linear city that used trams. He tried it out in a neighborhood in Madrid but didn’t get much support.
In the 1950s, a French architect named Yona Friedman suggested a modular and vertical “spatial city” to deal with cities spreading out too much. But it was more of a cool idea than something practical.
Then in the 1960s, an Italian group called Superstudio had a wild idea for a “continuous monument” that would cover the whole Earth. It was more of an art project criticizing modern architecture and capitalism.
The plan for The Line was introduced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in January 2021, and construction started in October 2021. People are expected to start moving in by 2024, with the first phase set to be done by 2030. But some people worry that it might not be a good idea, saying it could harm the environment and displace indigenous tribes like the Huwaitat.
Construction
The Line will be made up of connected communities called modules. There will be a total of 135 modules, each 800 meters long and 500 meters tall. Construction on The Line has started, as confirmed by drone footage released in October 2022. Excavation work is happening throughout the whole project. The foundation work for the huge buildings has already begun. The Bauer Group from Bavaria is handling the start-up tasks. In the first phase of construction, they’re driving large bored piles 70 meters deep into the desert sand with a diameter of 2.5 meters. Bauer has been given two more phases for the foundation of The Line just before Christmas 2022.
Recently in 2024, the project manager for Bandstadt shared some aerial photos showing the progress of construction. You can also see the construction sites for Oxagon, the floating city, and Sindalah, the luxury island, in Giles Pendleton’s post on LinkedIn.
Michael Stomberg, CEO of Bauer AG, says that the Megacity Neom is getting a lot of attention and is one of the most impressive construction projects globally. They’re happy that the client trusts them to carry out more project phases after completing the first one.
Architect’s
Numerous architects feature in the Discovery Channel documentary, which is named The Line: Saudi Arabia’s City of the Future in Neom, alongside members of the Neom team and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“I can’t think of anybody that wouldn’t want to be part of this project,” said Morphosis founder Mayne, while Cook Haffner Architecture Platform co-founder Cook said that “if it succeeds, it will be a new Babylon”.
The 45-minute-long documentary marks the first time the majority of architects connected to the 170-kilometer-long city, which has largely been developed in secret, have spoken at length about it in public.
Mayne explained how Morphosis had developed the concept for The Line, which forms part of the Neom mega project, as its entry to an invited competition to design a new city.”It’s a complicated project, but the big idea is incredibly simple,” he explained.
The film features interviews with architects from six studios – Morphosis, Cook Haffner Architecture Platform, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, HOK, LAVA, and OMA.
Criticism
- In an interview with Dezeen, Professor Marshall Brown from Princeton University said that creating a futuristic city like the one shown in the concept art would be tough due to many factors. For instance, having a picnic on a high ledge as depicted in the pictures might be against the law.
- Hélène Chartier from C40 Cities compared The Line project to other similar ideas from the past, like a design from 1882 and a proposal from 1965.
- Architect Winy Maas mentioned that while he liked the idea of living in such a city, he thought it looked too boring in the concept art and might cause bad wind patterns inside. He did appreciate the idea of making the city denser and better at regulating heat.
- Philip Oldfield from the University of New South Wales said that how well the city is managed will likely determine people’s quality of life more than how it looks.
- Oldfield also pointed out that building such a city would create a huge amount of carbon emissions because the materials needed aren’t eco-friendly. The city’s long shape could also harm nearby ecosystems and birds.
- Some experts, like Vincent Mosco, worried that the city’s plan to collect a lot of data could lead to privacy issues and make it feel like a surveillance city, especially considering Saudi Arabia’s track record on human rights.
- Neom CEO Joseph Bradley said they were working on fixing privacy concerns and that Saudi Arabia has laws to protect personal data.
- Apart from discussing the city’s design, there’s also been criticism of how the Saudi government is handling the project. In 2022, three members of the Howeitat tribe were sentenced to death for refusing to leave their village, which was in the way of the NEOM project.
- Researchers from the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna have suggested reorganizing the project into a circular city, which could reduce commuting times and make the city less crowded.
However, even with construction in full swing, The Line is still encountering plenty of challenges. Apart from the construction hurdles, there are other important issues to discuss. Let’s take a closer look at how many challenges are still on the table.
Challenges
Technological Hurdles
The ambitious vision of “The Line” leans heavily on technology that is still being developed. Creating a fully autonomous, AI-driven city is no small feat. Achieving seamless integration of these technologies in a way that is practical and beneficial to its residents will be a colossal task.
Environmental Concerns
Building a mega-city in a region known for its delicate ecosystems raises significant environmental concerns. The construction and ongoing operation of such a massive project could potentially disrupt local wildlife and natural habitats. Ensuring sustainable development while minimizing ecological impact will be a critical challenge.
Social and Cultural Implications
Creating a new city from scratch involves not just architectural and technological challenges, but also social and cultural ones. How will “The Line” integrate into the existing cultural fabric of the region? Will it be able to foster a sense of community and belonging among its inhabitants? These are some of the questions that need addressing as the project moves forward.
Conclusion: A Dream Worth Pursuing?
“The Line” stands at the crossroads of visionary innovation and challenging reality. It embodies a dream of urban living that is radically different from what we know today. Whether it will become a shining example of future cities or remain a utopian concept is uncertain.
However, the pursuit of such bold ideas is essential for pushing the boundaries of what is possible. In the quest to redefine urban living, “The Line” is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, blending audacious dreams with the determination to make them a reality. As we watch this fascinating project unfold, one thing is clear: the future of urban living is ripe for reinvention, and “The Line” is leading the charge.
By The way, What do you think about ”The Line”? Is it possible to build? comment below and share your thoughts.
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