Pros Cons

Zero Gravity Urbanism: The idea of layering city functions vertically while giving people the The cost of living in The linear city is significantly higher than in other cities, due to the limited
possibility of moving seamlessly in three dimensions (up, down or across) (Abigael, 2022) space and resources.

No roads, cars so there will be zero carbon emissions. (Abigael, 2022) there are no doors or walls between homes, noise levels can be quite high. This can make it
difficult to get a good night’s sleep or concentrate on work or study.

95% of the land will be preserved for nature, as the city will be built on a footprint of just 34 square The linear city is the lack of privacy. Because everyone lives in such proximity to one another,
kilometers.(Abigael, 2022) there is very little personal space.

Residents will have access to all facilities within a five-minute walk, in addition to a high speed rail
with an end-to-end transit of 20 minutes.

Autonomous services using AI, saving time and effort

It will run on 100% renewable energy

 Site Analysis

1. Site location:
The line is located within neom in Tabuk Province in the northwest of saudi
arabia on the red sea, with diverse terrain that includes red-desert
expanses and snow-capped mountains that have views of the gulf of aqaba.
(Allan & Parida, 2022)
2. Site specification
The Line is planned to be 170 kilometres (110 mi) long, preserving 95% of the nature within Neom. It will stretch from the Red Sea
approximately to the city of Tabuk. It is intended that it will have nine million residents, resulting in an average population density of 260,000
people per square kilometre. By comparison, Manila, the world's most densely populated city in 2020, had a density of 44,000/km2 The Line's
plan consists of two mirrored buildings with an outdoor space in between, having a total width of 200 metres (660 ft) and a total height of 500
metres. (Allan & Parida, 2022)
3. History
The plan for The Line was announced on 10 January 2021, by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a presentation that was
broadcast on state television Earthworks began in October 2021 and the first residents were expected to move in during 2024.As of July
2022, the first phase of the project was scheduled to be completed in 2030
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, also Chairman of the NEOM board of directors, released a statement and promotional video on
25 July 2022, which led to more widespread media coverage of the project. This raised questions about the merits of the design and
environmental issues, with critics concerned that the project would create a "dystopian" and "artificial" facility that had already displaced
the Huwaitat indigenous tribe and would impact the migration of birds and wildlife.

Excavation progress of The Line, October 2022

In October 2022, drone footage released by Ot Sky confirmed that construction on The Line was under way and extensive excavation
works were taking place along the entire length of the project. (Allan & Parida, 2022)
Methodology

That practical approach to solving the issues

and challenges related to smart cities was
through exploration study by finding out the
most interests and challenges linked with
smart cities and combine the various
perspectives on smart cities(Al-Sayed et al.,
2022)
Attraction spots

THE LINE city has an access to the nature and quality of life(Finsa, 2022). The design offers
immediate access to the nature within two-minute walk through the suspended spaces on
the multiple levels(Finsa, 2022). The surrounding views of THE LINE contain natural
landscape, mountains and sky(Finsa, 2022).
Transportation

The transport layer has high-speed means supported by artificial intelligence in addition to
ultra-high-speed transit access(Al-Sayed et al., 2022). High speed transportation would
make the life easier and less stress for everyone by excluding the need of long
journey(Neom, 2021). High-speed rail offers end-to-end transit in 20 minutes(Abigael, 2022)
Population and city size

It will accommodate 9 million residents(Al-Sayed et al., 2022). The city will be 34

kilometers long and 200 meters wide and 500 meters above the sea(Abigael,
2022)
Main Concept

Main concept is to make a city that offers a new approach to urban design which
is the idea of layering city with vertically functions which will make people ease to
move in 3 dimensions, so people could move to get all their daily needs within 5
minutes(Abigael, 2022)

Project proposal mentions some important factors such as governance-tolerance

of religious and spiritual beliefs- individual rights including access to social
services, equality of rights and citizenship(Allan & Parida, 2022)
Background of the concept

The government of saudi arabia has already decided to start construction on an

ambitious project that will consist of straight line(Finsa, 2022).THE LINE is a smart
city with technologies and development of sensors and data collecting to enhance
the human well-being(Al-Sayed et al.,2022).All daily essentials would be within 5-
minute walk and its planned for accessibility and walkability(Al-Sayed et
al.,2022).The saudi crown prince mohamed bin salman wrote in a statement "how
the concept would house one million people in a city with 0 cars, 0 streets, and 0
carbon emissions(Fish, 2021)
 Landuse

The 3 layers of THE LINE which will consist are

1.pedestrian layer: work and doing activities
2.service layer: public services and hidden layer
of infrastructure
3.transportation layer :supported by artifical
intellegance(Al-Sayed et al.,2022)
Reference list:
● Al-sayed, A., AL-shammari, F., Alshutayri, A., Aljojo, N., Aldhahri, E., & Abouola, O. (2022). The Smart City-Line in Saudi Arabia: Issue and Challenges. Postmodern
Openings, 13(1Sup1), 15-37

● The Line: in a straight line towards sustainable urbanism.(n.d.). Connections by Finsa.https://www.connectionsbyfinsa.com/the-line/ Allan A., & Parida S.(2022,
Septemper 14). What is The Line, the170km-long mirrored metropolis Saudi Arabia is building in the desert? . The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-is-
the-line-the-170km-long-mirrored-metropolis-saudi-arabia-is-building-in-the-desert-188639

● Fish T.,(2021, Janurary 17). Saudi Arabia unveils plans for ’zero-carbon’ city built in 100 MILE straight line.Express.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1384906/saudi-arabia-zero-carbon-city-100-mile-straight-line-evg

● Abigael N.,(2022, October 26). Inside NEOM’s THE LINE: Saudi Arabia’s 170km city cutting straight through the desert. Arabian Business.
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/construction/inside-neoms-the-line-saudi-arabias-170km-city-cutting-straight-through-the-desert

● Worth, R. F. (2021, January 28). The dark reality behind Saudi Arabia's utopian dreams. The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2022, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/magazine/saudi-arabia-neom-the-line.html

● Pappas, S. (2021, March 9). Saudi Arabia's wants to build a 105-mile-long 'line' city in the Desert. LiveScience. Retrieved December 24, 2022, from
https://www.livescience.com/saudi-arabia-sustainable-line-city.html