We need to talk about The Line

Said to be 170km long, 200m wide and about 500 m above sea level and with a promise to house 9 million residents, The Line’s main features include zero carbon emissions, facilities only a 5-minute walk and getting from one end of the line to the other only requires 20 minutes. Watching the promotional video, the graphics were fantastic and seemed to showcase The Line as this revolution to a smarter and greener planet. Large open spaces with greenery and sufficient sunlight and ventilation as well as artificial intelligence-run societies seem to be the perfect habitat for you to thrive. However, after digging deeper, a lot of psychological and environmental consequences popped into mind, which made me question if this project is really a step forward or a step back.

The Line is said to be the main attraction of Saudi Arabia’s newly announced smart city Neom. Built on the coast of the Red sea, Neom is part of a wider project known as Vision 2030, where the main objective is to lower the nation’s dependency on oil, provide a diverse and sustainable economy and enhance the nation's sectors and services. Neom will have its own tax system and will be 100% renewable.

The Line consists of three distinct levels, serving three distinct purposes, namely, the spine, service and pedestrian levels. The bottom-most layer, the spine layer, has AI transport and conducts freight operations. The service layer has, of course, the personal and commercial services required for civilians. The pedestrian level is to be restricted to only people and nature. No cars. No roads.

A rail system allows residents to travel 20 mins from one end to the other.

I believe that this project is beautiful and if all goes well it will not only advance various sectors in other countries but will also lead other cities to a more sustainable lifestyle. One problem, however, is that this city outlines unrealistic visions and expectations. A 170 km line with a 2o minute rail system seems to be quite extraordinary and our current technological developments may not provide the project with the necessary equipment to achieve such an idea. These unrealistic expectations impact investors mainly, as most of them don't invest in the project for profit alone, but rather they truly believe in this project and its global, positive impact on the world.

Although The Line is taking careful consideration of preserving its environment, the project has no chance to do this with 100% success. Many members of the Al-Huwaitat tribe (a tribe that had been undergoing harassment and abductions by Saudi forces) are being removed from their homeland due to the construction of The Line. Though the project does take careful precautions to preserve 95% of the natural habitat, a line crossing 170km across a desert seems to say otherwise.

One thing that I’m hopeful for is the fact that this will boost the nation’s economy and that the country will advance particular sectors such as biotechnology, education and construction. The promise for growth in technology whilst maintaining an eco-friendly lifestyle assures us that we have moved on from the era of industrialism, into a better future.

The cost for this project is said to cross over $ 5oo billion as of today and this comes at a great loss for the underdeveloped locations of Saudi Arabia. There are plenty of slums located across the country where this amount of money can be invested in renovation. Instead of starting from scratch, they should also consider the possibility of renewing the city.

Another aspect we have to think about is, what particular people are going to inhabit this city, and who do we count as residents? Apart from entrepreneurs and other professionals, does this city provide the necessities for a family-oriented environment? This idea of a smart city is still very new for the globe and many countries, having attempted, could only make minuscule progress. If this works out, it’s no doubt that it will be a first of its kind and therefore disconnected from the rest of the world. A family therefore may be hesitant for their children to grow up in such regions as they will get adapted to that environment and children from that environment only. That level of technology and an artificially supported society will not be prominent in other parts of the world.

The conditions of the environment also seem very difficult for the average person to live in. Located in a desert, in the south of Neom, it can reach temperatures of over 50 °C, and although the video does mention that the city will provide a well-ventilated system, this idea seems quite far-fetched.

Being 500m tall, there really isn’t any certainty that sunlight will be able to reach down to the lower residential areas, which is concerning as there is this gap as to who gets sunlight and who doesn’t. This is a major problem with the vertical design of this project and such a design may also pave way for a social hierarchy where one resident may not have the obligations another resident may have. There can also be social segregation between small children which can affect the psychological growth of a child.

The idea has potential, but it’s definitely flawed when it comes to design. Such designs will heavily impact society and the environment. There is a reason as to why we haven’t achieved Sci-Fi architecture, and that’s simply because it’s difficult. So do you think that this city has potential, or is it yet another doomed design?