Underground Space Planning Research Articles

A perspective on the governance of London’s subsurface

The role of the urban subsurface for cities has long been disregarded but is recently getting more attention. To capture it, the city’s geographical and geological setup, its history and the social context it is located within are of particular relevance. As a case study, this paper illustrates the context and governance of London’s subsurface through the lens of a ‘governance arrangement’ looking at these three elements. It is highlighted that feedback loops between the material reality and the societal context – human influences on the subsurface environment – are not sufficiently recognised. The paper demonstrates how the discretionary nature of the UK’s planning system puts local planning authorities on the one hand, and engineers and technical knowledge on the other hand, in central positions to mediate strategic plans and influence specific project applications and decisions. From the empirical analysis presented here, no sense of urgency is assigned to the concept of underground space planning in London at this moment in time. However, the analysis suggests a need for better understanding of the spatial and material effects of specific interventions, as well as of the according policies and strategies. Current discourses around underground data sharing or geothermal energy provision could facilitate the process towards a spatial integration of the various strategies that are in place.

Suitability evaluation of underground space development in Dalian

Rational development and utilization of urban underground space has become an important measure to alleviate the contradiction between supply and demand of land resources, improve urban capacity and optimize urban layout. Underground space is an important part of the geological environment because of its natural resources. Unreasonable development will lead to geological environment problems. In this paper, combined with the actual situation of Dalian City, on the basis of comprehensive analysis of geological environment conditions, eight indicators are selected from the aspects of topography, engineering geological conditions, hydrogeological conditions, geological hazards, ecological factors and human activities to construct the hierarchy model of suitability evaluation for underground space development in Dalian City. The analytic hierarchy process and comprehensive index method are applied to the evaluation. The results show that: the suitable area, secondary suitable area, less suitable area and unsuitable area are 3812.58km2, 5430.91km2, 2711.38km2 and 1659.06km2, accounting for 28.00%, 39.89%, 19.92% and 12.19% respectively. The evaluation results can provide the basis for the future development and utilization planning of underground space in Dalian city.

RETRACTED: Urban underground space planning based on FPGA and virtual reality system

The underground plaza is a place of leisure activities for citizens, represents the quality of the city's underground space, experience, so the space is significant. The present study of the ten large-scale urban underground space of the study summarized the essential elements and the underground plaza of the corresponding numerical interval's interface form. It describes the interface format's spatial experience of influence an underground plaza; on this basis, the underground plaza virtual model is built in a different interface format. The isovist method and the SD method to comb the Immersive Virtual Reality System (IVRS) platform, the shape of the interface and spatial experience, and the correlation between the related compliance indicators proposed interface form are quantitative analysis. It is summarized. Experimental results, spatial experience have indicated better at 0.402 interface density and interface 2–3 aperture aspect ratio. This is, it can become a reference and basis for the future of urban underground space design.

Spatial-Temporal Evolution of Land Subsidence and Rebound over Xi’an in Western China Revealed by SBAS-InSAR Analysis

Land subsidence is one of the major urban geological hazards, which seriously restricts the development of many cities in the world. As one of the major cities in China, Xi’an has also been experiencing a large area of land subsidence due to excessive exploitation of groundwater. Since the Heihe Water Transfer Project (HWTP) became fully operational in late 2003, the problem of subsidence has been restrained, but other issues, such as ground rebounds, have appeared, and the effect of the underground space utilization on land subsidence remains unsolved. The spatial-temporal pattern of land subsidence and rebound in Xi’an after HWTP and their possible cause have so far not been well understood. In this study, the evolutionary characteristics of land subsidence and rebound in Xi’an city from 2007–2019 was investigated using Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-SAR) technology to process the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) and Sentinel-1A SAR datasets, and their cause and the correlation with groundwater level changes and the underground space utilization were discussed. We found that the land subsidence rate in the study area slowed from 2007–2019, and the subsidence area shrank and gradually developed into three relatively independent and isolated subsidence areas primarily. Significant local rebound deformation up to 22 mm/y commenced in the groundwater recharge region during 2015–2019. The magnitude of local rebound was dominated by the rise in groundwater level due to HWTP, whereas tectonic faults and ground fissures control the range of subsidence and the uplift area. The influence of building load on surface deformation became increasingly evident and primarily manifested by slowing the subsidence reduction trend. Additionally, land subsidence caused by the disturbances during the subway construction period was stronger than that in the operational stage. Future land subsidence in Xi’an is predicted to be alleviated overall, and the areas of rebound deformation will continue increasing for a limited time. However, uneven settlement range may extend to the Qujiang and Xixian New District due to the rapid urban construction. Our results could provide a scientific basis for land subsidence hazard mitigation, underground space planning, and groundwater management in Xi’an or similar regions where severe ground subsidence was induced by rapid urbanization.

