The design is striking to say the least: two huge, mirror-like structures stretching across more than 160 kilometers of desert. The so-called structure THE LINE located in the city of Neom in Saudi Arabia is supposed to provide a home for 9 million people. Is this the example of THE new way of life or something that will forever remain just a drawing?
If it were up to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the project would become a reality after all. According to him, Neom should be able to accommodate 1.2 million residents by 2030, growing to 9 million by 2045. This week, Salman announced the city's designs; in his own words, a revolution in civilizations. The project promises to offer an unprecedented urban living experience while preserving the surrounding nature.
Three dimensionsÂ
THE LINE offers a new approach to urban design. The concept is also referred to as Zero Gravity Urbanism. This is because all urban facilities are located vertically, in different layers allowing people to move seamlessly in three dimensions, up, down or across. So unlike cities with only tall buildings, this concept also layers public parks, schools and workplaces.
But, the design of the city of the future includes no roads, no cars and no CO2 emissions. The city will be run on 100% renewable energy and 95% of the land will be preserved for nature. Unlike traditional cities, the health and well-being of residents will be prioritized over transportation and infrastructure. Yet all the city's amenities will be within a five-minute walk for residents; there is also a high-speed train that can cross the entire city in 20 minutes.Â
By building Neom, Prince Mohammed hopes to increase Saudi Arabia's capacity and attract more citizens to the country. This, he believes, is necessary to make Saudi Arabia an economic powerhouse. He does not think he will achieve this goal by designing an average city; at least he succeeded in doing so
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