Building a sustainable city in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has planned a new, futuristic city called megacity called Neom. Located in North West Saudi Arabia, Neom is set to be one of the first truly sustainable urban centres. The city is referred to as ‘the line’ in its promotional video and is going to be 170 kilometres (100 miles) long, 200 metres wide and 500 hundred metres high.

Neom will house 9 million residents in just 34 square kilometres – New York has a similar population in 784 kilometres square. The planners see Neom as two 170-kilometre sky-scrapers set opposite each other that will be encased in a mirrored façade. Operating on numerous interconnected levels it will be completely different to any other city in the world.  

The project’s Saudi planners say claim Neom will have a year-round temperate microclimate using natural ventilation. The city is going to be carbon-neutral, completely sustainable and there are not going to be any cars. Residents will have access to everything they need in terms of work, shopping and leisure within a five-minute walk. A high-speed rail link will provide end-to-end transit through Neom 170 kilometres in 20 minutes.

The Neom city project is set to be completed by 2030 at a cost of around $1 trillion. Crown Prince Mohammed who is the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia is the driving force behind the plan and is managing the financial aspects of the project which involve government subsidies, private sector funding and raising funds through FDI.

There are several reasons behind the Neom project. Saudi Arabia wants to diversify away from oil as its main source of export revenue and move into business services, finance, and tourism and the city is part of this plan.

Neom is part of Saudi Arabia’s aim of becoming a carbon-neutral society by 2060. The country is experiencing a population boom and is set to rise from 35 million to 50 million by 2030 and the city is going to be part of housing these people. This $1 trillion investment in infrastructure is projected to create 380,000 jobs and is also going to provide a significant boost to the Saudi economy in the coming years.

Some possible points to discuss with a class

1. What will Neom need to achieve to be a sustainable city?
2. How is it possible for people to have all they want within a 5-minute walk?
3. How could the Neom project earn money to pay for its $1 trillion investment?
4. Is Neom a model for sustainable urban development in the future?