Legal Framework of Urban Underground Space in China

The booming of three-dimensional (3D) land use brings a change of the connotation of land rights, which will expand “flat” 2D land legislation with 3D land legislation. The legal issues of urban underground space for 3D objects in large cities around the world have been attracting more and more attention. A supportive legal framework is crucial for underground space utilization in a country. This paper analyzes the present 173 representative laws and regulations of urban underground space utilization and management of China from 1998 to 2018, and attempts to interpret the current laws and regulations of underground space from four aspects; by quantity, spatial distribution, legislative force and content. The result shows that poor legal framework of urban underground space in China, including low-level of legislative force, disunity of local legislation standard and absence of special statutes and regulations, are the main reasons causing ownership disputation, registration chaos, as well as no unanimous judicial practice. To address these issues, the paper refers to a case study for underground space legal framework in Japan and aims to form a set of top-down unified legal framework, including basic law, special statutes and regulations, as well as supplementary policies and documents of urban underground space, and proposes that the underground space planning should be incorporated as one essential portion of the master planning in China. By studying the legal system of underground space in Japan and China, this study may offer better insight for those conducting UUS legal framework research as well as serve as reference for countries with similar legal issues.

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

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.

Development and Planning of Urban Underground Space of Shanghai and Proposals for Further Improvement

The paper introduces the background and development of urban underground space of Shanghai as a necessity, discusses its present situation in Shanghai, proposes the overall strategy and measure underlying the layout characteristics, and points out the existing problems in the process. Finally, the paper comes up with three suggestions for further improvement.

Planning and implementation of underground space in Chinese central business district (CBD): A case of Shanghai Hongqiao CBD

The increasing latent demand for underground space has been adequately considered in the planning process of the central business district (CBD) in Chinese cities. However, underground space plans in most of the Chinese CBDs have yielded few results because they are rarely realized in practice as envisioned. The roots of the problem can be traced back to the lack of effective planning approaches and, more importantly, the administrative management for planning implementation. In a broader sense, this also mirrors deeper deficiencies in the planning and administrative system for urban underground space in China. In this context, Shanghai Hongqiao CBD offers an exemplary case for other Chinese cities with respect to underground space planning and implementation in CBDs or other key areas. This paper presents in detail the entire process of underground space development in terms of planning and the implementation dimensions in the Core Area Phase I in Shanghai Hongqiao CBD, which is also applicable to other Chinese cities.

3D geological modeling and visualization of above-ground and underground integration ——taking the Unicorn Island in Tianfu new area as an example

Since the development of underground space has the characteristics of “difficult to recover, one-off, and difficult to budget”, the planning of underground space is particularly important. Traditional two-dimensional planning technology is difficult to describe three-dimensional spatial information such as underground complex geological environment, and three-dimensional GIS technology can solve this problem better, which can greatly enrich the urban planning, construction, and management control methods. This paper uses a combination of GIS software to carry out the three-dimensional geological modeling of above-ground and underground integration in the study area, and puts forward application suggestions for the underground space planning of the area, providing support for decision-making support for the government and relevant departments. and provide a demonstration for other cities to carry out urban geological survey work.

