Saudi Arabia’s “The Line”: A Breach of Human Rights and Common Sense

Saudi Arabia’s ambitious The Line project has emerged as a monumental critique of urban design and a glaring violation of human rights. The initiative, part of the larger Neom development plan unveiled in 2021 by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, seeks to construct a continuous 100-mile-long skyscraper designed to align with futuristic urban principles. However, an increasing chorus of whistleblowers, human rights organizations, and affected workers reveal that the construction process is deeply overshadowed by egregious labor practices, including excessive working hours, worker fatalities, and the forcible displacement of thousands of local villagers. Recent reports indicate that employed workers are enduring 16-hour shifts for weeks at a time, leading to an alarming rise in workplace accidents and even fatalities, highlighting a deeply concerning disregard for human safety.

The troubling revelations surrounding The Line project include a shocking lack of empathy from its upper management, as evidenced by a September investigation by The Wall Street Journal that exposed executives’ indifference towards worker deaths attributed to hazardous working conditions. Instead of addressing these issues with the urgency they demand, the executives reportedly displayed casual racism and an alarming pattern of self-dealing and corruption. Additionally, the reported eviction of upwards of 6,000 villagers from their homes near the construction site paints a grim picture of the human cost of this megaproject. Human rights organizations have decried the harsh penalties faced by those protesting these evictions, with sentences ranging from 15 to 50 years for demonstrators and at least five protestors facing the death penalty. These actions reflect a pervasive culture of suppression and punishment for dissent within Saudi Arabia.

The overarching Neom initiative—which aspires to create a high-tech urban megaregion in a remote area of Saudi Arabia—has continually raised alarms regarding human rights violations, particularly concerning the treatment of migrant workers. Various human rights groups have long criticized the exploitative and “slavery-like” conditions that many migrant workers endure in Saudi Arabia, which makes the emergence of similar abuses at The Line unsurprising. The history of government-backed land redevelopments globally indicates a tendency toward mass confiscation of land from private owners, often accompanied by systemic displacement of local communities. The parallels between The Line’s implementation and global urban renewal projects expose a disturbing trend where economic ambitions overshadow the integrity of community livelihoods.

Critics argue that the design of The Line itself embodies a misguided vision of urban planning. The unconventional linear city format, lacking the dense urban cores seen in traditional city layouts, overlooks logical geographic and economic principles. Historic urban design has established that cities flourish when a compact, dense core is surrounded by increasingly sparse neighborhoods, as this arrangement optimizes access and land use. The proposed uniform density across The Line fails to consider the natural fluctuations in demand for housing and amenities, resulting in valuable land being left unutilized. This impractical design raises significant questions regarding the sustainability and viability of such a long and narrow urban expanse that does not respond dynamically to varying population needs.

Furthermore, the project’s structure prompts concerns about residents’ future living conditions. Contrary to traditional urban planning ideals that emphasize adaptability and space for personal agency, The Line is designed as a meticulously planned environment where local amenities are supposed to be within a five-minute walking radius. However, this approach may inadvertently stifle the organic evolution of businesses and residential spaces, preventing a natural adjustment to the changing preferences and needs of its inhabitants. The imposition of such rigid architectural concepts stands in stark contrast to models where property owners and local authorities possess the freedom to innovate and respond to their communities’ demands.

In summary, the social and environmental implications of The Line project extend far beyond its ambitious architectural vision. The mounting evidence of human rights violations, labor exploitation, and inadequate urban planning principles raises profound ethical questions about the future of such megaprojects driven by authoritarian regimes. The developers of The Line are seemingly disconnected from both the socioeconomic realities on the ground and the lived experiences of the displaced communities, embodying a broader critique of how giant infrastructural ambitions often disregard fundamental human dignity. As calls for accountability grow, the international spotlight on The Line might herald a necessary reassessment of what it truly means to build cities that prioritize the wellbeing of all inhabitants, showing that sustainable urbanism cannot be achieved without respecting the rights and lives of workers and local communities.