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Saudi Crown Prince unveils plans for $500bn structure to house 9M people

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Re: Saudi Crown Prince unveils plans for $500bn structure to house 9M people

#32

City of the future built by a government stuck in the dark ages.

That's applicable for the US too.

What "city of the future" has the US built? We can barely get decent public transit in most cities? But we're certainly headed to the dark ages...

Re: Saudi Crown Prince unveils plans for $500bn structure to house 9M people

#33
post #10

At 56k per person for both living and working space plus associated infrastructure, 500bn doesn’t seem like nearly enough.

Probably not, but I also wouldn't presume Western economics. Saudi has supply to unlimited low-cost labor from Africa. Things get built with virtually no labor costs relative to the West.

I think I would be miserable without a yard, though. I don't think I want to spend my life inside of a manufactured block.

Re: Saudi Crown Prince unveils plans for $500bn structure to house 9M people

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's applicable for the US too.

What "city of the future" has the US built? We can barely get decent public transit in most cities? But we're certainly headed to the dark ages...

Yeep back sliding into ranch flavored Afghanistan.

Re: Saudi Crown Prince unveils plans for $500bn structure to house 9M people

#35
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Cities evolve organically, over decades and centuries. An up-front design like this will never come to be. Something may come from it, but it will be much more similar to a regular city than this.

> up-front design like this will never come to be Paris [1] and D.C.’s cores were engineered. Several cities after WWII were bombed to a blank slate. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussmann%27s_renovation_of_...

Yes, but they still evolve. Looking at this concept, all of the city will be within two walls. I doubt it will be that way. It will soon start to sprawl outside.

Re: Saudi Crown Prince unveils plans for $500bn structure to house 9M people

#38
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> up-front design like this will never come to be Paris [1] and D.C.’s cores were engineered. Several cities after WWII were bombed to a blank slate. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussmann%27s_renovation_of_...

Yes, but they still evolve. Looking at this concept, all of the city will be within two walls. I doubt it will be that way. It will soon start to sprawl outside.

> all of the city will be within two walls

Almost zero chance the labourers and support infrastructure is within the walls. Similar to how Manhattan (or any functional urban core) outlays low-value facilities.

(To be clear, I think none of this will be built. But it’s not fundamentally unsound.)

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