UNDERGROUND URBANISM
Cities in the World (as Tokyo, Paris,
Helsinki, Montreal, Amsterdam) are using the underground space in
order to exploit their full potential.
Space is probably the most obvious underground resource, but it
comes at a price: building in underground can cost up to five times
as much as a conventional building above ground, but the pressing
growth of some cities and metropolitan areas, which no longer have
the space for an expansion in area, makes its use essential. The
connection and coordination of the underground’ projects is possible
only through good practices of urbanism of the subsoil and
guidelines. Underground urbanism governs the UG planning allowing to
exploit underground resources in the most efficient manner, with an
eye to new engineering technologies and economic aspects.
The underground urbanism also allows to exploit the main underground
resources:
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Geothermal energy (made accessible by means of the excavation, can be used for residential heating and for industrial applications);
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The geo-materials (accumulated debris from the excavations can be used to stabilize the surface streets and to produce cement);
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The groundwater and land use (most of the cities today have a detailed plan on the use and value of the land but, as a rule, nothing similar exists for their subsoil)