Due to initiatives such as NEOM and namely THE LINE the world is experiencing a shift in the concept and construct of cities. This bold project of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia included in the ambitious program Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 is not just another vision of the city of the future, it is a complete revision of the concept of life in a vast metropolis based on the use of the latest technological achievement and taking into consideration the concept of sustainable development.
The vision and mission statements of THE LINE
As a critical work, THE LINE is a prototype of how the idea of a city must be redesigned. Unlike most other cities, which are usually founded and develop in a more extended plane, THE LINE will be a one-lined city that is 170 km long and only 200 meters wide. This particular structure is designed to do away with the use of cars and roads, in a bid to foster for the creation of a ‘walking city’.
The goal of THE LINE is the construction of a city where people matter more than vehicles and roads. For this reason it aims at addressing several issues associated with contemporary urban centers including traffic jams, environmental degradation, and use of resources. The city will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy to push for more sustainable practices into the future.
Integrating Smart Technologies
Technologisation forms the basis of THE LINE, and it constitutes smart technology. It will be the test-bed for tomorrow’s technologies improving the well-being of the city’s inhabitants shall be the theme. Key technologies include:
AI-Driven Services: Even the most mundane of services in the city will be governed by artificial intelligence; whether it is in managing resources or delivering customised services to its population. But it will also lead to optimized utilization of resources such as energy and effectively nipping waste in the bud, down to the opportunity for customized health care services.
Digital Twins: One of the goals of smart city will be to build a digital copy of the city to model and improve the organization of the urban environment. This technology will create expectation and effective practice of time based on planner’s practice so that the urban experiencing will be smooth.
Automated Transportation: Since there will be no presence of automobiles within a city transport will relatively rely on self-driving transport vehicles as well as transport via high velocity rail means to transport people and products effectively. These will hence help to minimize the development of expansive of road systems thus providing enough space for areas of greenery as well as communal areas.
Sustainable Water and Energy Systems: The city will incorporate smart grids and water systems that are learnt and conforming to the usage tendencies. It also helps in avoiding wastage to the extent that any scarce resource that is allocated in the project is utilized to the best extent possible.
Redefining Urban Living
THE LINE’s contemporary appearance can be considered as being a direct critique of the typical concept of the urban lifestyle, which is rather common for today’s architectural production. It’s not a landscape of suburban proliferation and moribund city cores, but comprehensive and connected. Due to the linear design of the city, a resident of the city will be within a five-minute walk from all the basic amenities. This way the layout is aimed at promoting the sense of community and decreasing the level of stress and ineffectiveness caused by long hours on the road.
In addition, THE LINE is being constructed environmentally sensitive, with emphasis on emulating nature. The city will have huge greenbelt, which will reduce the heat island effects and make it easy for the residents to access the natural environment. The integration of the urban environment and the natural environment is an idea vital to the project of creating a sustainable future.
Scholarly Impression and Broader Consequence of THE LINE
It is not only a city but a concept, a vision of how the further cities and settlements will look like. While providing focus on sustainability, technology and humane aspect it has drawn a new philosophy that how can a city be planned and developed to cater the odds of the new millennium.
It also shows that smart cities contain a solution to some of the world’s biggest challenges inclusively, climate change, scarcity of resources, and urbanization. In this way, THE LINE presents a vision of how cities should be built in a way that is more comfortable and easier but it also saves the planet.
Conclusion:
Thus, THE LINE can be considered an acute conceptualization of how urban life can be successfully developed in the future. While most of the world’s cities aim at growth as well as sustainable development, such projects aim at illustrating what future cities will be like. With its suggestions of what a city can become, THE LINE is a model of avant-garde thinking in designing the city of tomorrow.