NEOM: City Of The Future or $600 Billion Stunt? | Answers With Joe

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NEOM is Saudi Arabia's tentpole project in their Vision 2030 initiative to help move the Kingdom away from an oil-based economy and rely more on technology and tourism. It has some ambitious goals, like being 100% sustainable, moving all transport underground, and even glowing beaches. But the most noticeable thing about the project is the fact that the city will lie on a 100-mile line serviced by a hyperloop-style high speed train system.
But is it all it's cracked up to be? Let's take a look.
Here's the link to NEOM's official site: www.neom.com/en-us
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LINKS LINKS LINKS:
www.visitdubai.com/en/article...
www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/the-tow...
www.webuildvalue.com/en/infra...
hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/s...
www.amaala.com/en/home
qiddiya.com/
www.theredsea.sa/en
www.architecturaldigest.com/s...
www.reuters.com/article/us-sa...
www.sovereigngroup.com/news-a...
www.theguardian.com/global-de...
www.wsj.com/articles/a-prince...
www.reuters.com/article/us-sa...
www.cnbc.com/2021/02/09/saudi...
www.cbsnews.com/news/mohammad...
www.washingtonpost.com/news/g...

[@AntiPseudo]

A city run by an AI that's based on a city-wide OS, tapped into security, drones and robots. Boy, that sure sounds like nothing could possibly go wrong!

[@Georgije2]

Just make sure to pray 5 times a day and you should be fine 🙂

[@richardmalcolm1457]

Come on, man. It's a brave new world!

[@JorgeGomez-kt3oq]

Sounds like the start of a dystopian novel lmfao

[@scienceisall2632]

@@JorgeGomez-kt3oq It already exists in China. This is the main danger to the world

[@DavidKnowles0]

@@Georgije2 but who to? Allay or our new AI overlord?

[@Objectified]

I look forward to future urban explorer videos of the project's unfinished and abandoned structures.

[@unclescipio3136]

I don't think we'll have to wait too long.

[@LazzarrusLong]

Nailed it

[@Ass_of_Amalek]

they'll look quite stark in the desert.

[@TheSarlaccPit]

Honestly tho

[@patrickasplund]

It won't get that far...

[@blueduchessvi]

Epcot was Walt Disney's dream city of the future. It also used layered, underground, unseen transportation corridors for people and freight, but built on a radial plan (much like Dallas minus Ft Worth lol) The Disney World complex still uses the concept to keep the "backstage" stuff away from visitors' view.

[@lindaseel9986]

Shades of West World.😳

[@kuplayfordvalls6781]

This city has to be the biggest PIPE DREAM I’ve heard in a long while...

[@eleonarcrimson858]

@Jupiter rules what?

[@PoeticSonic]

@@eleonarcrimson858 go back and look at the location it's going to be built and which country it's overlooking and would have to interact with...

[@kh-fk3ko]

@@PoeticSonic its next to israel, but it is not being built by Israel. I know this cause i have been in contact with people who are working on the foundations of this project.

[@PoeticSonic]

@@kh-fk3ko well of course israel wouldn't build it/ pay for it, it wouldn't make any sense BUT the location means there will have to be cooperation just like there had to be cooperation between Israel and egypt for sharm el sheikh. in the end we don't know what happens between closed doors and deals under the tables. ultimately it's gonna be very interesting in the coming two decades as a lot of things are gonna change and I'm not even talking about neom. it's the fact that now countries (basically the world) is moving away from fossil fuels for energy is huge in the global politics, economy and even society. sooner or later people will have to pay much less for power if at all so obviously the people at the top need to find something else that they can make us reliably and consistently pay for. for global politics, invading the middle east and other countries for oil isn't gonna be as profitable, just look at Afghanistan. and if what of the recent developments that has been happening for the past 20 years+ then my money is that the "new oil" is our data where more and more our virtual life is enteracting with real life on a deeper and deeper level so much so that things you do virtually is gonna be a necessity and that's a mine that can never run dry or will it ever become useless

[@francois853]

@@PoeticSonic energy will never be free. Someone needs to maintain the transmission/transformation/generation equipment and they won't work for free. Even if its paid for via taxes, you'll still be paying for it.

[@converse5874]

50 years later: "Who would have guessed that a straight line is not the best way to build a city"

[@AileTheAlien]

What do you mean? Having everything spread out as far as possible is sooooooo efficient! No wasted transit here!

[@converse5874]

@@AileTheAlien my mistake ;)

[@asandax6]

@@AileTheAlien cut the line in half and put the 2 newly formed lines parallel to each other and efficiency goes up. For every division after that Until you have a square will increase efficiency. But maximum efficiency is building it as a circle.

[@rizzlervontrappe1515]

@@asandax6 Atlantis

[@c4temp1re]

You mean like the Venus Project…. I think Joe’s done a video on that one too m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIrSlZqNltWgncU

[@pbennett13]

Feels like a 21st century version of Walt Disney’s original plans for EPCOT…. would love if you did a retro video on that original plan, and how much of it was realized before it was changed into a theme park

I was just about to comment the same thing - the similarities are eerie, and probably what EPCOT could have become in the future had it been built.

[@weaselworm8681]

There have been a bunch of attempts at “utopia”. Gladewell has a podcast episode about just that. Its amazing how badly they ALL failed. Although some of them morphed in unexpected ways.

[@anuragtiwari1793]

Please make a update on the Kurzweil pridiction

[@Gantry0w]

This is exactly what I was going to say

[@1320crusier]

bingo

[@rdtradecraft]

What lessons could we learn from a city built in the middle of hostile dessert terrain, run by a city-spanning, AI-driven surveillance system, supplemented by robots controlled by that same AI with no cars? How to build a death trap you can't escape from comes to my mind, sustainable or not.

[@alexia3552]

I hope they make the most robust grid possible, electricity and especially water delivery cannot fail 😬

[@NshbrVrjsn]

i just want them to continue building so thatwe can see it fail

[@amichalap]

Some of this sounds awkwardly similar to Walt Disney's plans for EPCOT back when it was a utopian company town, just updated to modern tech and culture.

[@mlc4495]

Literally what I was thinking as well. The whole "city of tomorrow" thinking that is now laughably out of date. Planned cities of this type nearly always fails because cities, like people, grow and develop organically in an almost random manner.

