In January of this year, the Saudi Arabian
Crown Prince announced an immense new development project, that is supposed to set a blueprint
for the future of his country and the world. He announced that the Kingdom will build a
city, that stretches along a single 100 mile long line. - Intro music - The linear city is part of a larger development
project planned by the Saudi Arabian government: Saudi Vision 2030 The economy of Saudi Arabia is heavily dependent
on the oil industry, which historically has ensured growth and led to the country now
being the 18th largest economy in the world by gross domestic product. Saudi Arabia has the second largest oil reserves
on the planet. While the oil industry is the strength of
the country, it has also been recognized that there is a risk in this dependency. Therefore the government is trying to diversify
the economy. As part of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative,
the country is investing primarily in large infrastructure projects, education, scientific
research, the healthcare system and the tourism sector. The goal is to pave the way for new industries,
in which the focus is primarily on future technologies, such as renewable power. And this is a development, that can be seen
across the Arabian Peninsula, with nations starting ambitious future programs. Even if these initiatives differ from one
another in terms of scope and objectives, what they have in common is that they include
structural investments that are designed to expand the regional economy to new areas. The Vision 2030 initiative of Saudi Arabia
was announced in April 2016. The project is pushed forward by Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, the son of the Saudi ruler, King Salman. Despite officially being crown prince and
minister of defense, Bin Salman is already regarded as the de facto leader of the country. The Line City is part of perhaps the biggest
project of this larger campaign initiated by Bin Salman, NEOM. NEOM is being built in the Tabuk Province
of Saudi Arabia. Here, the government has set up a zone for
the new city. The area is located on the Gulf of Aqaba and
the Red Sea, with the Straits of Tiran connecting both. On the opposite side of the strait lies Sharm
el Sheikh. This Egyptian city is economically completely
geared towards tourism and is one of the most popular and expensive seaside resorts in Egypt. This success should now be duplicated on the
other side in NEOM. The two islands, Tiran and Sanafir were historically
disputed between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. While Egypt has controlled them in the past,
the Egyptian parliament approved the transfer of these islands to Saudi Arabia in 2017. This agreement paves the way for a causeway
that would connect the two countries. As part of the Neom project, a bridge is planned
across the Tiran Strait. This would create a land connection from North
Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, bypassing Israel. Construction on some of the first projects
have already started since NEOM was announced. In the first phase, NEOM BAY is being developed,
which should lay the foundation for further development. Some hotel complexes as well as luxurious
apartments were created. And in 2019, the newly built NEOM BAY airport
was inaugurated, which enables a direct connection from the capital of Saudi Arabia Riyadh. But the largest project in NEOM at the moment,
is not intended for the general public. It is a huge park complex consisting of several
palaces for the Saudi king, the crown prince and his brother, as well as several villas
for other members of the royal family. With the announcement of THE LINE earlier
this year, for the first time, plans have been presented for how the actual city in
NEOM will look like. This city concept should bring a number of
advantages which bin Salman hopes will make it the city of the future. The city will be structured on three different
levels. On the ground level, there will be a complete
pedestrian zone, without any roads and cars. Green parks should encourage walking and leisure
activities. The second level should work as a service
level hosting shops and other commercial space. The third and lowest level will be the Spine
of the city. This is where goods and people will transport
across the city. An ultra high-speed transit system is planned,
which should allow people to travel to any point along the LINE within just 20 minutes. This spine is supposed to connect different
city modules with each other so that all errands and activities can be done by public transport
and walking. The entire layout is designed around the premise that many big cities of today are a result
of the industrial revolution, and as such, they were built more for machines, cars, and
industry rather than for the people that live in it. But whether a rigid line will result in a
city that tailors more towards people’s needs, will remain to be seen. The Line aims to reduce the need for personal
cars, and organize all of its services in a sustainable manner. As the city will be powered entirely by clean
energy, from solar, wind and hydrogen based power In addition, artificial intelligence is to
be used to simplify the lives of residents and use resources more effectively. The Saudi Arabian government has announced
that it will invest 500 billion US dollars in the NEOM project. When considering this project, a number of
questions arise and much remains unclear. While the city’s focus on green technologies
is aimed to ensure a sustainable relationship with the planet, the cities layout design
quite literally cuts through its surroundings, forcing it’s way through through terrain,
rather than embracing natural features such as the coastline, which seems to remain rather
inaccessible. While the Linear form is fascinating and would
be a spectacular thing to see from space, how this layout itself contributes to sustainability
and shorter transit times, despite longer distances, has not been explained yet. And even if the radical nature of this draft
is fascinating as a design study, in practice the question still arises as to whether this
layout will allow any natural radiating city growth. But perhaps, this concept should achieve a
different goal, which is to generate attention. The kingdom is promoting this project worldwide
