Saudi Arabia Announces The Line As A Futuristic 100% Renewable Energy City
We’ve often imagined what our cities of the future might look like, but I’ll be the first to admit that Saudi Arabia’s The Line was nowhere on my radar. Is it a good idea or a bad idea? Check out the details for yourself and then let us know what you think in the comments.
Saudi Arabia’s The Line Future City Basics
According to the press release, the goal of The Line’s design is to put “humans first, providing an unprecedented urban living experience while preserving the surrounding nature.
Check out the design stats: the building plans call for it to be just 200 meters wide (656 feet), rising 500 meters above sea level (1640 feet), and stretching 170 kilometers long (106 miles)! That’s 34 square kilometers (13 square miles). How many people can you house in that much space? According to the plans, it’s up to 9 million!
The Line promises an ideal climate all year long despite its location in the desert. It’s also going to run on 100% renewable energy and have no roads or cars. Everything you need will be available within a 5-minute walk and there will be a high-speed rail that gets you end-to-end in about 20 minutes.
Looking at the design itself, the long, tall, mirrored building looks like it’s straight out of a sci-fi fantasy. It looks like it would be right at home on another planet where the atmosphere is toxic to humans and residents would need all-inclusive, sealed living spaces.
You can see more in the teaser video here.
Final Thoughts
I have more questions than answers at this point. What will it cost to live there? What kind of laws will govern it? How much space will each family unit have? What recreational opportunities will exist? What job opportunities will there be? How will it fare in the event of natural disasters or war? What are the limiting factors affecting its ability to function? What will you be allowed to race?
Here’s the thing—it’s not that far into the future. They expect the first 1.5 million residents to be living in The Line by 2030.
This is a housing/city project with expected costs in the hundreds of billions of dollars. As for me personally, the prospect of living there with that many people makes me want to head out to Wyoming and put a few hundred acres and a mountain between me and my closest neighbor.
