The idea of taking a population the size of New York City and putting it into a 170-km (105-mile)-long skyscraper in the Saudi Desert seems so ambitious that anyone could be forgiven for being skeptical. However, the project, named the Line, is indeed going ahead, and UK firm Atkins has been commissioned to help realize it.
To recap what we already know, in addition to its incredible length, the Line is expected to reach a supertall height of 500 m (1,640 ft) and a width of 200 m (656 ft). It will stretch over desert, mountain, valley and coastal terrain, and will have a mirrored exterior, so hopefully some kind of system can be put in place to ensure it doesn’t decimate the local avian population. Its interior will include housing, parks, hospitals – basically everything you’d expect to find in a major city.
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As if all that wasn’t ambitious enough, the plan is for it to run from 100 percent renewable energy, though we’ve no information yet on what this will entail. Even putting aside the task of building and powering the linear city, just keeping so many people hydrated, fed, and comfortable while getting rid of their waste in a desert location is a challenge in itself. So how will they go about it? Well, according to Reuters, the Line will make use of AI tech to manage such issues and will rely on surveillance of its inhabitants to help it predict user needs.
Read more: New Atlas
