Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious urban experiment is unraveling. According to a detailed investigation published by The Nation, the futuristic megaproject known as The Line, the centerpiece of the Neom development, has effectively collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions and costs.
First announced in 2020, The Line was envisioned as a 110 mile mirrored city stretching across the desert near the borders of Jordan and Egypt. Promoted by Mohammad bin Salman as a revolutionary alternative to traditional urban sprawl, the project promised zero cars, zero emissions, and a fully automated, vertical city housing millions. In practice, progress never matched the rhetoric.
Over nearly five years, construction stalled after early groundwork, with little to show beyond driven piles and elaborate renderings. A recent exposé by the Financial Times confirmed that key elements of the plan have been abandoned or drastically scaled back. Technical realities proved unforgiving. Reflective facades threatened migratory bird routes. Wind patterns, gravity, and waste systems made several core design ideas unworkable. One signature concept, an upside-down skyscraper known internally as the “chandelier,” was quietly dropped after engineers concluded it could not function.
Beyond engineering failures, the human toll has drawn mounting scrutiny. The project triggered forced displacement of members of the Huwaitat tribe, with arrests and reported executions of those who resisted relocation. An ITV investigation later estimated that more than 21,000 workers may have died or disappeared across Saudi Vision 2030 projects, which include Neom. Human Rights Watch has documented widespread abuse of migrant labor, including confiscated passports, destroyed phones, and crushing recruitment debts.
Despite its branding as a sustainability showcase, critics argue The Line embodied the opposite. Vast quantities of concrete, steel, and imported materials were deployed in one of the world’s harshest climates, driven by oil revenues and minimal regulatory oversight. Architects and global firms were reportedly pressured to endorse designs they privately questioned, operating within a culture where dissent carried professional and personal risk.
Today, what was once marketed as the future of urban living increasingly resembles a cautionary tale. The retreat from The Line underscores the limits of spectacle-driven planning and raises broader questions about the role of architecture in authoritarian state projects. As Saudi Arabia reassesses its ambitions, the ruins of The Line stand as a reminder that scale and capital alone cannot bend physics, ecology, or social reality indefinitely.