[@JulieCaptivatedinFl]

Great minds. I just made the same comment.

[@nenmaster5218]

@@JulieCaptivatedinFl Dubai's Issues got covered by Adam Something and Second Thought. Braoder speaking, i can of course recommend you science-channel and issue-tackling youtubers beyond that, but only if you ask for it.

[@thomasroberts8088]

Someone comes up with this same basic fantasy every ten to fifteen years and the only thing that changes is the cgi of the "upcoming" presentation gets better.

[@resonanceofambition]

Years ago I would have gotten mad. Now I know how naive a child I was. The only thing humans can put their mind to is how to effectively destroy something. I mean I already knew but these past few years have really hammered it in.

[@resonanceofambition]

@Tano Never mind the floating cities. I gave up on that when I was a kid. No, I'm talking about stuff like the Venus project; you know, those post scarcity utopian visions where people actually think properly before acting. Where cities actually make sense, where everything is circular and made to reduce wastefulness. Where education is actual education and not one generation preying on younger ones for a paycheck. Stuff like that.

[@MrSquilla23]

@@resonanceofambition I seen future by design it was fantastic. Mr. Fresco did an excellent job explaining how it would work. I tried explaining the ideas to people they look confused. Egg shaped house in tornado zones and cities that turn to go with current of ocean and have hydroelectric built into the city below. Pretty cool stuff.

[@XxThunderflamexX]

@@resonanceofambition I am highly skeptical of this project. Humans are complicated, human societies are moreso, and it's naive to think a committee can account and optimize for all of the factors needed to make a successful living environment. But please try to tone down the misanthropy. Humans are complicated, and incredibly malleable. The idea that we are purely and innately destructive is not objective and unhelpful, especially at a time in history where there is a lot of work to be done to fix a number of issues.

[@EntyFu]

money laundering

[@RogerM88]

Skyscrapers after a certain height, aren't economical sustainable due to maintenance costs. They then are just power symbols.

[@markos.5539]

I just found out recently burj khalifa dont have proper working sewage system... such a shame for a pride symbol of power

[@KarryKarryKarry]

Not to mention that the Burj Khalifa isn’t connected to a sewer system. They truck the enormous pile of human waste away from it every single day and it’s a lot of trucks… like a lot…

[@morganangel340]

@@kubajadrzak1123 nothng to do with the height of the building... is just cheaper to use poop-trucks when the fuel cost next to nothing and the drivers are from poor asian countries than to build a sewage system.

[@dinil5566]

Tallest building are mostly empty and running at loss I heard.

[@greenanubis]

@@dinil5566 Great! Let the money burn.

[@tokiomitohsaka7770]

I wouldn’t design a line shaped city, it seems inefficient when it comes to distance. I do like the idea of a no-car city though. I wonder how difficult logistically it is to build, expand, and maintain a city with no roads when it means your trucks won’t be able to get to the construction sight (I am probably missing something really simple and would feel stupid upon realising it)… Also the dystopian mass surveillance in an already authoritarian country does not fill me with confidence.

[@Vlad2319]

It might be a build furthest out first, that way they can cover the temporary roads as they go towards the end

[@el-presidente]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKq6kpSuZZySodU

[@cjwrench07]

We build them like some older cities, essentially sectional with a main hub, so the freight gets broken down into smaller and smaller loads as you get into each subdivision. We’d also have to get rid of our societies *insane* amount of waste created from casually gutting and rebuilding entire houses, for no reason other than fashion (& flipping). Sustainable and energy efficacy, concrete-like, core structures could be the way forward. Then people could still “make it theirs” by just changing external cladding, and changing the internal layout with Structurally Insulated Panels(or something like it).

[@jamesm5787]

@@Vlad2319 One word: Maintenance. What happens when you need to haul in a replacement water pipe, or replacement structural materials. Or the equipment needed to do construction work.

[@4redwings]

"They Tell Me This Is How the World Ends" Good Book. Scary.

[@GOLDCOASTROLLOUT]

8:10 - "So I'm guessing no public beheadings on that level"...Joe, that's a sick burn my man

[@kelsiecakes100]

I burst out laughing when he said that like ... the confidence to say that, and keep it in the video, immaculate.

[@Jadebones]

Burn? More like just stating it'll be done on the maintenance level.

[@GOLDCOASTROLLOUT]

@@Jadebones whoosh

[@awsafreza4272]

I feel like this project is gonna go through a lot of changes when they start to actually build it out.

[@elslick]

Oh yeah for sure. I mean from working in the construction industry I can tell you man makes plans and God laughs. They are bound to run into a couple thing with geological features and stuff that are going to make some alterations.

[@awsafreza4272]

It's gonna be interesting to watch how and why these alterations are going to be made (assuming it's successful). And if it is successful it will be a great case study.

[@larsjrundflesland9326]

@@elslick They're definitely going to have issues with the mountain that they plan to go through. I won't be surprised if they decided to cut the line shorter so that the line stop when they reach the mountain.

[@elslick]

@@larsjrundflesland9326 yeah civli engineering never goes as planned.

[@jay-em]

Yeah, watch that line become a circle once engineers and practicality become involved.

[@MrBebopChamploo]

"It's a metropolis that will be entirely green and environmentally friendly, built for people, and a hub of economic activity!*" *As long as you're ok with being monitored 24/7, having your genetics altered maybe without even knowing it? and knowing that the city is built on land stolen from indigenous people and through the silencing of any opposition to the project. Glad I watched this video, I actually thought the idea was cool when what I knew about it didn't include the asterisk.

[@notmefrfr]

It's the same thing in China now. A network of cameras and smart devices all connected to the same ai the government uses to monitor and control their population. Sure it's advanced af and super cool at first but then when you think of what the control and spying is used for you see why 1984 was such a big deal.

[@oldmankatan7383]

So, basically.... Just like any American city, but add on some genetic alteration without consent? :P

[@notmefrfr]

@@oldmankatan7383 we dont have cameras on every street or facial recognition in the us and you need a warrant to do most kinds of survalience. As for the genetic alteration without consent I'd argue that is a thing that's happened before in China and continues to happen. As for the nsa spying that shit needs to stop and the Cia needs to stop playing the Country Builder Tycoon

[@fnyquist8779]

I find it's insulting that they want to call this project "sustainable" while trampling on human rights in such a blatant and destructive way. Anyone who has studied that subject knows that the social aspect (people's health, human rights , labor rights, equality, etc) is critical.