with internet ads, cable tv commercials and a series of online explanatory videos. The government is trying to find investors. And the linear concept attracts attention. At this point it should be noted that a linear
city isn’t an entirely new idea. For example, the Spanish city planner Arturo
Soria y Mata developed plans for linear cities in the 1880s. He envisioned that due to the narrow shape
of a linear city along fewer transport routes, every citizen would have close access to nature
and farmland. He strove to create a city that embraced its
rural areas, which he believed would create an improved balance of rural and urban life. And after the founding of the Soviet Union,
the Russian town planner Nikolai Alexandrowitsch Milijutin took up this idea as well and partially
implemented it in the cities of Volgograd and Magnitogorsk
Another concept, at least partially similiar to the Linear City, was implemented in Brazil
at the end of the 1950s when the country created a new capital from scratch: Brasilia. The planned city was supposed to embody modern
Brazil and the planners went for a design that provides for a central axis along which
most of the city runs. While the planners had the goal of creating
a city that ensures equality and modernity through its layout, high prices along the
axis resulted in the formation of a large number of satellite cities, whereas the planned
city itself hardly allowed for natural growth. The city planning of Brasilia is controversial
to this day and is often criticized for being designed from space instead of street level. NEOM, on the other hand, differs from Brasilia
in a few ways, including the fact that Brasilia has relied heavily on car traffic and NEOM
wants to make cars unnecessary. Nevertheless, the concern about designing
a city from birds eye view remains. As it will be interesting to see whether the
implemented visions of rulers and architects will align with the needs of people that will
actually live in this place. Especially since people are currently being
forcibly displaced in order to create space for NEOM. The al-Huwaitat tribe who lives in this area
is calling for an investigation by the United Nations because they are being forced to give
up their homes for this prestige project. The government wants to set up NEOM as a free
trade zone with its own tax system and its own legal system. This is intended to create an environment
for global investors in which they can enjoy a certain degree of security and are not deterred
by Saudi Arabia's ultraconservative Sharia-based legal system. Here, an approach similar to the United Arab
Emirates might be considered. In 2006, the UAE created separate English-language
common law courts in order to be able to guarantee international standards within the Dubai International
Financial Center, a special economic zone. These courts can now also hear cases outside
of the economic zone. And they provide independent jurisdiction
governing civil and commercial disputes. While other laws of the UAE, such as criminal
law are unaffected. In the case of NEOM, however, it is not yet
known exactly how the legal system will be structured. The promise of progressive laws as well as
the widely advertised visions are intended to attract the interest of international investors. What cannot be overlooked, however, is the
contradiction of these promises and the conduct of the Saudi Arabian government. Mohammed bin Salman is promoting cautious
liberalization in some areas of society in Saudi Arabia. But at the same time, he has been responsible
for numerous human rights violations, including a massive wave of arrests of political activists
in the country. The Crown Prince has also been linked to the
murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. "Neom Project, this futuristic city that he
is planing to invest half a trillion dollar in it. What if it goes wrong? It could bancrupt the country. But noone allowed to write an objective piece
in any newspaper.." Reporter: "This is the last moment Jamal Khashoggi was
seen alive. It's Oct. 2, 2018. The journalist who wrote for the Washington
Post newspaper had gone to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get documents he needed for
his wedding.Turkish prosecutors say he was murdered, his body dismembered and the remains
never found." Reporter: "A year after the murder of Washington Post
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman continues
to deny ordering the hit." The NEOM project and THE LINE function as
a campaign to restore the image of the Saudi Government abroad. It signals that Saudi Arabia wants to become
more open for international business, though at the same time, that is has become intolerant
for any dissent against the plans of the Saudi crown prince.
It won't work. Linear sprawl only works when there's multiple, balanced nodes allowing for bidrectional travel otherwise those trains are just going to deadhead on the way back and it's just a long, crammed one-way commute for the sorry folks in the sticks. There is no way the opposite end will be as desirable as the one closest to the coast, port, etc. Inevitably, affordability concerns will outweigh the original design importance of the artificial boundaries of the line and it'll sprawl like anything else beyond it with all the usual problems--auto dependence, infrastructure deficits, income stratification, etc.
yeah I’m still amazed people buy the sustainability argument in “we’re going to build a giant city out of nowhere in the middle of the desert and we’re going to pay for it with oil money”
Tl;dr nobody has ever told MBS no in his pampered little life.
I still can't believe this isn't just a joke shitpost that I saw on the NUMTOT group.
yay, automated underground transport tubes for goods. but linear layout? almost idiotic, especially if saying that it'd be pedestrian oriented on a top level, pedestrians do not work this way!
though I could imagine it sprawling first to coastline, then in some places to the desert, and now you'll need a second line.
This is very stupid hahaha
Because they have too much fucking money
Those desert cities will be uninhabitable in the coming decades.
The podcast Well There’s Your Problem recently did an episode about this and some of the other dumb shit the Gulf countries are building because they have more money and indentured servants than sense.