from Hacker News

Saudi Arabia reveals 170-km-long mirrored skyscraper to house 9M people

by hownottowrite on 7/26/22, 2:25 PM with 59 comments

by ZeroGravitas on 7/26/22, 4:34 PM
This doesn't strike me as quite as ridiculous as it did on first glance.
One, you've got a giant vertical wall that can have building integrated PV for windows.
TWo, you've got a shaded area on the north side.
Three, they're building it partly undergound, which is good for hot climates.
Four, it's planned as a post-car, walkable city which in general is an exciting concept.
Five, it appears to be going for an enclosed living area, which is seen as dystopic by people who live in moderate climates, but has always made sense to me for regions with extreme weather (hot or cold) and doing it on a scale that might avoid the downsides of feeling like you're shut in.
Redundancy of infrastructure in a linear city strikes me as a potential problem, as is the fact that one end is near the sea and the other end just seems randomly inland. If there's some purpose to the location that I'm not aware of (joining two important places for example) then it's an interesting response to the 'organic' growth of sprawl that occurs when you have two cities linked by a fast communication route, by planning it in advance.
by parsimo2010 on 7/26/22, 2:58 PM
This is a terrible design. A linear layout removes a degree of freedom compared to a normal city. And it doesn’t even look cool to balance the impracticality. Not that I was planning on moving to KSA, but if they pursue this I will just be further convinced that they are fumbling around trying to modernize their country without any idea of what they actually need.
by globalise83 on 7/26/22, 6:28 PM
I am 100% sure that "Neom" is a colossal Ozymandian mistake that will end up wasting many billions of dollars while achieving precisely nothing of any value to Saudi Arabia or the rest of humanity.
by sakerbos on 7/26/22, 5:00 PM
I can't tell if I'm excited or terrified by this idea.
by petre on 7/26/22, 4:36 PM
It looks like the dystopic cities from Blade Runner, only with vegetation instead of acid rain.
by throw149102 on 7/26/22, 7:57 PM
I cannot imagine a worse way to organize a city than to put it on a line in the middle of a desert with no economic activity whatsoever.
Here's a question - what does this city produce? What industries could possibly exist in a city where the only way in or out is on a single line? How do shipments of goods for the grocery stores and restaurants and everything else get into the city? If I want to buy a desk, or a mattress, or anything else does it go on the maglev(s)?
The city seems to ignore the fact that building up is exponentially more expensive compared to building flat. Simply getting the material to the height it needs to be now requires a crane, not to speak of the transportation, accessibility, and plumbing issues.
Has anyone considered what would happen if there was a fire in the middle of the city? Would people be cut off from their jobs? What if repairs take weeks or months?If the maglev breaks the whole city goes with it.
Final point - building a city in the middle of the desert rather than somewhere cold with access to clean drinking water seems stupid in the face of climate change (or in general).
by simple10 on 7/26/22, 4:45 PM
Google "Saudi Arabia linear city" and you'll likely see an ad for neom.com [1]. It's worth checking out the site for the impressive but bizarrely fantastical concept art. A BBC article [2] about Neom mentions it will have an autonomous legal system drafted by the investors.
It feels like Saudi Arabia is trying to create the next Hong Kong. Maybe the linear city plan is more of a way to convince investors there's enough real estate room to expand. Or perhaps there's a reason to need an autonomous legal zone stretching from the Red Sea to inner Saudi Arabia.
[1] https://www.neom.com/en-us/regions/theline
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-59601335
by cephei on 7/26/22, 4:22 PM
The whole complex comes in at about 34 km^2 which puts the population density at about 10 times the density of Manhattan. The water and energy needs alone will require several key innovations before this becomes even a pipe dream. Household and public space water usage could be a billion gallons of fresh water a day.
by Mali- on 7/26/22, 3:50 PM
Cool graphics, I do not believe this will ever be built.
by bradleybuda on 7/26/22, 8:12 PM
It's amazing that people keep reporting on Neom as if it is actually going to happen. It's not a credible plan. This is a rich kid's over-funded sci-fi.
by Arnt on 7/26/22, 4:28 PM
25% of the country's population in one bulding. This can't be something they really intend to build, the plan must be their equivalent of a concept car.
by haphazardeous on 7/26/22, 2:53 PM
if it's built, I suspect we may experience what living on Mars would be like.
by dr_faustus on 7/26/22, 8:51 PM
I really wonder if there is snake oil the Saudis haven’t bought. It will be so much fun to watch once the petro dollars dried up.
by ksaj on 7/26/22, 10:33 PM
This will have an interesting impact on people who are still convinced the world is flat. You will not be able to look down the hall from one end to the other.
by kwere on 7/26/22, 9:53 PM
how cool would it have been if NEOM was a blend of Arab culture (muscat?) with sensible city design (no carcentric hellhole), instead Billions off Saudis people money will be wasted in this BS. Maybe the plan is to make a meropoly baackbone but its too enormous for the country (or any country) needs or any country
by pmlnr on 7/26/22, 6:17 PM
Domed cities dystopia on the horizon.
by kgeist on 7/26/22, 5:16 PM
I wonder what will happen during rush hours when everyone needs to use the transport system
by herghost on 7/26/22, 4:29 PM
Feels both exciting and terrifying in about the same proportions!
by avgDev on 7/26/22, 5:08 PM
Saudi Arabia builds things with modern day slavery.
Please read on kafala system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafala_system
Bonus negative points for treatment of women.