The Line - NEOM unveils model for smart cities of the future
At 170 kilometres long but just 200 meters wide, “The Line” is NEOM's fascinating vision of what our future smart cities could look like.
The model represents a new way of devising smart city infrastructure, which minimises emissions, reduces energy usage, and optimises available space.
What are the unique features of NEOM’s smart city concept?
Well firstly, it’s just 200 meters wide. But, despite comprising an area of less than 34 square kilometres, it has the capacity to accommodate around 9 million people.
Furthermore, the city can be built to use 100% renewable energy sources. And alongside this, emissions would be limited to the minimum, as The Line is without streets or cars. Instead, a high-speed train will connect the two ends of the city within 20 minutes.
The infrastructure is designed so that all of the city’s residents could access all the required facilities and services within just 5 minutes, and walk to almost everything that they need on a day-to-day basis.
"When we launched "The Line", we promised to redefine the concept of urban development by developing societies where people are the main focus, and today "The Line" achieves the ideal of living. It addresses the urgent challenges facing humanity, and these exceptional designs clarify the internal structure of the multi-layered city and address the problems of traditional horizontal flat cities, achieving complete harmony between urban development and the preservation of nature with all its resources”, commented his Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Board of Directors of NEOM.
“We cannot ignore the environmental crisis as well as the way of life crisis facing the cities of the world. Therefore, we seek in NEOM to be at the forefront of providing new and innovative solutions. Today, we are determined to implement the idea of 'build to the top', through a team led by NEOM. In addition to a group of the brightest minds in architecture and construction in the world."