[@macmcleod1188]

I wouldn't want to live there but I can easily see several million people wanting to live in a place like that. I don't get run up over stuff like this because with the state of climate change it's all arranging deck chairs on the Titanic anyway.

[@deirdrekylie218]

That sounds like the coolest potential nightmare ever! I almost want to be a part of it. I also sometimes wish I could live through a real life disaster movie scenario.

[@tysaylor551]

Ah yes, no better way to crush the soul of employees by forcing them to work underground.

[@danieljones5217]

If it was a nice space with good working conditions and good pay I don't see why anyone would be upset. I work in a mall for over a decade in a food court where there was no natural light just all artificial light. I was fine.

[@FindingFarrahBlog]

Would you want to work and have to walk around outside where it is often over 100 degrees out? :P when people start living on moons and other planets like Mars people will have to live completely indoor all the time. It’s a sacrifice, but an interesting innovation!

[@bryanforbes5962]

The Moorlocks and Eloi from H.G. Wells Time Machine is a pervasive standard now, in all cities around the world. That is terrible. If everyone has ability to live above ground in utilitarian housing with similiar approxiimation to resources and recreation. Theirs a lot less strife and more self evident equality of resource solutions. Not overpopulating the model ( Patience in the next Line being next generation) in concert with educating public of all the format and expectations for living on line, means to adapt and alternate through the strength in and want of equality inspiring respect for the base human needs of inclusion, adaptation, and even failure. The will to overcome failings and keep adapting to whats in communities collective interests. Sociopathology and Mob mentality are parasitic blights on humanity. Those conditions have to be opposed. The skills to learn are identifying differences between brash myopic visioned outliers hollering fire in a theater just so as to watch the movie alone and Some jerk in a spidey mask with a saxophone and a guitar case on a subway platform playing Who Can It Be Now to the smiles of people slowing their pace to listen a bit longer before catching the train to work. We cant live on bublegum flavored soylent green...internet.

[@excitedbox5705]

A lot of middle eastern countries have a vibrant nightlife because it is too hot during the day to do much. Building underground keeps things cool and lets you work during the day.

[@theragingplatypus4743]

@@danieljones5217 I would. It's dehumanizing. We actually need to see the sky. It's hardwired into the brain. Researchers even know for long spa e flights that they will need to recreate the sky digitally or proper go insane. In Germany, its actually a law that all workers in most environments must have the ability to see the sky from their work station.

[@alvaromedinagarcia]

Vanity project from an authocrat that will probably be built by poor workers and serviced by poor workers in the underground for rich people living above ground. A real life dystopia. Also, ancient land dwellers evicted. Truly remarkable project.

[@deptusmechanikus7362]

ahh, capitalism at it's finest.

[@saltwaterrook4638]

@@deptusmechanikus7362 capitalism is the only way the world works.

[@nochance3914]

@@deptusmechanikus7362 Stop looking at the world by definition written by people who are dead centuries ago Only one system never works. Everything has to be in coordination.

[@PeidosFTW]

@@weeebie this is literally late stage capitalism lol, wanting to build a city for rich people that will be built on indigenous land while most likely being built by basically slave work, while also advocating for some weird kind of eugenics and also seeing and storing everything you do. how much more capitalist can you get? the only good idea presented by this project is the no cars policy with enphasis on public transport. this is the 1984 story being envisioned in real life but since it is being made by capitalists nobody bats an eye...

[@DS-lk3tx]

"Capitolism at its finest." Ahh yes... that evil free trade amongst others...

[@Kevin_Street]

I think some of the ideas behind Neom are very intriguing, and worth exploring...someday. When we eventually have space colonies we'll probably be building linear cities like this. Take a city inside a giant rotating wheel and stretch it out, you'll get a line. The water desalination dome is also a really interesting idea, with more immediate uses. But I have zero confidence that Saudia Arabia or Softbank or whomever else can build a livable linear city, today, in some of the harshest terrain in the world. Especially not when they build it from the top down with the expectation of controlling everything like a mathematical equation. Real cities are messy. They grow and change in response to the needs of their inhabitants, and if the inhabitants of this city are all rich they'll just pick up and leave if they find it too restrictive.

[@bakedbeings]

Have you ever flown on a commercial jet? Remember how convenient it was getting to the rest rooms when a flight attendant was pushing a drinks cart? Or trying to disembark while everyone's using the same narrow walkway? Good times. This city sounds fun.

[@el-presidente]

It's really not, you're right! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKq6kpSuZZySodU

[@thierrymad9743]

Before debating about the shape of the city, we might ask if it makes sense to build cities in a desert area along the shoreline with climate change and sea level increase not improving the situation in the coming decades.

[@sleepy2364]

weird how governments are ignoring it.

[@user-ol5bj4dm2v]

Yeah. Almost as if they knew that it was just a political talking point.

[@joem1480]

Well if sea levels had actually increased over the last 40 years we could be concerned, however they haven't. Before you bring up the islands in the pacific ocean that the sea is rising above, that can be attributed to geological movement causing the islands to actually sink.

[@thomashiggins9320]

@@user-ol5bj4dm2v Or, could it be that so many of their constituents vote their denial, that politicians fear losing their jobs unless they pander to the delusions of the people who elect them?

[@shitlordflytrap1078]

@@joem1480 sea level rise has been observed in many places besides ocean islands.

[@ThrottleKitty]

I love how we just totally glazed over the words "Artificial moon" ... like, in space? Is that even related? ... like, just big moon shaped billboard in the desert?

[@dragonrabbit7410]

i also have questions... like does some phase of the project involve killing james bond?

[@seekeroftheuniverse2657]

Nah it's a translation mistake 😅 they mean a satellite but in Arabic the word satellite is literally translated into artificial moon !

[@ben3364]

I'm thinking Truman Show dome

[@ryanb6503]

@@seekeroftheuniverse2657 that's hilarious, it would be great if they just said they'd run with it and put a circular billboard into orbit

[@falxonPSN]

@@ryanb6503 stranger things have happened when you have unlimited oil money.

