Satellite images captured over Saudi Arabia's desert offer an impressive new perspective on the country's futuristic project 'The Line'.
Though every town and city has its unique quirk, it's probably fair to say that the majority of us are used to living in places with roundabouts, corners and roads sprawling every which way.
But that won't be the case with The Line in Saudi Arabia, where the city will stretch in, well, a line, for 170 kilometers.
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The mirrored structure will tower 500 meters above sea level, but will be just 200 meters wide as it aims to 'redefine the concept of urban development and what cities of the future will look like'.
It's definitely a tough environment to imagine, but luckily satellite images taken over the desert show the structure taking place.
The images were captured in 2022 by Soar Earth, an Australian startup that aggregates satellite imagery and crowdsourced maps into an online digital atlas, and shared with MIT Technology Review.
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Analysis of the satellite images indicates that workers excavated as much as 26 million cubic meters of earth and rock for the project; findings in keeping with official drone footage of The Line’s construction site also released in 2022.
After the satellite images were obtained, Amir Farhand, CEO and founder of Soar Earth, commented: “I thought, holy moly, they’re actually doing it. Look at how many trucks are there. Look how much earth is moved. I couldn’t believe how big Neom’s construction camp was.”
The images revealed approximately 425 excavation vehicles on The Line itself, and another 650 vehicles on a construction base spanning more than five kilometers.
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Construction workers helping to create the line are housed at the base, which is equipped with multiple swimming pools, soccer fields, cricket pitches and its own solar farm.
A separate image taken approximately 60 kilometers away revealed shallower excavations and fewer construction vehicles, indicating the eastern end of The Line had much less activity going on.
When the project is finally complete, The Line is set to run on 100 percent renewable energy with 95 percent of land preserved for nature, the Neom website explains.
It won't have any roads or cars, and as a result it will have no emissions.
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The Line aims to prioritize people's 'health and wellbeing' over transportation and
infrastructure, however, the idea has drawn criticism from some parties who have argued the desert is not the appropriate place for such a structure.
Topics: Money, Travel, World News, Climate Change, Environment, Space
Emily Brown