The world’s first vertical city called “The Line” is going to be built in Saudi Arabia. This is part of a NEOM project, which is a smart, sustainable project for the future of Saudi Arabia. The city is going to be 200 meters wide, 500 meters high, and 170 kilometers long. It will house multiple communities cased in glass facades running along the coast.
What is The Line?
Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, recently unveiled the design of a futuristic city called “The Line”. It is a futuristic project where there are zero cars, zero pollution, and zero carbon emissions overall. This is useful for a sustainable future on our planet.
The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a statement, ”The designs revealed today for the city’s vertically–layered communities will challenge the traditional flat, horizontal cities and create a model for nature preservation and enhanced human liveability. The Line will tackle the challenges facing humanity in urban life today and will shine a light on alternative ways to live,” as he unveiled the designs of the city.
The Line is going to be the future of urban living for its citizens. It’s going to be a 170 kilometer shift vertical city that can be travelled from one end to the other in just 20 minutes. It will also provide residents with a convenient lifestyle with 5-minute walk neighborhoods and communities organized in three dimensions. The city will also have natural ventilation so the residents of the city can enjoy an ideal climate throughout the year.
NEOM is a futuristic project by the Government of Saudi Arabia. The word is made up of two parts: NEO is the English version of the Greek word “Neos” which means new and the letter M stands for “Mustaqbal” which is the Arabic word for “future.”
Important facts about The Line
1- The city is going to be enclosed in glass walls 500 meters high.
2-The city will have no cars or roads.
3- It will be powered by 100% renewable energy.
4- The estimated cost to build this city will be $500 billion.
5- The city will be completed in 2025.
6- Residents can travel from one end of the city to the other by high-speed rail.
7- The city can accommodate nine million residents.
Questions regarding The Line
The construction for the city has already begun. The project is bankrolled by the government’s public investment fund. The designers are saying the structure will maintain an ideal climate year round because of the mix of shade, sunlight, and ventilation.
“This solution is a little bit like wanting to live on Mars because things on Earth are very messy,” Pardo, who’s based in Colombia, tells NPR via email.
Pardo says that the design of The Line seems to ignore people’s desire to go outside and sit in nature, something which isn’t man-made. He says it’s seems greatly limited and quite artificial.
There are several people who are questioning about how this city based on utopian ideals is going to work out. Some are even worried that it might come at the cost of an environmental price as it is being created in the desert.
