New planning and design concept for urban underground spaces based on geo-environmental factors

Abstract

As the urbanization in China advances, urban underground spaces are vigorously developed through large-scale projects. However, the development of underground spaces often proceeds without prior scientific planning and design. City planners who fail to consider geo-environmental factors tend to design nonholistic blueprints that may cause serious problems. The development of an underground space is irreversible because underground resources are currently deemed highly valuable. Therefore, scientific planning must be conducted before the construction and launch of underground space projects. This study adopts a new concept of underground space planning and design and analyzes unfavorable geo-environmental factors, such as sand liquefaction and soft soil, which affect the development of underground spaces. The development mode of the underground space suitable for the geological environment in the study area is proposed. Based on the new concept of planning and design, this work considers a case study in Guangdong Province as a reference for the development mode, depth, and function of underground space in the study area. The findings of this study provide some new planning and design ideas for the development and utilization of underground spaces.