[@c.simmons2147]

I like the underground portion. I feel like more places need to take advantage of that space. I remember when I was in college, the administration wanted to tear down the only bar on campus to make space for a parking garage. Thankfully students made enough noise that it didn't happen. But parking is a problem, especially with more campus building being built but the edges of campus being pretty constrained by the surrounding community. Simply put, we needed to find some vertical space for parking. But I can't help but feel like one of the things we could have taken advantage of is the underground area. I know Stanford has several underground parking garages with open grass areas on top. That seems like such a good solution. It provides more parking than a surface lot but doesn't create a brutalist concrete structure that takes away from the livability of an area. It tries to make a better area while living with the constraints of a car-centric society which is not likely to change in the near future.

[@HelgeMoulding]

The Roman deity Fascinus is probably one you'd want to look up regarding the use of phallic symbols in Roman ruins. It's a fascinating (same root) story.

[@inthso362]

"We got oil! Should we move to Beverly Hills?" "No, let's just build a gaudier one around us!"

[@mulletmann6558]

the difference between having oil...and HAVING OIL.

[@absolutely1337]

the map looks like a c0ck

[@Markle2k]

Oh, you have missed out on the predatations of Saudi “princes” on American soil.

[@MrJaimeaquerol]

this people would go to Monaco.

[@existncdotcom5277]

.“We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.”

[@r0cketplumber]

"There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by readin'. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." -Will Rogers

[@kaintshine]

You and rocket plumber, priceless.

[@wdfarmer2]

You've got me thinking about the movie "Elysium", about a hi-tech and affluent society living in space.

[@Deathsneeze]

thanks Joe..... I've lived here for 30 years and I *just* now saw it on the road map..... will never be able to unsee it.

[@ecbrown6151]

The whole “being a murdering piece of trash” puts a damper on the Jetsons thing.

[@robbirose7032]

True.

[@timothymartin8233]

Meh. People will protest anything. People ruin everything.

[@MGarafano]

History is filled with his like, yet the projects remain long after the individual. Personally I'm curious to see how this goes

[@lizzychrome7630]

But he let women drive cars! In the earliest days of the 21st Century!

[@singularitysquaredllc.895]

I know right... how the f does that only get mentioned in passing, as though there's not copious amounts of proof of dismemberment and genocide: validated the reasoning behind moi not being subbed.

[@timg2727]

The Jeddah tower has sat unfinished for 3 years now. That's one building. There's approximately a zero percent chance of Neom happening at anything approaching the scale they're envisioning.

[@Codraroll]

I'm reminded of Masdar City. That futuristic district in Abu Dhabi that would be net zero energy and have autonomous public transport pods and 50,000 residents when Phase 1 would be finished in 2009. In 2019, it had 300 residents. To date, it is mostly an undeveloped plain by the airport, with a few scattered buildings and streets that go nowhere. Yet the promotional material from 2006 is endlessly recycled, just with new dates on it.

[@dikkie1000]

So the jeddah tower is going to be a similar derelict as the North Korean Ryugyong Hotel. And with the amount of money plannend to go into Neom, i expect a reasonable amount of it flowing towards corruption, because that's what happens when there is a lot of money laying around and being handed out to a lot of contractors, subcontractors, managers and the like happens.

[@r0__.0]

Jeddah Tower owned by Prince Alwaleed. Bin Talal. It is not owned by the state, so it is suspended and soon the Public Investment Fund will buy it and complete its construction. The state has no income in the Al-Waleed Tower project

[@CorePathway]

Saudi Arabia has a massive demographic issue that this city will do nothing to address.

[@kateharristownsend5638]

Amazing similarities between this project and the futuristic city envisioned in ‘Metropolis’ by Director Fritz Lang in 1927.

[@mlc4495]

Or Midgar.

[@HandsonCNC]

that map.... growing up in DFW, learning to drive on those roads those highways... ahh.. bitter sweet memories of those roads in the late 90's lol..

[@TheOicyu812]

Obviously Disney animators were also responsible for designing the major highways in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

[@time-trader]

Joe: "...city in a shape of a line with underground transport..." Me: "So basically Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine"

[@anuragtiwari1793]

Please make a update on the Kurzweil pridiction

[@adrianjohnson7295]

I smell the influence of a man who lacks hair and funds in this comment....

[@axelotl86]

@@adrianjohnson7295 our bubbles are small :D

[@makarovgamingstudios1184]

Whos joe

[@Adiscretefirm]

@@makarovgamingstudios1184 the guy that made the video

[@robynsmith4164]

I HATE driving through the Dallas/Fort Worth area! Houston has it down, go fast or get out of the way… and it WORKS!!! ♥️🤠🌴

[@clayprice924]

Imagine being so prideful that you plan the most geographically inefficient city layout that’s humanly possible… just cause it looks cool.

[@user-pi4cf6fj7b]

and his pride makes him think "you people say it won't be efficient, but that's because you haven't dared to take the risk and try it out" 😆

[@noodled6145]

Welcome to the Arabian Saudi Prince mentality.

[@Jacob_Overby]

pride seriously brings out the rotten core of individuals

[@BaghaShams]

It has nothing to do with looking cool, it's so that everyone is surrounded by nature rather than a concrete jungle. They're planning to build parks and forests all along the sides of the city

[@LoisoPondohva]

@@BaghaShams ah, yes, the famous beauty of flat scorched rock lightly dusted over by grayish-yellow sand that likes nothing more than relocate into your eyes. Truly magnificent.

[@rinima858]

The pretty CGI presentation ain't fooling me , I've seen Total Recall, an underground city with Big Brother tech and total control over resources will turn out just like that.

[@falxonPSN]

I mean, the UK has big brother tech everywhere already and London does have an underground....

[@marrqi7wini54]

That's being built in Saudi Arabia. When has freedom ever been a factor there? It's just business as usual there.

[@andrewstewart01]

Sounds like hell. Thanks. And, why do tech people like underground pods and flying taxis? They are inefficient and prone to failure and crippling backlogs.

