Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman has announced the country’s plans to build a vertical city called ‘The Line.’ This 150-stories tall building will be home to 9 million people and serve as a semi-enclosed building, with the people never needing to step outside. The concept of this city will bring futuristic utopias from video games and film to life.
The initial videos and advertisements about the new city try to support the project by giving an idealistic vibe reminiscent of so many “planned cities” of the twentieth century, but the videos and ideas seem more like the city is more of a dystopian world. We explore the pros and cons of ‘The Line’ concept.
Positives Of “The Line”
The Line is a projected vertical metropolis measuring 200 meters wide (656 feet) and 500 meters (1,640feet) above sea level. The press release states that it will cover 34 square kilometers (13 square miles).
While we don’t have a lot of details about the ins and outs of the project, the developers claim that it is designed to reduce the carbon footprint that our typical cities are leaving on the environment. The city will offer a better quality of life that is “sustainable,” and its water and energy sources as being “100%renewable”
NEOM, the Arabic name for the city, promises a 100% sustainable transportation system with a no-car environment. NEOM claims to be leading the charge in providing innovative answers to problems related to environmental concerns, pollution, and economic sustainability. The project is led by only the best minds in the architectural, construction, and engineering industries to make this project a reality.
Negatives Of “The Line”
When we talk about sustainable living and reducing the carbon footprint left by countries and cities in the world, there are many other practical ways to go about it. Will this project suffice for all the numerous contributions that the country has made over the years to worsen global warming as the top oil exporter in the world? What about the giant carbon footprint the vertical city will have on the desert?
I’m particularly curious about the alleged mirror sheen of the city’s outside walls. The fact that regular glass buildings already offer a major risk of mortality to birds is one small but important aspect.
Not to mention, the logistics of keeping the glass maintained and cleaned across all 105 miles is enough to leave the mind completely boggled. What’s even more ironic is that the promotional videos have used a creepy version of the song ‘What a Wonderful Life,’ which kind of sums up the kind of life people living inside a glass enclosure would have.
Final Notes
Critics of the House of Saud and the entire Saudi government might find it hard to wonder why MBS wants to do anything beneficial for the world when he and the Saudi government are heavily involved in wars and shady murders. However, there is no doubt it would be a feat if MBS were to pull this off. The Saudi government clearly has more money than it can handle, but such “idealistic” communities need more than just financing to become a reality.