Smart cities are fast emerging as solutions to the challenges associated with urbanization, technological advancement, and the pressing need for sustainable development. In the deserts of Saudi Arabia, one such initiative known as “The Line” is currently being developed in a bid to tackle these challenges head-on. However, as the city begins to take form, experts have raised concerns about its unique design.
Exploring the grandiose vision behind The Line
In January 2021, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans to construct The Line, a 110-mile-long smart city that will ultimately form part of the ongoing NEOM urban building initiative in Tabuk Province.
The Line is expected to accommodate nine million residents within a mere 13 square miles upon completion. It is supposed to feature two rows of mirrored, high-rise buildings standing at heights of 1,640 feet, positioned 656 feet apart to create a wall enclosing the city. Theoretically, residents will be able to access all essential services within a five-minute journey. This unique layout means that cars, roads, and streets will be eliminated, which will increase the focus on walkability and public transport, thus reducing carbon emissions.
“The Line will tackle the challenges facing humanity in urban life today and will shine a light on alternative ways to live,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said when design concepts for the city were unveiled in July 2022.
“We cannot ignore the livability and environmental crises facing our world’s cities, and NEOM is at the forefront of delivering new and imaginative solutions to address these issues.”
Experts draw the line at smart city’s shape
Although the project appears groundbreaking in theory, The Line’s practicality and sustainability have been widely criticized by experts and urban planners.
In June 2023, a paper was published in “Nature Partner Journal Urban Sustainability,” in which mathematician Rafael Prieto-Curiel and physicist Dániel Kondor from the Complexity Science Hub Vienna argued that the city’s linear design would render it unsustainable.
Using the city of Johannesburg in South Africa as an example, Prieto-Curiel and Kondor explained: “If its nine million inhabitants are homogeneously distributed in the city, each [mile] will have roughly 53,000 people. If we randomly pick two people from the city, they will be… 35 miles apart. Although The Line occupies only two percent of the surface of Johannesburg, if we pick two random people in Johannesburg, they are only 20 miles apart.”
In other words, people would be living far apart and have to travel long distances in order to interact or access facilities. Even with the hypothetical distribution of 86 train stations throughout The Line, commute times would still exceed 60 minutes.
Circular cities are where the future of clean, urban living lies
Prieto-Curiel and Kondor have proposed that a circular design featuring medium-sized buildings that consume less energy would be a far more effective, eco-friendly alternative.
“A circle that occupies the same surface as The Line has a radius of only two miles,” they wrote. “In The Circle, the expected distance between two random people is only 1.80 miles. In The Circle, a person is at a walking distance of 24 percent of the population (and within 1.2 miles, they could reach 66 percent of the destinations).”
This means that residents would be encouraged to walk, cycle, or take buses to their destinations more quickly, thus increasing their mobility and reducing their carbon footprint.
Clearly, The Line is a revolutionary concept, but its linear design poses challenges to sustainability. If left unaddressed, it could devolve into an urban hell. Only time will tell if this city will live up to its ambitious vision.