Neom, unfortunately has not got the eyeballs it deserves. The audatious project rethinks ‘living’ in a completely different context that maybe is more relevant to todays society and way of living. I will try and focus only on two simple parameters housing or living and transport or commuting.
Anyone who has used public transport understands that because of nodal connectivity issues, public transport networks are extremely difficult to create and maintain. The easiest is linear movement that is best illustrated by Bus Rapid Tranport Systems – BRTS or the famous Mumbai train system that runs from north to south. Linear movement makes is simpler, easier to deploy and significantly cut down on commute times.
Urban planning is broken. Our living has significantly evolved over the last decade, last 25 years, last 50 years, last 100 years and the last 500 years – but we still have homes that are hundreds of years old and still lived in. The way we still the built form of living has evolved very little. We have skyscrapers but they still in essence follow the same normenclature. Le Corbousier, the legendary French architect was facinated by the house as a machine to live in and I think he would have been facinated by #neom.
The housing planning seems facinating spread across developments within the Line – the main vertical city and the areas surrounding. I have high hopes that the unique design will offer a high quality of affordable housing then is possible in existing megacities. Affordable housing – housing for the less privilaged has different connotations in different countries. Saudi Arabia has a high bar but Neom offers a unique opportunity to create a truly integrated city.
As we move ahead, we see that the future will be urban. To be sustainable, we will need densification and transport solutions that do not compromise the quality of life – the experiment of Neom and the Line offer a window to reimagine housing, work and the urban life.
