Syed Mamoon Sohail Alvi

MGMT 365: Urban Planning and Management

Suleman Ghani

10th May 2023

"THE LINE" CITY OF NEOM: SUSTAINABILITY AND PROBLEMS

Saudi Arabia is on its way to building the cities of the future. In order to reduce the

country's dependence on oil, it revealed a plan in late 2016 with the fundamental aim to diversify

its economy. The program aims to turn the country into a global investment powerhouse, and one

of the projects under the new strategy is The Line of NEOM. The city follows the linear city

concept, often interchangeable with "corridor cities" and "linear corridors", which saw its rise

during the Industrial Revolution. There is an abundance of literature that covers the linear city

concept and history of linear cities, but little research has been done on The Line due to it being

revealed only recently. I aim to fill this gap using existing literature. Even though The Line is

being termed as the city of the future and marketed as a blueprint for sustainable cities, it is more

of a dystopian nightmare being marketed as a utopia. My essay will make the argument that The

Line is an unsustainable project in its current state. I will discuss the history of "linear cities"

and The Line project before elaborating on the many flaws and problems with the design of the

city.

THE HISTORY AND CONCEPT OF LINEAR CITIES:

Arturo Soria y Mata was a British urban planner who is considered the father behind the

linear city concept (Fig. 1). Arturo came up with the designs in the 19 th century during the
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Industrial Revolution. The city would consist of multiple parallel sectors in a series, and these

sectors would have different functions: a residential zone with areas for social institutions and

homes, a zonal area for parks, an agricultural area, a production and communal enterprises zone

with areas devoted to science, education, and technology, and a segregated zone for railway lines

(Raz).

Arturo was tasked with developing the Ciudad Lineal plan (Fig. 2) for Madrid, Spain. He

wanted to address the problems that plagued the cities of that time and still do, such as traffic

congestion and pollution. Moreover, Arturo planned Ciudad Lineal to be a self-contained

metropolis that would link Madrid to the surrounding settlements. Hence, he used a linear layout

for the city that followed the course of the new railway line (Antyufeev and Antyufeeva).

Figure 1. Linear city of Arturo Soria y Mata Figure 2. Ciudad Lineal Plan

George R. Collins, an architectural historian and educator, describes the basic concept of a linear

city as:

"One that is formed - and grows - along a line. This line is usually its artery of

transport for people, for goods, and for services: roads, rails, pipes, and wires. A

city of this sort can grow freely - infinitely - in increments that are repetitive in

character. Its internal circulatory system is planned for the utmost efficiency: all its

parts are, presumably, of easy accessibility to each other and share the same urban

amenities. "(Sap)
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He also highlights the distinguishable compact design of linear cities, which maximises the use

of available space by minimising the distance between different city sectors.

There are few examples of linear cities in the 21 st century, as none could retain the

original design because cities expand organically in concentric circles from the centre

(Doxiadis). The only city to still retain, or at least honour its original design is Volgograd in

Russia. It is one of the largest cities in the south of Russia and is mentioned in all the literature

regarding linear cities. The city’s design (Fig. 3), which was then named Tsaritsyn and changed

to “Stalingrad” in 1925, was linear due to natural factors – the river Volga and a surrounding

steppe (Collins). The city's geographical structure changed in 2010 when 28 towns and the

Sarpinsky Island were added to Volgograd (Fig. 4), although the principle of linear development

remained (Mamaeva).

Figure 3. Original Plan of Volgograd/ Stalingrad Figure 4. Aerial view of Volgograd, 2023

Another

well-known example of a linear city is Brasilia (Fig. 5). Urban architect Lucio Costa created the

Brazilian capital in the 1950s and designed the city along a central axis that went through the

city. The main government buildings were placed in the centre, while residential and business

sectors were distributed along the axis that passes through it (Batty).
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Figure 5. Original Plan of Brasilia Figure 6. Central axis of Brasilia

NEOM PROJECT AND THE LINE:

