Mahnoor Jahangir

2019-ARCH-33

THE FUTURE OF URBAN LIVING

The concept of urban development is growing nowadays to improve the living of the future. The infrastructure
is improved at an urban level and the preservation of heritage sites is carried out. Such urban development is
carried out in Saudia Arabia in the form of Neom City called the line new wonders of the world. The project
focuses on the use of renewable energy and preserving the land for nature. Key points to notice are the ideal
climate and clean air that is provided within the city. Such a proposal can also be introduced in Pakistan. By
doing the critical analysis of Neom city, the results can be obtained on how one should incorporate such an
approach in the urban development projects of Pakistan.

Critical Analysis on Neom City, Saudia Arabia.

Neom is a Saudi city being built in Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is planned to incorporate
smart city technologies and function as a tourist destination. The site is north of the Red Sea, east of Egypt
across the Gulf of Aqaba, and south of Jordan. It is planned to cover a total area of 26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi),
extending 170 kilometers along the coast of the Red Sea. Neom is a city that is 170 kilometers long and 500
meters tall. It's basically a line cutting straight across a desert with a facade made of mirrors. And you can travel
from one end to the other end in just 20 minutes. It's got ultra-super high-speed public transit, which eliminates
the need for cars and prioritizes walking. The initial estimate for this project was $500 billion and now they're
estimating $1 trillion and it's expected to house 9 million residents. Neom is a part of the Saudi government's
bigger initiative to diversify the economy away from oil. as a part of their plan, they’re investing heavily into
infrastructure projects as well as education, tourism, research, age, anti-aging, and technology. And there's a
really big focus on future industries like renewable power. the Saudi Arabian government set up an entire zone
for the Neom development in an area called Tabuk. There are areas that have already finished construction,
including a seaside resort, a massive development for the royal family, and an airport directly connecting to
Riyadh, which is the capital of Saudi Arabia.
By the way, it's going to have zero carbon emissions and it's going to run on clean, renewable
energy. The city is going to be structured on three different levels. At ground level, you're going to have your
pedestrian zone. There's going to be no roads and no cars. And there are going to be tons of parks and trees to
encourage walking. The second level functions as a service level with shops and other commercial spaces, and
on the third level, you got your goods and transportation with this ultra-high-speed transit system. This connects
the different city modules so that all of your activities can be done by public transport or by walking and all of
your daily needs can be met pretty much within a five-minute walking distance. This whole idea is built on the
premise that most big cities were born out of the Industrial Revolution, and they were built for machines and
cars and industry rather than for people. The line would save humanity from this commuting nightmare, but is a
rigid line really going to meet people's needs?

Airflow and providing shade contribute to reducing the air temperature and controlling microclimate. Also, this
type of planning reduces the number of walls exposed to solar radiation, which decreases the temperature of
buildings thus reducing the energy consumed to cool buildings out. Neom Provide a mixture urban of
commercial, retail, residential, and green open space to create an amazing urban fabric for day/night activities
and fulfill the need of all different age group. People would love to have social activities in their neighborhood
they don’t have to go far downtown to have some food, and drinks and spend some quality time which enhances
the quality of life, that what high density can provide for residents

If the focus
really is on green technology and its design for sustainability, why does it literally cut through the
surroundings? It looks like it's forcing its way into this irregular terrain and it doesn't even take advantage of the
coast, which to me seems like the most natural thing to do. Like many projects, it seems that natural inhabitants
have been fragmented from roads and buildings. It kills off weaker animal species. the project is in the desert,
but even within a desert, there are thousands of animals and plant species like lizards, snakes, turtles, sand, cats,
and hares, literally thousands. And I would assume, especially as you get closer to the water, you would have
more animal species. So, creating this massive 170-kilometer wall sounds really problematic.
The giant mirror of the wall is going to reflect the light and it's going to create these two really hot heat zones. I
think design should provide the best organic solution, and we should use technology to improve on that. The
residential zone of this city shows that daylight is not enough for a person, there should be proper ventilation
and structural support. The desert gets up to 55 degrees Celsius. That’s 130 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if the roof
of this thing stays open, like in the renderings, you're going to need some serious cooling in there. Or maybe
they're just counting on all of these areas being shaded most of the time. But then I'm kind of curious, how do
you get all of this lush greenery? They're really trying to get the state of the art for everything.
Many
parts of Saudi Arabia don't even have a proper sewer system. The country is already full of failed or abandoned
projects, and I think they need to be spending this money on improving the existing infrastructure and
improving the lives of the people who already live there. In their marketing campaign, it is missing that there
are thousands of people already living in this area. There’s a tribal community that's been there for centuries,
and Neom is displacing thousands of tribal members and I think that brings us to the whole ethics behind all
this. The double standards of the traditional functioning of the state and the utopian vision of Neom are clearly
evident. Neom might portray tolerance, technology, and sustainability to the outside world, but behind the
scenes, the project seems to hardly act upon these values
As a student, I think this project is very much beneficial as it focuses on new technologies without considering
the consequences of using them. So, the idea of the project should meet the limitations involved in that before
investing the money on a huge scale. Technology and new advancements should be made with the solutions.
URBAN LIVING FUTURE IN PAKISTAN
The future of urban development in Pakistan can be improved by using technologies that are only beneficial for
the generations and sustainable development can be done in order to improve the lifestyle of the area. Due to the
migration from rural areas, it is expected that vertical expansion will be done in the future years. High-rise
buildings are preferable due to land constraints in the cities like Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Lahore, Karachi, and
Islamabad. As land becomes scarcer in the future, the only way to accommodate people will be to build taller
structures. Tall constructions will become commonplace in a few years and will provide housing for everyone.

REFERENCES:

 https://careers.snclavalin.com/blogs/2022-3/urban-planning-in-saudi-arabia
 https://www.neom.com/en-us
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kz5vEqdaSc
 https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/saudi-arabia/2022/09/14/what-is-neom-all-you-need-
to-know-about-saudi-arabias-500-billion-megacity/