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Cyberpunk Urban Fantasies in the Gulf: The Line as an Incubator of Modernization in Saudi Arabia and Beyond

Volume 8|Issue 2| Jun 2025 |Articles

Abstract

​​​​​​​​The Line is a futuristic city under construction in Saudi Arabia. This study examines its development as an incubator of modernization, seeking to transform the socio-cultural and infrastructural landscape of the country. The study notes how The Line’s aspirations are genealogically rooted in a Western cyberpunk imaginary picturing hypermodern cities inhabited by artificial intelligences (AI). It reveals the influence of cyberpunk fiction in shaping the conceptualization of The Line, representing a deliberate break with Saudi Arabia’s urban and cultural past. The study critically analyses the role that modernization as a double-edged sword plays in advancing novel ideas inspired by Western culture, while undermining a longstanding part of traditional Saudi culture.
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Federico Cugurullo (Corresponding Author)ORCID

​Associate Professor in Smart and Sustainable Urbanism at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.​

​Researcher at the University of Oxford's Department of Geography, United Kingdom.

​Researcher at the University of Oxford's Department of Geography, United Kingdom.​

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