A comparative study on urban underground space planning system between China and Japan

In China, urban underground space (UUS) planning is still in the exploration stage, and its development is hindered by problems related to local autonomy, systemic deficiency and poor management. This paper compared and analyzed the development status of UUS planning in China and Japan to study the differences in terms of planning objectives, planning structure, and planning content of UUS, and made suggestions for the future development of China's UUS planning system. Since there are many difficulties in underground master planning in China to predict the planning scale of UUS, planning can only serve to provide planning principles and site selections. Instead, the regulatory detailed planning has legal effect in the planning system and becomes the most direct and powerful tool for the government to control and guide the urban land use. Meanwhile, Japan’s underground utilization system is guided by urban agglomeration and can provide an important reference for Chinese development in terms of refined design, human concern, regulation, legislation, and coordination. Urgently, China needs to establish a system for UUS planning and management to promote three-dimensional urban development, establish coordination mechanisms for the detailed planning of UUS, and strengthen the planning of underground transportation networks, complexes, and streets.

ARCHITECTURE OF UNDERGROUND SPACES

The use of underground space planning and building of large cities is of paramount importance due to the shortage of urban areas, the constant population growth and a sharp increase in gas content, and traffic in the streets, and insufficient development of urban infrastructure. With the rapid growth of cities and the territories occupied by them, damaging levels of motorization requirements increase speeds while increasing its security problem of maintaining support capital development and the natural environment can be resolved only through broad and systematic development and use of underground spaces. Over the past decades, the development of underground space in many countries of the world has become a developed industry. It solves three main tasks: unloads traffic flows, allows using underground floors to erect high-rise buildings and expand the useful space of the house due to the device of the operated premises.

A Study on the Sustainable Underground Space Planning of Smart-City

A Study on the Sustainable Underground Space Planning of Smart-City

THREE-DIMENSIONAL DATA MODELLING FOR UNDERGROUND UTILITY NETWORK MAPPING

Abstract. Cities around the world face an increasing need for land as density in urban areas increases rapidly. The pressure to expand a city’s space is especially acute for a city-state like Singapore. How to make better use of underground space? This issue becomes much more emergent in the urban development. In the big data era, a data-driven approach of underground spaces is necessary for the sustainable development of a city along with rapid urbanization. A reliable three dimensional (3D) digital map of utility networks is crucial for urban planners to understand one of the most impactful aspects of the underground space planning. The mapping underground utility networks is a challenging task, especially for cities with limited land resources, congested underground spaces, and a lack of uniform existing practices. This paper proposes a framework to organise the workflow from an underground utility data survey to data use. This framework includes two core parts: A 3D utility network data model that aims to convert utility survey data to 3D geospatial information, and a 3D utility cadastral data model that supports utility ownership management. It is expected that reliable and accurate information on underground utility networks can lead to a better understanding and management of underground space, which eventually contributes to better city planning, making the unseen structures visible.

Asset management to support urban land and subsurface management

Pressure on urban areas increases by demographic and climate change. To enable healthy, adaptive and liveable urban areas different strategies are needed. One of the strategies is to make better use of subsurface space and its functions. Asset management of the Subsurface (AMS) contributes to this. Asset management provides transparency of trade-offs between performance, cost and risks throughout the entire lifecycle of these assets. AMS is based on traditional asset management methods, but it does not only take man-made assets in the subsurface into account. AMS also considers the natural functions that the subsurface, including groundwater, has to offer (ecosystem services). A Dutch community of practice consisting of national and municipal authorities, a consultancy-engineering and a research institute are developing AMS in practice in order to 1) enhance the urban underground space planning (using its benefits, avoiding problems) and 2) use, manage and maintain the (urban) subsurface and its functions. The method is currently still under development.

