Desert cities of the future

New futuristic cities built in the desert by Arab rulers are being touted as ecological, ultra-modern and full of fun. Do they pave the way for a better future, or are they mere grandiose fantasies?

A model of the planned new capital for Egypt displayed for investors at the opening of the Egypt Economic Development Conference in 2015. A small capsule-shaped pod with no wheels and no driver, which runs along light rail lines, in Masdar City. Saud — Light rail lines in an artist's impression of Abu Dhabi's Masdar City. At first, the emirate had pursued the lofty goal of erecting the world's first city that did not pollute the environment with a new public transport system to let people commute between 1,500 stations in small, self-driving pods. Ten years later, only two stops have been built. PHOTO: MASDAR

Gil Yaron

For The Straits Times

Updated

Published

Jun 23, 2018, 05:00 AM

If Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is right, then a new way of living is set to emerge along a stretch of coastline between snow-capped mountains and beaches of the Red Sea.

For the Prince, this sparsely populated area is "the blank page that you need to write humanity's next chapter".

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