Why Saudi Arabia Is Building a Linear City - YouTube

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.

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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.