Working in underground spaces: Architectural parameters, perceptions and thermal comfort measurements

Rapid economic growth and high urbanization rates create an urgent need for more space in major cities in China. Further development of underground spaces (UGS) is a viable solution that the Chinese government is promoting. For instance, the 13th 5-year Plan for Urban Underground Space Planning suggests that a comprehensive system for UGS planning and management should be established in at least 50% of Chinese cities by 2020. It is thus imperative to better understand how the architectural and engineering aspects of UGS affect human worker’s performance, well-being, health, and preferences. The present study reports a comprehensive examination of spaces and occupants of UGS in four major Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Fuzhou). We investigated thermal comfort conditions in UGS without heating and cooling, and estimated the potential of energy saving during transitional seasons. The results indicate that local climate – and especially the humidity level - is a key factor affecting the thermal behaviour of underground structures. In-depth interviews with workers in UGS indicated that immediate access to above ground greenery, indoor plants, and individual control over the environment compensate for a windowless workspace, and those working in UGS did not perceive to have any sleep disturbances. Previous experience with UGS improved the perception of current underground environments. UGS might even be appreciated as working environments with a good acoustic quality. Overall, the present study challenges the uniformity of standards for the construction of UGS, as it suggests that both climatic conditions as well as user preferences should be taken into account.

Numerical investigation of the opening effect on the mechanical behaviours in rocks under uniaxial loading using hybrid continuum-discrete element method

Openings including their size, shape and distribution in rock play a significant role in the performance of rock related structures. The well-established knowledge in this area can contribute to the engineering practices, for example, underground space design, planning and optimisation in Civil and Mining Engineering and wellbore stability in Drilling Engineering, among others. Thus, understanding the failure mechanism of rock with openings is theoretically and practically meaningful. Laboratory testing on rock or rock-like materials with openings have been studied extensively in the literature, which, however, primarily focuses on the cracks/fractures. In this paper, a comprehensive numerical study on the effect of non-banded openings, i.e., circular, rectangular, and triangular opening, on the rock mechanical behaviour is performed using a hybrid continuum-discrete element method. It is revealed that the proposed simulation method can reproduce reasonably the crack initiation and propagation, and predict well the change of the mechanical behaviour due to the openings. In addition, the influence of the opening shape and opening ratio (=area of opening/specimen area) on the mechanical behaviour is also investigated.

Development Strategy on Urban Underground Space Planning in China

Development Strategy on Urban Underground Space Planning in China

Multiple resources and their sustainable development in Urban Underground Space

Traffic congestion and ground space scarcity are increasing the need to find more space in the urban underground. The demand-driven “top-down” planning of Urban Underground Space (UUS) is common worldwide. As natural resource, the endowments of UUS are different in different regions. Consideration of UUS resource endowments, which can be called “bottom-up” thinking, should be integrated into planning. The evaluation method of UUS resource and investigation results in typical cases are being presented in the paper. It is important for urban development to utilize the underground space. Meanwhile, we should also be aware that there are multiple valuable resources in urban underground. Besides space, there are also water, energy and geo-materials. The paper will discuss how to consider these different resources in urban development. There might be conflicts between the developments of different urban underground resources. The paper investigated the interactions between these developments, revealed some serious impacts and typical conflict modes. The identification of conflicts is a basis for the coordination and synergy of these developments. For sustainable development of city, it is needed to understand and scientifically evaluate the multiple urban underground resources, then holistically plan and manage the developments. Structure and properties of urban underground geological body determine the engineering conditions of UUS and resource attributes of urban underground. Since 2003, China has been conducting pilot projects of Urban Geological Investigation (UGI) programs in some large cities. The paper will also show how to consider the influence of geological conditions in urban underground resource evaluation and UUS planning.

Underground Space Development Key Planning Factors

Historically underground space has been developed on a first-come-first-served basis around the globe. Reviewing these global experiences, key factors to improve underground development practices are discussed. Issues such as effective identification of colocation opportunities, successful integration of underground with surface developments and requirements for data availability are highlighted and their impact on underground space planning is clarified. Where these are clearly understood and incorporated into the process, underground space planning can be improved and carried out efficiently in a sustainable manner.

Urban Planning of Underground Space: The development of Approaches to the Formation of Underground Complexes – Metro Stations as Independent Real Estate Objects

The paper considers the stages of formation of the complex of works on technical inventory and cadastral registration of underground complexes – metro stations. The article describes a universal approach to the formation of these complex unique structures as real estate. The paper describes methods of forming and determining the boundaries of underground complexes, metro stations, which were tested separately for different structures and their combination. The calculation results allowed identifying different categories of non-residential premises located in the underground levels of the metro stations.