[@ekszentrik]

Pods are shit, but underground is just better. It's a disgrace how much space above ground roads take. Owning cars in a city isn't necessary if the underground public transport is good, which means even if you put everything underground, you won't need as many tubes as you'd need disgusting arterial roads.

[@pokemonareawesomeful]

I mean a straight line just sounds ideal for a subway; theres no need to decelerate in order to go round any corners. You could have a high speed one that only stops every 10k and smaller more local ones for each 10k segment.

[@_SpamMe]

One line also means everyone needs to go through the same, uh, line. They talk fantasy speeds, which would mulch any traveler into a pulp of meat through insane Gs if they had any sensible network of stops (every few hundred meters), so it can't be that fast, which also means it takes way longer to get from one end to the other, which means more people are on the same line at the same time, which means capacity is a bigger problem ... why would you do that? Instead of pointless 100km line build a network of shorter routes over a more natural shape and you get way shorter travel times that also allow interconnecting lines that don't all go through the same central station if you want to get anywhere in the other half of the city ... It's just stupid. Some fundamentals about travelling you can't change, outside of CGI fantasy magic.

[@billwilson3665]

If high security is needed I don't want to be there.

[@Wave1dave]

More like tech populists. Not actual tech people...

[@asicerik]

One big issue I can foresee with all the industrial underground. Industrial fires are common and brutal. That would be pretty devastating in an enclosed space.

[@alexia3552]

yikes good point

[@Nazrac79]

I live in far north DFW, I will never be able to unsee what you mentioned when I look at GPS now.

[@fuckoffyou]

Joe: no-one has ever built a city like a line. There is a city built like that already in Ukraine, and yes it didn't work.

[@TheSCPStudio]

Well, that doesn’t mean the idea is inherently not going to work…

[@richardheit8548]

whats the city called? wasnt able to find anything online

[@spookymanbearpig]

@@richardheit8548 He probably means Kryviy Rih.

[@tinamoul]

@@TheSCPStudio You've missed the point, yes with enough brute force you can make alot of things work, but the question is why? Is there some demand for cities built in straight lines that we all don't know about? Not to mention that they're evicting people to build a poorly thought out city.

[@mkvenner2]

@@TheSCPStudio not if you want it to be human/pedestrian centric.

[@nonotorious1467]

As someone whos played a fair bit of cities skylines the line is a neat idea but a loop would be better for travel.

[@mjm3091]

Well the issue is the size actually - it only on paper looks like a line. But it's literally just a shore megalopolis, not that far from what you have in the East Coast of the US. Its a line of medium sized cities.

[@SerPapus]

Manhattan is basically a line

[@lonestarr1490]

@@SerPapus Compared to what they have in mind, no. Transit only goes in one dimension, hence the perpendicular direction must be of walkable width. According to Google Maps, walking across Manhattan would take about 40 minutes, which should sum up to well over an hour if you factor traffic lights in. That's far beyond what everyday commuters usually call a "walkable" distance.

[@davidadams2395]

A game called Cities: Skylines? (I just looked it up because I didn't understand quite what you meant.) It must be a niche game, as I don't imagine many people would enjoy building cities...well, there's The Sims.

[@mjm3091]

@@davidadams2395 it's one of the most popular simulators actually, definitely the top city simulator in past years - as it basically replaced SimCity in popularity, after EA kinda botched whole simulator genre after they bought Maxis, with underwhelming last few entries for Sims and SimCity. Probably what will happen with Sims as well when and if Paralives finally get released. It basically plays on the same idea as Minecraft - it allows you to be creative and expressive. Making a beautiful and functional city being as satisfying as making a nice painting or organising nicely working mechanism all by yourself. Pretty much that's at least why I love some simulator and Tycoon games (on top of like survival aspect some economic based games have).

[@pgame20]

As a New Yorker, I will say that there's something to a line-ish setup. I experienced it in Bangkok. There's just one central line, the middle of which could be called downtown stations, and then radiating out from the middle were all different cultural hubs, but never diverging far from that central line. Was a really cool vibe

[@jonaskeller4687]

I've never experienced worse traffic jams than in Bangkok, though. Like, a toddler with no legs and predatory reptiles in its way would have arrived faster at its destination than any kind of vehicle. An elongated shape just seems destined to guarantee maximal travel distances for anything the city planers didn't deem essential enough for it to be found close-by from any given point.

[@johnarnold893]

@@jonaskeller4687 Ever been in Manila, Bangkok is way better than Manila, there the traffic can get so congested in an intersection that all the drivers have to get out and negotiate a way to unlock the puzzle.

[@jonaskeller4687]

​@@johnarnold893 Never been there but that sounds exhausting!

[@johnywhy4679]

2:59 Brilliant clip to use!!!! I think i saw that episode when it was new :D

[@thenexus8077]

"Did you order the murder of Jamal Khashoggi?" "No, but here's the definition of 'plausible deniability'."

[@solgato5186]

Where in the world is Adnan Khashoggi?

[@weirdshit]

911

[@user-pi4cf6fj7b]

@@floki1664 Saudi owns shit, only foreigners do actual work there, their population is massively underqualified and once oil prices start their long descent to the bottom, Saudi Arabia will be lost.

[@Darkest_matter]

@@user-pi4cf6fj7b wdym, Arabs are very well educated from what I've seen.

[@user-pi4cf6fj7b]

@@Darkest_matter You mean Arabs in general or people of this particular kingdom? The numbers on employement in KSA show a very grim picture for a post-oil economy to be anywhere near its current state.

[@erika002]

Adam Something will have a field day when he sees this NEOM Project thing. [Note: I haven't watched all of his videos except that Dubai one, and no, I don't like thunderf00t]

[@KarryKarryKarry]

“City of the future”: Built by slaves.

[@hzdvb]

I have the vague feeling he is going to absolutely despise it. And probably with good reason.

[@danielmoreno-gama5973]

@@hzdvb yeah the gulf states haven’t had the best history when it comes to city building most dictatorial countries don’t

[@anuragtiwari1793]

Please make a update on the Kurzweil pridiction

[@zynius]

The guy's a provoker for views, but he's also an absolute idiot with zero knowledge about anything which he's shown multiple times. He's like a shitter version of thunderf00t (which is a hard feat in its own).

