Neom Project Falls Short of Revolutionary Urbanism Promises, Delivering Conventional Desert Suburbia Instead
By
Tom Ravenscroft
If you only eat one bagel today, this is the bagel.
Summary
The article critiques Saudi Arabia's Neom project, an ambitious $500 billion futuristic city development in the desert. Despite grand promises of revolutionary urbanism and eight years of work with $50 billion already spent, the project has made slow progress and is currently delivering conventional suburban-style developments rather than the groundbreaking architecture and urban design originally envisioned. The piece examines the gap between Neom's flashy promotional renders and the reality of what's being built on the ground.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledWhile Neom struggles to create ground-breaking urbanism, it is having more success replicating suburbia in the desert
Despite grand ambitions and a barrage of flashy renders, progress on Neom has been slow
Eight years after the project was announced there is little to show for the reported $50 billion Saudi Arabia has already spent across the region
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