The Line in Saudi NEOM is unlikely to succeed as a straight line development

By George ELIOT

Saudi Arabia's ambitious development project NEOM is gaining traction, but the part of it known as "The Line" is for the most part a strategic urban planning mistake.

"The Line" is a proposed linear city within NEOM, in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is supposed to eventually house up to nine million people in a 170-kilometer-long, 200-metre-wide single continuous building that resembles a horizontally-laid skyscraper.

Perhaps there is some justification for the part of The Line that follows the Red Sea coast to be a thin development, as coastal projects and beachfront property ribbons typically follow the shape of the beach. However, the part that goes further inland is totally irrational from a development point to continue as a straight line. 

All major and minor cities in the world are blobs of concentric agglomeration. And even cities that cannot grow inland because of mountains (e.g. Hong Kong Island) or swamps (e.g. Miami) try to build uphill and inland as much as possible to benefit from the agglomeration effects of colocation of people and businesses.

So, good luck to The Line and keep us posted, i.e. drop us a line!

Map of The Line, part of Neom (Source: Wikipedia)

Concept for Sindalah, part of Neom (Source: Wikipedia)