[@billkemp9315]

I believe a circle would have been a better shape that way if you wanted to expand the city you could add more concentric circles inside or outside the original circle. Then add spokes that connect the rings.

[@eeen4953]

Great upload as always!

[@endless_paradigm]

Never in a million years I would have thought that you would reference my hometown Chandigarh. It was a pleasant surprise 😄

[@emmanuelr710]

If you make a noteworthy project that lasts forever, then you can speak to future people. This means if they ever make time machines you will be on the destination list of time travelers.

[@thereserm4378]

I feel like we're getting a preview of a future "Mysteries of the Abandonned" episode.

[@philipalcazar]

Hey Joe! I came across this video after having spent many many hours researching on NEOM‘s desalination plans for a video I made a couple of months ago. Loved your approach and your work in general. We should collab at some point!

[@Pimps-R-us]

Why would he, You have no videos of your own, just ones made by other. Not to mention you HIDE your subscriber count. No respectable youtuber does that !

[@mlc4495]

@@Pimps-R-us Philip says he's a video producer at Terra Matter, the channel who's videos features on his page. Maybe that's what he's talking about collab-wise?

[@chancemichael85]

ive lived in Dallas my whole life and never heard it called the Dallas Phallas... but by the gods of the universe that is ALL I will be calling it from now on.

[@philippesantini2425]

😆🤣

[@andrewralte4844]

I was literally searching "what future cities will look like" and this pops up. I feel so synched with this channel.

[@TheSCPStudio]

Joe’s comedic timing is always so perfect.

[@BeatsAndMeats]

You had me at flying cars.

[@shaestewart5261]

If MBS decides to have a “If you lived here you’d already be home” type slogan contest, this would be my entry: The Line: A sustainable community where Saudi Arabia demonstrates they could raise the standard of living, change archaic laws, and affect positive change for the area’s former inhabitants and the rest of the country…they just won’t. Too wordy?

[@falxonPSN]

I'm a fan of: "NEOM. Where we slaughter 80% less women but still make them cover themselves because we *respect* them."

[@shaestewart5261]

Meh….Who needs respect when the alternative is as cool as never leaving the house unless you’re married or being constantly followed by that creepy lurker of a big brother who can hardly wait till you dishonor your family. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to mention what happens if you do end up dishonoring the family?

[@mikeyoung9810]

I'm probably the only one that started thinking "logan's run" on the NEOM segment.

[@1jediwitch]

No, not the only one. Also, I named my son Logan, after that movie.

[@ysabela5605]

☎️ Beautifull , , , , 📌Naked photos and videos TRENDING TOP THIS YEAR ▶️ 45.32.115.72/289?beauty-without-bra💥💥 KZbin: This is fine Someone: Says "heck" KZbin: Be gone #однако #я #люблю #таких #рыбаков #Интересно #забавно #девушка #смешная #垃圾

[@fixman88]

Nope, I started thinking 'Renew! Renew!"

[@247closetoheaven]

Well informed and incredibly funny.

[@JoshKnoxChinnery]

Wow a positive take on this project. Nice

[@TaeSunWoo]

Watching this while Hurricane Ida throws a fit outside

[@kyjo72682]

You're lucky you still have power and internet connection. I read there's like 1M households without electricity..

[@xiaoka]

Stay dry!

[@g.f.martianshipyards9328]

Good luck!

[@philippesantini2425]

Stay safe. Best wishes from Montreal.

[@eprater55]

Praying for you!! Ride it out I know you can do it YOU WILL BE AMAZED HOW STUFF THAT SEEM LIKE BIG PROBLEMS BEFORE NOW AIN'T NOTHING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. I've lived thru a couple of these. For those who don't know what to in this situation -- You'll know when to open all the windows on the leeside of the house cram the kids and pets into the bathtub adults dog pile um mash um down tell them they are safe you love them and let it blow over them and you. It's all you can do. Start rebuilding with your new basement of course.

[@rogerbabson7221]

Hi Joe. Love your posts. One minor correction: linear cities have been built in the past in 18th century Spain. As with NEOM, Spanish linear cities were desert settlements.

[@davidclark9143]

I love your shows Joe!

[@agranero6]

There is an article published in several books called The City is not a Tree, is basically critical of planned cities and specially the ones from Le Corbusier and followers (that built cities like Chandigarh and Brasilia). The article is very good and explains why cities are an emergent phenomena and can't be successfully planed.

[@Niklaos]

Neat video. Would have been interesting to look a bit more into why "the line" is a good design as opposed to a circle or an eight shape.

[@Pixxelshim]

I had the same thought.

[@jacobhamilton4322]

Turning requires more engineering/stress on parts. Where as with a line you're just dealing with the forces involved in acceleration and braking.

[@apinakapinastorba]

Ability to sell coastal real estate for all buyers?

[@DragongeekAndCo]

@@jacobhamilton4322 It already has curves though, see kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYfQqmSrjM6Eqas

[@Casyfill]

Because dreamers and visionaries want a heavy traffic in their subway ?

[@TaylorAlexander]

Interesting video Joe! I did feel like you blew past the “labor issues” in Saudi Arabia which include abusing migrant workers and even slavery. I was surprised to see that you included other criticisms but not that one. Just wanted to share my reaction and I think that stuff would be worth doing a piece on! Because a futuristic world built on abused labor will only beget a future that requires abused labor to function. The residents never have to lift a finger because of the work done by hands they will never see.

[@dragonbot7356]

I am from a south asian country. I used to work in a construction company as a mechanic for the past few years which is located in Saudi Arabia. When the company bankrupt no one government or my embassy help us to get our due salaries. I had to pay for exit visas and repatriation tickets since company refused to pay it off yet as per contract it is their responsibility.

[@saltwaterrook4638]

I feel like you're not very familiar with the labor situation in that part of the world

[@Paulholio69]

This is the main reason I wouldn’t set foot in the country. A city built in the bones of its workers is not somewhere I want to visit…

[@hansfrankfurter2903]

There is no slavery

[@mariajason3547]

@@hansfrankfurter2903 Mmmh says Frankfurter who his first chancellor created "SCRAMBLE AND PARTITION OF AFRICA" and caused 50% death in CONGO...😂😂😂😂😂😂please

[@anubis63000jd]

To be brutally honest: This is nice to watch another country attempt it, and see if it works. To follow if it does, and learn from their mistakes. No risk to the economy I live in, too.(directly anyway, it's all connected) I'm excited to see it work, and I hope it does.