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unveiled the NEOM project in 2017. It is an ambitious

project with the goal of creating a new, futuristic city that reflects the concepts of sustainable

urban development and innovation. NEOM is in the country's northwest region and borders

Egypt and Jordan on both sides of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba (Fig. 7). It has a total area

of 26,500 square kilometres (Bostock). With a focus on renewable energy, cutting-edge

technology, and excellent living standards, the project intends to establish a centre for

innovation, business, and tourism (A vision of what a new future might look like). NEOM's

marketing brochures featured a picture of Singapore's Gardens by the Bay, indicating that the

Southeast Asian metropolis will probably serve as their source of inspiration. The project is

mainly funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (Thapa). It is designed to achieve a

zero-carbon footprint while protecting natural ecosystems.

Figure 7. NEOM Project and The Line Figure 8. A render of The Line
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One of the four cities included in the NEOM concept is The Line (Fig. 7). It is being

constructed as a sustainable city with a "linear city" style of urban planning (Fig. 8) we discussed

earlier. It is a 170-kilometre-long linear construction that is intended to be a carbon-free city

powered entirely by renewable energy sources. It is a high-tech metropolitan development

project that will accommodate 9 million people and offer them modern infrastructure and

services as well as a new level of living (The Line). Saudi Arabia believes that the Line will serve

as an example of sustainable urban development by implementing smart city technologies and

utilising data to improve service delivery and lower waste. The city will have a cutting-edge

transit system that includes underground roads, high-speed rail, and hyperloop technology. With

the help of this transport system, inhabitants will find it simple to get around the city and

minimise journey times to under 20 minutes. In fact, this will be one of the fastest high-speed

rails at 525 kilometres per hour if we do not account for any stops. It is still slower than the new

Shanghai Maglev, which can go up to 600 kilometres per hour (CGTN).

The video to market the new city also highlights the city's green spine connecting various

areas. Parks, nature preserves, and other green areas will encircle the spine (Fig. 9). The city is

also planned to safeguard natural ecosystems and lessen the environmental damage caused by

human activity. The city will also implement smart water management strategies to reduce water

use and increase efficiency. The Line is also intended to serve as an ideal model for social

progress, encourage gender equality, and provide people with a good standard of living. It will

also help Saudi Arabia and Muhammad Bin Salman portray themselves as progressive country
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and leader. Modern healthcare facilities, educational facilities, and cultural hubs will be found in

the city, giving people access to superior amenities and services.

THE PROBLEMS WITH THE CONCEPT OF THE LINE:

The production on The Line is already underway. However, the question arises of

whether a project of such scale is even sustainable given that history has not been kind to linear

cities despite several attempts to urban around the world. Before we answer this question, we

need to understand what the word “unsustainable: means. According to Oxford Languages, it

means “not able to be maintained at a current rate or level” and “not able to be upheld or

defended”. Hence, we will use these definitions when using the word unsustainable to highlight

how The Line, in its current state, will suffer the same fate as its sister cities because either its

design is either too ambitious or too flawed to become a city of the future.

1. The City for the People?

In one of his plays, William Shakespeare wrote, “What is the city but the people?”. Even

though the city will house 9 million residents upon its completion, it is clear upon closer look at

the project that The Line is built for anything but the people. NEOM released a 2-minute

marketing video highlighting the city’s goals and providing stunning concept visuals of what the

city would look like upon completion (NEOM). However, the video fails to highlight whom it is

supposed to serve: the people. Urban theorist, Kevin Lynch, writes in his book ‘A Theory of

Good City Form’ that linear cities are “the direct expression of machine values; they are the

result of thinking of the city as a power station or an assembly line. “

The city promises that the width of the line can be covered in a 5-minute walk (Fig. 10).

However, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, an architecture professor at the University of Miami,

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questions this plan, calling it unfeasible (Pappas). Moreover, there are no places for cycling in

this enclosed area, as everything is supposed to be at a 5-minute walk; hence the city design does

not allow for cycling, at least not at the upper levels, which is the only section with daylight. Will

they have to go to lower levels of the city to cycle where the sunlight will be minimal? Will they

have to go outside the city walls to cycle, where the temperature is usually hotter than 30 °C for

seven months of the year (NOAA)? Given the reflective mirrors of the wall, the regions closer to

the wall will be even hotter, making it a health risk for people to go outside the city walls. This

also raises the question that NEOM has marketed parks outside the wall, as seen in Fig. 9, but

how will the temperature of these parks be optimal for humans?

The marketing material (Fig. 10) also revealed the different areas and their placement in

each module. The residential area, highlighted by the grey colour, is way below other areas,

which means it will act as an obstacle for direct sunlight to reach residential areas. Given that the

residential areas are also in a vertical position, there will be layers to it, and the lower layers will

have a minimal chance of receiving any amount of sunlight which can be detrimental to physical

and mental health. The question arises: Will these layers be reserved for workers and servants of

the city? This raises ethical questions.

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Figure 10. The Line: Redefined Living

The city does not only belong to the people who will live there but also to the ones

already living there. The line is being built in the Tabuk region and is home to Howeitat Tribe,

who have been farming there for several generations (Salami). However, The Line is set to

displace this tribe without any consultation or regard for the tribal community. One of the

tribespeople made several videos as a protest but was shot dead upon confrontation by the police

(Worth). With the purpose of “redefining living”, The Line has little regard for the lives of

thousands already living there.

Given all the flaws highlighted in the design and the questions raised, we arrive at the

final question: If the people are not building the city for the people, then who is building it for

whom? The answer lies in a NEOM executive’s comment that it was Artificial Intelligence or AI,

not Saudi Arabia, which is building The Line (Arab Business). AI is at the centre of the whole

NEOM project, which explains why the city looks like it is built to service the new technology

and machines rather than its residents.

2. How will The Line Grow?

We discussed three cities that followed linear plans: Cuidad Lineal, Stalingrad, and

Brasilia. However, none of these cities show any sign of linearity in their present structure except

for Stalingrad, which is also expected to lose its linear structure in the near future. History has

repeatedly shown that cities grow organically in concentric forces. Kevin Lynch states that it is

impossible to maintain the linear structure as the growth offered by linear cities is just an

illusion. He writes in his book, “Linear cities cannot grow evenly as he says that the supposed

flexibility of linear city is chimerical”. This is because to maintain and implement such
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structures, we require a level of control that is almost impossible to achieve, as evidenced by the

fact that the concept of linear cities never retained their original form. Such levels of power lead

to authoritarian rules, which is against the principle of NEOM, which will have its own

governing body with much more relaxed laws than Saudi Arabia. Research shows that even

though it is unsure of how The Line will expand in concentric forms, it will also suffer a similar

fate to its sisters and will fail to maintain its linearity for a long. Michael Batty, the urban

scientist who conducted this research, writes:

”Once The Line is established, populations could then begin to operate a market

for land, which would reinforce issues of agglomeration and accessibility spreading

new growth in the city, ultimately across the entire space.”

Cities do not just grow physically but mentally as well. After all, a city is defined by its

people. When we study humans and cities, we learn the importance of urban city centres. Urban

city centres are important psychologically because a central seed site acts as an anchor point for

citizens and gives a sense of direction, without which one can feel uncomfortable or lost. The

Line does not have a city centre, or one can argue it has too many of them. The line will be built

in phases and modules, so how will a city centre be defined? Will each module have a separate

centre, and what will the centre be once the second phase is completed? Research again shows

that it is impossible for humans to avoid the agglomerative forces that push them towards a city

centre, which can become a problem for a city with identity issues (Batty). The research also

highlights that it is difficult for cities to grow from anywhere other than the central seed site, and

it is difficult to “depart from such systems” (Batty).

