The Line

By: Chiara B. ‘27

While America is usually seen as the country of progress, a large competitor has always been Saudi Arabia. Although Americans may not be as familiar with its progress, Saudi Arabia is teeming with designs for new cities and opportunities for life amid aridness. The most notable of their projects is The Line.

As part of Saudi Arabia’s Project 2030, The Line, a revolutionary housing project, was proposed in 2021 and has since been in construction. The Line’s layout is 170 kilometers in length, 200 meters in width, and 500 meters in height. This unique design offers a so-far unseen living plan, with neighborhoods and buildings stacked on top of each other, adding the third dimension, depth, into the equation. This makes everything in a resident’s daily life: shopping, food, school, work, etc., accessible within a 5-minute walk of their neighborhood segment. In total, there will be multiple segments across the line, which are estimated to host a population of 9 million. Since fitting such a large number in such a small space is difficult, the city does not have any roads or cars, but instead, an automated transit line that takes 20 minutes to travel from end to end. Because of this, there will be zero carbon emissions and the energy will be 100% renewable. Although it sounds ridiculous, this is all part of the plan to “redefine the concept of urban development and what future cities will look like” (NEOM). To top it all off, the city is completely enclosed in a mirrored-glass wall and is located within a 6-hour flight from 40% of the world’s countries, making it one of the future commercial centers of the world. This, coupled with the stunning views of the Red Sea and mountain ranges, makes The Line one of the most propitious places to live.

Although it won’t be built for another five years, the Line has demonstrated the ability for prosperous living- the likes of which the world has yet to see. With construction halfway complete, production is nearing its close. Although nothing is final and it still needs some straightening out, the linear city certainly is in line for greatness.