This project mainly exist to make a living for consultants and 3D artists. There is absolutely no point to built a city for 9 million people from scratch in the middle of a desert where there is absolutely nothing of economical value. This is not how cities work. Building artifical cities appears to be a favorite hobby for autocrats and it almost always fails because all these grandiose plans fail to acknowledge basic human needs and nature.
Pretty much, but they managed to milk MBS and his cronies for so much money on such a blatantly ridiculous idea. Gotta give some respect to that grift.
Not necessarily. If you were to concentrate some kind of manufacturing from initial resource to final product of something, that takes many steps, you could in theory attract even more people, depending on scale and complexity of production. What is ridiculous is doing it without cars and in a line, particularly, when there is no limiting geography to deal with. There absolutely are isolated in the middle of nowhere major cities, just look at Perth! But there is always a reason to build that city, be it easy access to water or presence of natural resource.
@@looseycanon You said Perth, did you (by chance) mean Petra? That city was built on a major trade route (SILK ROAD) and died the moment people found an alternate route. The Saudi natives don't have the work ethics needed to make ANY domestic manufacturing project productive. Joe touched on this when he mentioned the huge number of migrant workers.
We were thousands pointing out that many years ago and nothing has change to the better, rather the opposite. Made dictators are not the best leaders of any country. They always come up with penis measuring projects of no value! Look at Turkmenistan for an excellent example.
A line is literally the worst shape to build a city. What if you live on one end and want to travel to the other end? Those spots in the middle will cost a premium for sure. There is a reason why a spoked wheel with concentric circles is the best design... It's because it is efficient. History has proven this
If Neom was just a supper long, mirrored, solar-panal array, it would still be a gigantic undertaking that throwing money at it may not guarantee its success.
Missing the biggest resource a country could have - Human Capital. Look at Switzerland or Singapore for examples of countries with little other resources.
@@Volkbrecht apparently that was the point. Allegedly prince and his lackeys just wanna just see a flashy cgi and start going to sleep when it come to more mondane stuff
I've only seen skepticism except for Saudi officials. The design isn't sustainable, feasible, etc. They will struggle with basics like water if they actually built it. We are talking about thousands of empire state buildings stacked... never going to happen. Furthermore, nothing has changed with gullibility. People remain just as gullible as they always have been.
@@brianm.595don’t blame the Saudi officials, they saw what happened to Kashogghi after he expressed scepticism towards the ambitions of the Crown Prince
If a rich man wants to do something stupid, you don’t try to talk him out of it but ask how you can help… the fool will do it anyway and it will fail with or without you, so why not make $$$ out of it.
@@elftax the issue is wealth disparity I.e the unfairness and exploitation involved in these people having this wealth, and the impacts these projects have on the environment. Story as old as time though and there’s no stopping it so vent over
A line is literally the worst shape to build a city. What if you live on one end and want to travel to the other end? Those spots in the middle will cost a premium for sure. There is a reason why a spoked wheel with concentric circles is the best design... It's because it is efficient
The middle won’t be the premium, the ends will be- especially the end near the sea and the airport. Even if the basement is full of maglev trains, there will never be the frequency to support the supposed population. Imagine replacing your body’s circulatory system with one long capillary that ran through your entire body- that’s the model for the line.
"end to end in 20 minutes", sure, if literally nobody else on your train wants to stop on the way. Or maybe in testing it *felt* like only "20 minutes" because passengers spent most of the time comatose from the regular instant acceleration and deceleration between 0 and 500 km/h.
Almost all cities are former villages set next to a source of fresh water. The Line meant to mock all other cities. What cities should have been going for is length. Of course they only ended up mocking themselves. When we think of planned ridiculousness we think of The Line.
Just follow any architectural/urban planning channel and they will tell you how realistic the line is... spoiler: if its ever built, no one will live there.