Lastly, NEOM promises it is the next step in innovation after the first colour TV, the

moon landing and more. For a city designed to be the pinnacle of innovation, it does limit it a lot.
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Steven Johnson writes in his book, ‘Where Good Ideas Come From’, that “innovation started to

grow when cities started to grow”. He said that when cities started to grow, different

communities became one leading to cross-pollination and “accidental meetings of ideas”, which

led to a boom in innovation. He proceeds to provide many examples of such cities that are

breeding grounds for innovation, and none had a linear structure. For a city that offers residents

access to everything within a 5-minute radius, it is not the ideal ground for innovation. How will

cross-pollination occur if a resident does not even have to go outside their module, let alone their

five-minute radius?

3. Is The Line a “Green” Project?

The Line promises it will zero carbon dioxide emissions. However, researchers have a

hard time believing this promise. Philip Oldfield, head of the environment school at UNSW

Sydney, believes that building such a large structure out of low-carbon materials is an impossible

task as it would require a tremendous amount of steel, concrete and glass as it will also need to

withstand the wind loads of the desert region (Barker). He also points out the irony behind the

zero-carbon emissions goal as he calculated that the construction itself would produce more than

1.8 billion tonnes of CO2, which will be equal to more than four years of the UK’s CO2

emissions, offsetting any environmental benefits of the small footprint (Barker). Another

research shows that The Line poses a high risk to the seas and land, and increased risks were

identified regarding its stability (Algumzi). There are also environmental risks associated with

setting up an artificial moon, cloud seeding technology for artificial rain, and increasing trade by

the Red Sea, all of which The Line plans to do.

The line cuts through a terrain which will also stop animal migration, resulting in habitat

fragmentation. Study shows that habitat fragmentation can adversely affect biodiversity as it
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results in the extinction of weaker species in the area, limits genetic diversity, and creates

inbreeding, leading to genetic disorders (Fahrig). Even though it is a desert, it is still home to

numerous species like lizards, snakes, turtles, hares, and even more species close to the coastal

region. The high, reflective wall of mirrors will also stop the migration of birds and can result in

the death of birds which might fly into the reflective mirrors. It is also important to remember

that these walls will reflect a lot of sunlight, creating two extended heat zones that will kill any

animal in its area.

4. Is The Line Too Ambitious?

Lastly, we arrive at our final problem. Even if The Line tends to solve all of the issues

previously discussed in this paper, is the project even feasible given its ambitiousness?

According to one NEOM executive, the current cost of $500 billion could increase to $1 trillion

if the entire project is to be completed, which is alarming given that NEOM has been

unsuccessful in gathering financial interest except for a few discussions with foreign companies

(Salami). Research also shows that the project's economic, funding and market risks are also

high, as high maintenance costs will be incurred for air conditioning and the transportation

system (Algumzi). The same research also showed that there are significant risks concerning

technological risks, privacy and data loss risks, and cyber threats. It is also predicted that the

project might not be complete until 2050 since the technology required to complete this is still

catching up (Salami). There is also uncertainty about the number of people that will actually be

willing to move here as past projects predicted large numbers, but the actual results were

nowhere near; King Abdullah City, which was expected to house 2 million people, only houses

10,000 after ten years (Salami).

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION:

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The paper discussed different types of problems involved with the project that makes The

Line a project that is doomed to fail like its predecessors. The paper highlighted the economic

and social problems involved with the project. It also went over the shortcomings of its design

and contrasted them to different linear cities in history and how the city is doing more harm to

the environment around it than taking steps to preserve it.

While there are some problems that The Line can solve, most of them require a complete

overhaul of the project, while some will require NEOM to take a more realistic approach and

backtrack on some promises. The Line can address the issue of habitat fragmentation by building

wildlife corridors throughout the city, which will help animals to migrate and mitigate the

adverse effects of fragmentation. Instead of building multiple modules, it is also recommended

that NEOM should build one module first and see what problems they might face in the future

and how they can overcome it. They need to realise that their promises are unsustainable and

infeasible and need to be more transparent if they want to attract people and investors to their

project. Lastly, they need to learn the basic knowledge of urban planning that cities are not just

built from scratch; they grow organically. They need to keep in mind that it is not the machines

and the latest technology that make the city, but rather the people that live in it, so they need to

consult them and cater to their needs to be successful.

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