Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince announces design of ‘The Line’ in NEOM

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, announced the design of a new zero-carbon city ‘The Line’ in NEOM.

He launched his initial vision for the smart city in January 2021, which redefines urban development and what the cities of the future should look like.

The design of ‘The Line’ shows how futuristic urban communities will be free from roads, cars and emissions, run on renewable energy, prioritise people’s health and contribute to preserving 95 per cent of NEOM’s land.

His Royal Highness announces designs for #THE_LINE, the city of the future in #NEOM.#SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/LDyQrMd0lF

— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) July 25, 2022

The size of ‘The Line’ will be 200 meters wide, 170 kilometers long and 500 meters above sea level. It will be able to accommodate 9 million residents and will be built on a footprint of 34 square kilometers.

Its ideal climate all year round will ensure that residents can enjoy surrounding nature when walking around,  in addition to a high-speed rail with an end-to-end transit of 20 minutes.

“The designs revealed for the city’s vertically layered communities will challenge the traditional flat, horizontal cities and create a model for nature preservation and enhanced human livability. ‘The Line’ will tackle  challenges facing humanity in urban life today and will shine a light on alternative ways to live,” said the Crown Prince.

His Royal Highness: Today we present to the world a model for future cities that face critical environmental challenges.#SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/MOjDVxr3uA

— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) July 25, 2022

He added, “NEOM is leading a team of the brightest minds in architecture, engineering and construction to make the idea of building upwards a reality. It will be a place for all people from across the globe to make their mark on the world in creative and innovative ways. NEOM remains one of the most important projects of Saudi Vision 2030, and our commitment to delivering ‘The Line’ on behalf of the nation remains resolute.”

According to NEOM’s Twitter handle, “‘Designed by world-leading architects to revitalise urban living, ‘The Line’ is a city that offers a healthier and more sustainable way of life. It will be an architectural marvel running in a straight line from the mountains of NEOM to the Red Sea. A city built to deliver a new future for humanity.”

What if we could start again?
THE LINE rethinks everything we know about how people live, work and play. A 170 km-long vertical city, designed around people, rather than cars. A revolution in urban living. A city that delivers new wonders for the world.#TheLINE #NEOM pic.twitter.com/Op6HyO5gEi

— NEOM (@NEOM) July 25, 2022

The idea of layering city functions vertically while giving people the possibility of moving seamlessly in three dimensions (up, down or across) to access them is a concept referred to as “Zero Gravity Urbanism”.

Different from just tall buildings, this concept layers public parks and pedestrian areas, schools, homes and places for work, so that one can move effortlessly to reach all daily needs within five minutes.

The city will have an outer mirror facade that will provide its unique character and allow even its small footprint to blend with nature, while the interior will be built to create extraordinary experiences and magical moments.

The city’s design will be completely digitised, and the construction industrialised to a large degree by using advanced construction technologies and manufacturing processes.

In recent developments, NEOM and Saudia, the country’s national carrier, have sealed a strategic partnership to launch a weekly service to international destinations from NEOM Bay Airport, marking  the start of commercial services at the airport.

While, Oracle has announced that NEOM Tech & Digital Company, the technology company powering the first cognitive digital ecosystem at NEOM, has selected Oracle dedicated region Cloud@Customer to create a scalable platform for all mission-critical IT workloads.

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