A 100-Mile Long Eco-City With No Streets or Cars is Being Built

Saudi Arabia is re-inventing the city.

On Monday Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled plans for The Line, a 100-mile long eco city with zero cars, zero streets, and zero emissions.

From the Red Sea coast, it will run in a straight line through the mountains and upper valleys of Tabuk and consist of three layers, with only the top “Pedestrian Layer” above ground.

The second “Service Layer” will contain all the city’s vital infrastructure, hidden from view, while the third “Spine Layer” beneath that is dedicated to Ultra-high speed transit, including AI-enabled passenger and freight transport.

According to the designers, no journey within the entire length of the city should take more than 20 minutes.

“Throughout history, cities were built to protect their citizens. After the Industrial Revolution, cities prioritized machines, cars and factories over people,” the Crown Prince said in a statement announcing the venture.

“In cities that are viewed as the world’s most advanced, people spend years of their lives commuting. By 2050, commute durations will double. By 2050, one billion people will have to relocate due to rising CO2 emissions and sea levels. 90% of people breathe polluted air.”

He added: “Why should we sacrifice nature for the sake of development? Why should seven million people die every year because of pollution? Why should we lose one million people every year due to traffic accidents? And why should we accept wasting years of our lives commuting?

“Therefore, we need to transform the concept of a conventional city into that of a futuristic one.”

The Line will cost between $100bn and $200bn to build, creating 380,000 jobs as it does so, aiming for a 2025 completion date.

Despite being the biggest exporter of oil in the world, the kingdom’s futuristic city vows to be 100% powered by clean energy.

A part of the $500bn planned cross-border city of NEOM, which will boast having the most protected land on Earth, it also claims to be within a four hour flight of 40 per cent of the world’s population.