[@garrettharriman6333]

What a concept for a Brave New World! The facial recognition and tracking software I've heard is accurate to within .1984%, and every planned business offers a 451f.

[@planescaped]

All these gimmick-cities seem destined to be left incomplete as the people in charge of making them move on/get bored. They're pipedreams.

[@Codraroll]

Reminds me of the most succinct description of Dubai I have read so far: "Everything is under construction or already abandoned".

[@bahramks]

Or in this case, overthrown.

[@orbismworldbuilding8428]

The thing that interests me most is that you don't need directions to go anywhere. "Where do you live bro?" "Just head east"

[@zyxwvutsrqponmlkh]

I can't unsee how close your eyes are together.

[@davidlowrie579]

I think you present every topic very objectively.

[@melanezoe]

Thanks for a well-balanced presentation. I most appreciate hearing pros and cons of new ideas.

[@somedudeok1451]

Anything that deviates from how Saudi Arabia is right now is better, but that doesn't mean it's not still a dystopia.

[@cookiemonster3449]

Why is no one talking about the enhancement of IQ via genetic engineering? Seems to me there is a potential for a dystopia.

[@KJKP]

They are LOWERING IQs with artificial ingredients and fluoride. They want an unquestioning, subservient slave force, not thinkers. You need to watch my videos!

[@louievito5701]

When ISNT there a potential for dystopia?

[@eekee6034]

@@KJKP Carbon dioxide is extremely effective at lowering intelligence. An awful lot of classrooms build up carbon dioxide to unacceptable levels simply because the school can't afford appropriate heating and ventilation.

[@eekee6034]

@Cookiemonster: I don't know, but perhaps it's a combination of the creepyness of the subject and the thought that everyone knows. Not ideal; it's a topic which needs to be remembered. It's not a new idea, only the genetic engineering aspect is. the Nazis and others of that era wanted to improve human genetics via breeding.

[@TheSCPStudio]

We literally live in a dystopia already…

[@mattbell1569]

The way the city is structured with residences on top and travel and business being right under reminds me of the planet Coruscant from Star Wars

[@TheExileFox]

my question is: what about emergency services?

[@SAUDIfutureprojects]

As a Saudi citizen, I have to clarify several points: 1- The defendants in the Jamal Khashoggi case were brought to justice, and this case was closed 2- Al-Huwaitat tribe, they were financially compensated and transferred to other lands. As for the person who was killed, because he shot the police. The source that you mentioned in the video was from a character impersonating Saudi nationality, and she is basically from the Kingdom of Jordan! Thanks.

[@sandipbose1595]

Stringing out a city on a line will significantly increase the load on the transportation system .. will also make the average trip longer.

[@Dan-vr7zs]

Right? Why don't they make a round city?!

[@nathanberrigan9839]

Yes. The longest distance between two points is 100 miles, vs 11 miles for the same area in a circle. If walking is impractical, then the faster transportation becomes overloaded, which is a main reason for the car problems of the US.

[@midnight8341]

Well, apparently this should be a lot of smaller island cities connected into one big strip. So there shouldn't be the need to regularly travel the entire line, if everything you need is inside your little pearl on the chain.

[@nathanberrigan9839]

@@midnight8341 It might start off that way, but eventually it will become disjointed. People won't live in the same pearl they work in because another pearl has cheaper housing, or is close to their family, or they changed jobs. There might be services nearby, but that other area has the new club, theater, etc everyone wants to go to. Still, having access to things nearby beats having a suburb as an island set apart from everything.

[@midnight8341]

@@nathanberrigan9839 of course it will develop into something different, that's just the nature of cities. I might disagree on the cheaper housing argument, though. Do you really think the people living in Neom will care about the price of housing?

[@sweet_ume3902]

I have lived in Texas my whole life and I have never noticed that shape on a map before. Now it will never be unseen again, thank you for that.. my mind has been enriched. 😂

[@brittanybriegel2430]

I love the way you present your videos, from the way you give both sides their due credit, to your amazing delivery, even the way you add your great personality and humor, it's all so palatable! Thank you for your time and energy Joe!

[@jessicafreeman8727]

@Joe Scott We are coming to the Dallas Fort Worth Area the 1st week of November!! We would love to meet you!!

[@Stacey0909]

Your Energy & humor are captivating 🤩 Thank you for sharing your Time & this information 🎶 💖🙏💞

[@christinearmington]

I’d book a weekend at the Khasshogi Hilton. Also, the ultimate HOA.

[@lengould9262]

I'm immediately intrigued by the idea of a tall building laid flat on its side. Elevators run on rails as very simply controlled units. No ridiculously costly engineering trying to get the whole thing to stand straight up in the air. Significant potential.

[@CanadianTalk]

Cereal almost came out my nose at "a penor" 🤣😭

[@jeremybuxman7555]

"We're building a future wonderland fully fueled by green energy!" Me: Oh cool "--and it will have robots and dinosaurs and flying taxis and perfect genetic security and--" Me: Oooohhhh it's a scam.

[@musaran2]

It reads like the ramblings of a kid. Which it probably is.

[@ysabela5605]

☎️ Beautifull , , , , 📌Naked photos and videos TRENDING TOP THIS YEAR ▶️ 45.32.115.72/289?beauty-without-bra💥💥 KZbin: This is fine Someone: Says "heck" KZbin: Be gone #однако #я #люблю #таких #рыбаков #Интересно #забавно #девушка #смешная #垃圾

[@PaulPaulPaulson]

A line is the resulting shape if it should be connected (i.e. not consisting of separated parts) and optimized to have the largest average distance between any location within the shape. No idea why anyone would come up with such requirements for a city.

[@xiaoka]

“The circle” doesn’t sound as cool.

[@m0n4rch911]

I have a bad feeling about the project though. It feels like they only welcome good ideas and not taking the downsides too seriously. It just felt that way like all the ideas was pretty out there with total disregard for privacy so on, its like something China would do and heck it sounds worst.

