The Line: Saudi Plans to Build Futuristic 150-KM Vertical Megacity in the Middle of the Desert

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been promoting the utopian, futuristic, and possibly improbable city of Neom for about half a decade.

In July 2022, when bin Salman unveiled his plan for the city's "The Line," which would serve as its spine, the futuristic High Vertical Megacity made headlines once more.

The Line

The Line, a 105-mile long and a tenth of a mile wide skyscraper with an exterior mirror facade, is aimed to blend in with the surrounding environment even though it will eventually house 9 million people.

The Crowned Prince was animated as he declared that the plans unveiled today for the city's vertically layered communities would upend the conventional flat, and horizontal cities and establish a prototype for improved human livability and the preservation of nature. The Line will address the issues that modern urban life presents to humanity and shed light on better lifestyle options.

The Line's design is based on vertical layering, with high-speed rail providing 20-minute end-to-end transit. In the idea, homes, parks, and pedestrian areas are layered on top of one another at various levels. According to the planners, only a five-minute walk will be required to reach all amenities.

Several media outlets covered the recently revealed plans. Although the plans have been made public, it is unclear at this time whether they will be implemented. Some are already skeptical, pointing out that as the saying goes if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

As part of his reform strategy known as Vision 2030, the prince first disclosed plans for Neom in 2017. The enigmatic "civilization revolution" was further explained in a news release that Neom planners released in July, along with some of the finer city specifics.

In an interview with Reuters, bin Salmon stated that the $500 billion flagship project would receive some funding from a public offering and private investment in 2024. The entire city will be designed digitally, to be entirely renewable.

It is unclear whether or not it will occur. The city was created as a result of some very enthusiastic marketing executives and a lot of all-nighters in Blender, according to what the tech news site Verge wrote for the promotional video, Snopes reports.

Read also: Tiny "Skyscrapers" Help Sun-loving Bacteria Grow and Power Small Electronics 

Neom

The urban metropolis is hailed as the place for people who have big dreams, as the Neom website points out.

The world's largest exporter of crude, Saudi Arabia, is hoping for a national population boom that will be necessary, in Prince Mohammed's opinion, to turn the country into an economic powerhouse.

He claims that increasing Saudi Arabia's capacity and bringing in more citizens and residents are the primary goals of building Neom. He added that since they are doing it from nothing, there is no reason for them to copy other cities.

He claimed that Neom could create up to 380,000 jobs in the face of a growing population and a sizable proportion of the young demographic looking for work. According to Saudi estimates, the kingdom's population could reach 50 million by 2030, with more than %50 of them being foreigners. The current population of Saudi Arabia is a little less than 35 million, The Guardian reports.

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