NEOM: the imagination that becomes possible reality?

A week ago we were talking about the utopian project of Planet City and it seemed like something to think about but that had implications such that it could not be concretely realized. Too many variables at play and human nature too fickle to be able to live in such a dense system.

Planet City: Using Imaginary Worlds as Sustainable Models to Tackle Climate Change

What happens today?

Let's talk about NEOM and in particular about the presentation of The Line.

What is The Line?

It is a project that goes beyond the normal conception of the project itself.

It is not an urban project, it is not an architectural project

An incredibly concrete attempt to encompass all aspects of complexity.

I am reminded of "Delirious New York" by R. Koolhaas, one of the texts that perhaps most made me reflect on urban planning and how perhaps the free organization of structures was better than detailed planning, showing how the natural evolution of human need had shaped iconic cities much more efficiently than the great master architects of the modern movement.

The Line overturns all of this. An all-encompassing project capable itself of changing internally following the contiguous need of living.

But let's give some numbers: 500 meters high, 200 meters wide, 170 kilometers long. Housing capacity for 9 million inhabitants. Zero emissions and reduced carbon footprint to revolutionize the very concept of modern living.

An incredible project which, if completed, will cost around 500 billion dollars.

I have read many comments these days and before writing these lines I have reflected a lot on the project unknowns and on the variables.

Many believe that we are faced with a modern prison, a dystopian housing future, a materialization of the futuristic and decadent cities that we have come to know in the science fiction of the 80s.

Many recall social architecture, from the work of Le Corbusier and the idea of the Unite d'Habitation to the Italian rationalism of the Corviale in Rome which we know to be failed experiments.

But have they failed because of the human being itself? Or did they fail because we weren't technically ready yet?

I can understand the perplexities, the distrust of something never seen before and I admit that there are many unknowns, from hidden costs, from the actual environmental costs for maintenance and management and all the details that have not yet been revealed.

However, we must acknowledge that we have overturned the paradigm, the idea itself represents an attempt to go further, to achieve what we could only imagine.

If I think about history, what should we say about the cities of foundation? Isn't it a question of designing a model and making it?

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If we think about it, many unexpected or revolutionary elements have forced us to change our model of living. Are you thinking about the advent of the automobile? How impactful was it?

If we add to this that this new concept of urbanizing the territory could be a winner in an inhospitable and uninhabited area of the planet.

In concrete terms, we will then see the limits, difficulties and imperfections of this new potential urban organism.

But isn't your mind already running fast to imagine what potential cultural revolution it could represent?