There's been a lot of back-and-forth about ‘15-minute cities,’ which are designed so that whatever you need — from groceries to movies to drugstores to parks and recreation to employment centres to gasoline to whatever — are only a 15-minute trip from where you live..Actually, take gasoline off the list because everything is supposed to be a 15-minute walk or bike ride away..Speaking of gasoline, the Saudis are getting into the 15-minute game, with some inside the box thinking, unveiling a cube shopping mall and entertainment area measuring 400 metres high and 400 metres long on all sides. .Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who's also prime minister and chairman of the New Murabba Development Company (NMDC), which is overseeing the development, announced the project last week, saying the area will use “holographic technology to take visitors on fantasy trips to virtual worlds.”. New MurabbaNew Murabba .Called the New Murabba, it's the latest project announced for the Saudi Vision 2030, a development plan to change the look and feel of the capital city of Riyadh..The New Murabba will be built in the heart of a 19-km area in the northwest of the capital, according to NMDC's website, and designed “to welcome hundreds of thousands of residents to facilities that include 80 entertainment and culture venues, 9,000 hotel rooms and 980,000 square meters of retail space.”.The Mukaab landmark shopping centre at its core is planned to reinvent the region with green areas and walking and cycle paths, “promoting healthy, active lifestyles and community activities, offering a unique living, working and entertainment experience. A promotional video shows everything within the city will be accessible within a 15-minute walk, as other major cities turn their attention to the controversial 15-minute city concept..Surrounded by the cube structure, the inner spiral can display realistic images around the building. Renderings show spacecraft flying overhead, huge mountain ranges and towering waterfalls all projected onto the desert scene..The development comes as Saudi Arabia looks to diversify its economy and add sustainable projects and cities to its roster, currently dependent on oil for 80% of its export income. . New MurabbaNew Murabba .It's estimated it would add SAR180 billion (CAD$65 billion) to non-oil GDP in Saudi Arabia..Critics in Europe warned such cities would not be compatible with cars, making city movement difficult for emergency services, but NMDC says the project, a 20-minute drive from the nearest airport, has plans to accommodate drivers where needed..Saudi Arabia, with one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, is planning a number of so-called megaprojects intended to reinvent its economy..A planned smart city, Neom, in northwest Saudi Arabia, was announced by the Crown Prince in October 2017, also as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 to reduce oil dependence, diversify the economy and build up public service sectors..The ambitious project would be powered exclusively by wind and solar power and is estimated to cost CAD$677.5 billion..All basic services are expected to be within a five-minute walking distance for nine million residents..Amnesty International (AI) noted the Saudi Vision 2030 was enabled by a large-scale demolition and eviction plan which impacted half a million people in Jeddah alone, a violation of international human rights standards and discriminating against foreign nationals, says AI..The New Murabba project is expected to be completed by 2030.. New MurabbaNew Murabba
There's been a lot of back-and-forth about ‘15-minute cities,’ which are designed so that whatever you need — from groceries to movies to drugstores to parks and recreation to employment centres to gasoline to whatever — are only a 15-minute trip from where you live..Actually, take gasoline off the list because everything is supposed to be a 15-minute walk or bike ride away..Speaking of gasoline, the Saudis are getting into the 15-minute game, with some inside the box thinking, unveiling a cube shopping mall and entertainment area measuring 400 metres high and 400 metres long on all sides. .Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who's also prime minister and chairman of the New Murabba Development Company (NMDC), which is overseeing the development, announced the project last week, saying the area will use “holographic technology to take visitors on fantasy trips to virtual worlds.”. New MurabbaNew Murabba .Called the New Murabba, it's the latest project announced for the Saudi Vision 2030, a development plan to change the look and feel of the capital city of Riyadh..The New Murabba will be built in the heart of a 19-km area in the northwest of the capital, according to NMDC's website, and designed “to welcome hundreds of thousands of residents to facilities that include 80 entertainment and culture venues, 9,000 hotel rooms and 980,000 square meters of retail space.”.The Mukaab landmark shopping centre at its core is planned to reinvent the region with green areas and walking and cycle paths, “promoting healthy, active lifestyles and community activities, offering a unique living, working and entertainment experience. A promotional video shows everything within the city will be accessible within a 15-minute walk, as other major cities turn their attention to the controversial 15-minute city concept..Surrounded by the cube structure, the inner spiral can display realistic images around the building. Renderings show spacecraft flying overhead, huge mountain ranges and towering waterfalls all projected onto the desert scene..The development comes as Saudi Arabia looks to diversify its economy and add sustainable projects and cities to its roster, currently dependent on oil for 80% of its export income. . New MurabbaNew Murabba .It's estimated it would add SAR180 billion (CAD$65 billion) to non-oil GDP in Saudi Arabia..Critics in Europe warned such cities would not be compatible with cars, making city movement difficult for emergency services, but NMDC says the project, a 20-minute drive from the nearest airport, has plans to accommodate drivers where needed..Saudi Arabia, with one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, is planning a number of so-called megaprojects intended to reinvent its economy..A planned smart city, Neom, in northwest Saudi Arabia, was announced by the Crown Prince in October 2017, also as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 to reduce oil dependence, diversify the economy and build up public service sectors..The ambitious project would be powered exclusively by wind and solar power and is estimated to cost CAD$677.5 billion..All basic services are expected to be within a five-minute walking distance for nine million residents..Amnesty International (AI) noted the Saudi Vision 2030 was enabled by a large-scale demolition and eviction plan which impacted half a million people in Jeddah alone, a violation of international human rights standards and discriminating against foreign nationals, says AI..The New Murabba project is expected to be completed by 2030.. New MurabbaNew Murabba