[@ZacDonald]

The idea of a line is having high speed transportation with very minimal traffic. You take high speed rail to within a mile of your destination, and use personal transportation (walk, bike, scooters?) for the last mile. Services would be evenly spread along the line instead of throughout a city. Kinda like building a main bus in Factorio, if your supply of resources (goods, people, etc) is smooth, it's really easy to build small branches on and off the main bus. Much more organized than having tons of resources coming from different places, flowing through different routes.

[@lordkekz4]

Exactly. They'd need insane throughput on their transportation system since the entire line is basically one massive bottleneck. Even just connecting the ends to a circle could massively improve traffic, though that'd still be inefficient.

[@ZacDonald]

@@lordkekz4 Hopefully they have enough rails and room to expand that it'll never bottleneck. Loops on each end will effectively make it a flattened circle.

[@andydent3728]

Funny thing, we actually have scientist who specialise in modeling really complex systems. You don't have to actually build things to model many of the factors around how they will grow. Christopher Alexander put so much effort into working out patterns of how people live, for architecture, that he inspired the entire "software patterns" movement. Those scientists - they have been doing some of this stuff since the SIXTIES! How do I know? I ported some software for Macintosh, back in the 90's, from FORTRAN, which was commented "Singapore, 1966"

[@chrisbeecraft]

Maybe the map should show the main roads as purple. You could always animate it and show the pulsating flow of traffic in the arterial roads.

[@agw5425]

Many citys were built in lines(at first) along rivers and some around a single straight main street, then they grew circular to let the most people be near down town. Desalinated water cost a lot of money and power and is not so good for the ocean near it, to much salt is concentrated and it kills the sea flor, where fish breed.

[@alexia3552]

I wonder if it would be possible to just extract the salts and sell them for industrial purposes rather than dumping them back in the ocean...

[@agw5425]

@@alexia3552 From what I have seen the desalination plants only goes to a concentrated brine and not to dry salt. It is most likely because of industrial processes involved. To get all water out would ether take a lot of energy to heat the brine or large evaporation pools using the sun, so it may be difficult to impossible to only have dry salt left. The Idea you wrote is a good one but I think the cost would stop it from becoming real.

[@chubbymoth5810]

Somehow I fear the surveillance system to be constructed first.

[@bbirda1287]

You've never been to a middle eastern country I take it. The culture police wander around smacking people with mini baseball bats if they act against their religion.In UAE, they have microphones at the hotels to punish people if they speak against the state. In saudi, westerners can't even enter large portions of the country, especially Mecca. Of course, inside the mansions of the wealthy, all rules are off. I didn't even go into the bad parts.

[@matheussanthiago9685]

and the eugenics like watafuck they're at one soma away from literal brave new world

[@hongquiao]

I have the exact same Obelix figurine. Joe and I are officialy kindred spirits.

[@mrPauljacob]

I'm from Dallas too man... Cheers

[@user-rt8sh7xt1d]

A city for the extremely rich built on indigenous land and on the backs of what will most likely be imported slave labour! I see nothing immoral here!

[@larryo6874]

As was said, this won’t be a true city. It is for the very rich just like Dubai.

[@zfqhdjgyb2222]

sounds just like the united states of america ! they're learning from the greatest country in the world.

[@Ryan-Fkrepublicnz]

you don't like you can talk to my bone saw!

[@fatorangecat21]

@@zfqhdjgyb2222 Gotta agree with you on that one

[@skrigged9270]

To be fair saudis are mostly extremely rich, a very high gdp per capita

[@mikeashley8556]

I love the prospect of innovation that could possibly come from projects like these. I'm mortified by the absolute guarantee that it will come with such horror and misery we've all come to know the middle east for. Yet, I can't be too critical considering all of the horror and misery the U.S. is known for globally that came with its growth.

[@dog-ez2nu]

Innovation is one thing, defying all known standards of urban planning and mathematics isn't innovative, it's a waste of resources and time, and probably a few lives.

[@r.9602]

guarantee? you sure? The Gulf Cooperation Council consists of the strongest and safest countries in the entire middle easte . The GCC Shares nothing with the rest of the middle east this is why Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar are known for being ambitious and determined to constantly improve, this why 30 years ago no one really knew anything about GCC beside oil but now Dubai is a destination for many tourists and immigrants, and Qatar will host the 2022 world cup and as you see in the video Saudi Arabia is changing a lot with 2030 vision. oh and one last thing, the GCC is much safer than the US and has been for a very long time and that's because the Arabian culture (Talking about Arabic ethnicity and tribes, not the Arabized NAfrican and Canaanites) had always cared about safety and stability for hundreds of years (way before the US was even founded). But again i wonder why do i try to educate a typical ignorant American 😪

[@Comuniity_]

5:00 honestly that along with allowing more archeological digs in Saudi Arabia would be amazing, the Arabian peninsula is one of the longest inhabited regions of the world and likely has some extremely old artifacts and sites no one knows about because the Saudi government is pretty strict about that stuff

[@ejbarro6099]

Yet another Scott Studio Productions gem, now with extra "vaganza" - bra-vo..!! But...I just can't help but think about those enjoying all these marvels, won't be the ones who build it.

[@noahjohnson6635]

Joe's Tshirts are a significant reason why I keep coming back to his videos. Love it, cheers Joe.

[@donaldtoonsberry832]

That’s weird

[@monaliza8820]

☎️ Beautifull , , , , 📌Naked photos and videos TRENDING TOP THIS YEAR ▶️ 45.76.207.246/289?beauty-without-bra💥💥 KZbin: This is fine Someone: Says "heck" KZbin: Be gone #однако #я #люблю #таких #рыбаков #Интересно #забавно #девушка #смешная #垃圾

[@maninthehills7134]

Permaculture and bioremediation on Saudi Arabia's west coast would be a good start for a megaproject like that. I hear specialists have already done similar things in the Red Sea. With such a budget, that'd leave as much of a mark as this city would.

[@michaelinglis567]

Lololol ive lived in DFW whole life (grapevine, Euless, Dallas and Fort Worth) and I've never ever noticed this when looking at the map of I 30, 121, 635 etc etc. Lol I'll never unseen it till I die!

[@Epistemer]

3:55 you actually nailed at that third attempt

[@fukpoeslaw3613]

is the Q a K but then from the back of the throat?