@@vincentyeo88 I don't agree. I it's only 2.4 km long it won't be large enough to be any kind of city (unless they make it a lot wider). It's more like a (15 min) town at that point.
the Line is a massive vanity project that will never be built and is fundamentally an unworkable city concept that’s not designed for humans. the only people benefiting from it are MBS (and his ego), and the consultants and concept artists being hired to create the fancy visualisations.
Adam Something has a good take down on that project 😂 Just imagine a sandstorm and all off that glass will be sandblasted 🎉 Fantastically stupid idea 🎉
not sure he benefits, end of the day it's his money (or a significant %) being thrown on an effective bonfire, and he gonna look like a right plonker when it all goes tit's up, cor blimey
These type of cities have been attempted before, and all failed. There's a reason cities are built the way they are, and there's a reason they aren't built in strainght lines, because they don't work. But besides that, virtually all of the technology that was supposed to be used in this city doesn't actually exist.
@@derpina8330When I lived there, there was a kind of wild West feel to it. There's not a lot of crime, but also a noteable lack of regulation, so scammers are seemingly everywhere.
@@derpina8330Crime rate won't matter once the oil is gone. Their entire culture is based on the wealth gained from oil and they don't know how to survive without it.
Venezuela must have a terrible leader compared to the unelected Mr Bone Saw who rules as a despot over Saudi Arabia because the US has imposed sanctions against Venezuela yet remains a friend to the bloody Saudi regime.
@@yurinator4411Venezuelan here, these "leaders" are initially democratically elected but then remain in power through constitutional reforms and corruption. Happens all the time in the third world these days. Pray for us.
More than 200 years ago Shelley knew the result of such vanity projects: "No thing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away." Ozymandias 1819
In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone, Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws The only shadow that the Desert knows:- "I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone, "The King of Kings; this mighty City shows The wonders of my hand."- The City's gone,- Naught but the Leg remaining to disclose The site of this forgotten Babylon. We wonder - and some Hunter may express Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace, He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess What powerful but unrecorded race Once dwelt in that annihilated place. - Horace Smith, "Ozymandias"
Interestingly the line has been coming up through the algorithms over the past few days so I wondered what was going on. Your video just proved that Joe. Amazing work! Your vigilance is crucial as always 🔥
As soon as the line was announced people with clue said that even if it could be built on time and at budget it would still be a terrible idea but building out in the desert meant there was a good chance it would not be on time and at budget, never minding the people displaced to build it and other humanitarian concerns.
If a population whose only experience is riding camels and living in a Godforsaken desert should happen upon almost inconceivable wealth how could it be expected that they would be effective stewards of such wealth? Notably, Norway has managed its oil wealth far more effectively.
norway had the sea and stayed pretty connected and unified (strong community) and had robust industry before fossil fuels with hydro power, timber (very strong even in medieval times cause their fjords and timber made it very efficient before rail), fishing, shipbuilding. saudi arabia had deserts (even better as a barrier than any sea) very dry and hot with very little sedentary settlements cause of very little rainfall and moved around alot. nomadic and isolated and autocratric didnt make them get along all well with others (the middle east so many cultures and sects acatterd around it) and when an autocrat gets easy money it goes one of two ways the saudi nomadic style gave them a defferent mentality to the norwegians.
@@lhaaa1059 No. Which part of what I said indicates that? Throughout the Gulf there are grandiose buildings and 'big' ideas that lack coherent thought. I wouldn't say it's racist to suggest a lottery winner has a poorer prospect of holding or growing their wealth than a self-made millionaire. Your thinking is not good.
@@Woolymammoth-db1lt All you say is true and a worthwhile elaboration of my statement. Your contribution highlights my other response that racism is not necessary to explain the difference. One situation is a boost to an already successful system, the other is a boost to nothing.
Joe I posted this before but you are miles ahead the NYTimes, Reuters or the BBC. I tune into your videos and then the NYTimes, Reuters or the BBC write an article after you. GOOD JOB 👍🏾
Mee too…! I’ve always had interest in the line concept. I personally believed it was unique and a decent idea. It would definitely centralize everything and make everything easier for the people, and business. At least there are some countries trying, and modernizing, which is good
It was never a feasible project anyway. It was a fantastical and absurd concept that is tied to the Hyperloop as primary transportation which in i itself is a stupid idea. Stupid leading the stupid begets these results lol
Another interesting feature of Saudi is that not only are they sitting on a LOT of OIL, they also had huge underground aquifers (water to you and me). And being that money was no object, they used that water to create the 2nd largest herd of cattle in the world ( because they prefer milk over alcohol, strange huh ?). And because Saudi is essentially desert - this required around twice the amount of water over the herds in more temperate climates ( cattle need water, and lots was needed to cool them as well)...further to this, they created giant spinning water irrigation systems - visible from space - to grow cattle fodder - that further reduced the aquifers... The result is that the well is running dry, and no amount of money can replace the aquifer water, so they are spending huge amounts on de-salinating sea water - which brings its own problems. The inevitable increase in "saltiness" of the sea water causes the delicate balance of the sea environment to go haywire, causing fish losses. And they are now also buying swathes of land in under-developed countries to replace the loss of fodder, and that causes local problems in these countries - and the story, as they say, continues... Throwing huge sums of money at these kind of projects works - until it doesn't.........
Well... You "CAN" desalinate sea water without making the return water more saline, but you have to extract the salt(s) and other minerals and that is even more expensive... Trying to put large human populations in arid areas is a fools game...
Circular is most efficient. That's why most are. Max area for min perimeter. Simple. A kine is most inefficient. So it's stupid, on a fundamental level of thinking. Kind of idea only a politician could think is a 'thing' .
Surprising that with highly educated people in Saudi Arabia, no one ever considered the most basic, fundamental and primeval rule of economics that applies to all levels from households to countries: don't spend money you don't have.
No. Most Saudis don't want to work, so they have to import workers. It's kinda crazy: Wealthy ME countries don't import people from poor ME countries, they bring them in from places like Philippines. Better workers and less trouble for sure, but cultural compatibility is a problem. Europe needs people but instead of sensibly bringing in mostly westernized Asians, etc., they brought in hordes of Muslims from the ME. Huge mistake.
This is the first video of yours I have seen. It is also the most unbiased video about Saudi Arabia I have seen. It’s just the facts and no opinions, which is very hard to find now. Wow
Having lived & worked in Saudi for 6 years I can see how the idea of this City proves they are still immature in how Cities and the business infrastructure which their growth relies on just cannot work. The population is tribal and has a tradition of outdoor living and a love for the desert (which can be a magical environment to experience). Enough income has to be made for providing free social care for the whole population, schools/health care/ police/armed forces etc with no receipts from income tax. The country does have massive reserves of precious metals which could be mined but to my knowledge they have never pursued this potential income - far easier and cheaper to dig for oil!
Timing is everything. And as the world slides into a world wide recession. And the winds of war blow in Europe and the far east, I don’t see the world rushing to invest in The Line.
I will posit that The Line was doomed to failure from it's inception as harebrained scheme. I mean. End-to-end travel of 170 km in 20 minutes means an average speed of 510 km/h. That is a train running without stops. But that is not really usable as public transport then, is it? You have to ad stops along the way. That would lead to time for passengers getting on and off, also there will be need for more acceleration and deceleration. So end-to-end travel in 20 minutes is impossible. This tactic of selling pipe dreams is all over the NEOM claims. Anything they claim, that can be tested as the example above, leads to the discovery that the claim is impossible. We can then only expect that the same politicians approach to truth must be present in all the other claims they have about NEOM to some degree or other. So no. The current economic situation is not what doomed NEOM. NEOM doomed NEOM.
You could theoretically have two different lines. One goes end-to-end very fast with only one or two stops in between; another (on average) slower one has more frequent stops.
@@patrickbrady519 Traffic isn't about cars, it's about space. In what's essentially a two-dimensional city there's only one corridor for transport, so everyone going along the line is competing for that one corridor. Trains will be affected every bit as much as cars.
With so much poverty and need all over the world, wasting so much money in useless projects like these is just plain sinful. Also, only in a country ruled by a dictator you can even propose such an idea. In a democratic country the people would be protesting against the government. I hope they go bankrupt for even proposing such a ridiculous idea.
It reminds me of the train scenario from "Snowpiercer." But, instead of a moving train through the snow; it's a long, imobile glass building in the desert! It would be an interesting case study of: "How long before "cabin fever" sets in!" !(: THANKS AGAIN Mr. Blogs and BEST REGARDS TO ALL ;)!
I saw a really good assessment of this plan with its incredibly long list of fails, that is the mind numbing things that have said will be accomplished and the logical breakdown of those different things and how utterly impossible it actually is. This project has already basically been given up on financially although there is the occasional spending on something or another and CERTAINLY construction companies and engineers from around the world want a nice chunk of that money pie to do their bit. Patrick Boyle, his vid on this one was laugh out loud material. The first I heard of it and then read about it, I think it was being presented in a way that suggested it was ACTUALLY feasible. I got a good chuckle, called it a waste of money for the suckers who want to throw money into it and never thought of it again until the video from Boyle that I watched, and yes it caught all the issues I saw with it, and many more.
The whole thing was a scam; no point going into detail with their 'vision'. The realistic budget would be something like 30-50 times higher than the official budget.
Saudi despots don't do math very well. Cutting oil sales and simultaneously spending money like it's going out of style is not a viable plan. Increasing oil sales will become necessary.
The UK should send all the muslim migrants to SA. They could be used as workers and would integrate very well in the progressive muslim state. They would contribute heavily to its consumer orientated society.
Excellent video! What an amazing city in the works there! I’d love to visit there if they ever do build it. I appreciate the work required to put videos together like this. I look forward to seeing more in future.
Having worked in the deserts in the UAE/Saudi region, good luck building anything made primarliy of glass which is going to withstand the horrendous desert sand storms which will soon render all that shiny glass opaque. It won't be good for views but great for privacy.
Very silly city design. No people, no water, no natural attractions, ridiculous heat, mountains in the way, unnecessary crowding, impossible cooling and power requirements, silly geometry, inconvenient layout, inconvenient transportation, and uncomfortable accommodations. Poor choices in each and every aspect. You can lay out all the pretty 3D models you want but that still doesn't make it practical or economic. It will obviously need hundreds of roads and pipelines and warehouses and power plants and water pipelines to supply it with basic necessities and utilities. So it won't really be a line. So much for that. All very expensive and unreliable and unsustainable.
What I love most about The Line is how literally everything in the city is literally as far away from every other thing in the city as it can possibly be and still be "in" the "same" city. You can have a next-door-neighbor, but there's no actual neighborhoods. Brilliant!
Thanks so much Joe. I have been following this Line and Neom project on a high-level basis. I loved the idea but was not surprised when I heard about the cut backs. So this video was spot on for me and a well appreciated change from the Russian/China updates which I usually find the most interesting and make up the most content
The Line concept reminds me of a classic line from Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park: "You spent so much time thinking if you could that you never thought to consider if you should..."
Patrick Boyle's analysis of the line made me laugh... the transit system.... 1 second to load..... rapid acceleration for 1 second..... rapid decelerating for another second.... and so it continues
I read a report from an engineer who worked on rigs in Gulf of Mexico. He said there is more oil there than oxygen on earth to combust it. Main problem being most very deep, some cracks allow some up, that’s the bit we drill and tap.. future technology may well reach it. Making America number 1 in oil reserves
Imagine millions of the world's more productive citizens flocking in mass to a fundamentalist Muslim country locked in the 7th century where folks are beheaded for criticizing the government.
What this video confirms is, no matter your income if you don't budget you will run out. Hence Saudi Arabia generally pays x2-x3 the price for players, projects.
