Our Underground Future (2012)
Engineers and urban planners explore using underground spaces for stadiums, waste repositories, and power plants to address urban crowding. Challenges include costs and psychological barriers, but advocates see potential for safety and development.
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The article discusses the potential of utilizing underground spaces for various purposes as cities become more crowded and real estate on the surface becomes scarcer. Engineers and urban planners are exploring innovative ways to use the underground, such as building subterranean stadiums, nuclear waste repositories, and even nuclear power plants. The focus is on creating sustainable cities by moving essential facilities like water treatment plants and data banks underground, leaving the surface for more desirable structures like homes and parks. While there are challenges like high costs and psychological barriers associated with underground living, proponents argue that underground spaces offer insulation, safety from natural disasters, and unique opportunities for development. Examples from around the world, such as underground highways in Malaysia and converted limestone mines in the US, showcase the diverse potential of underground spaces. Despite the hurdles, advocates believe that with strategic planning and a long-term perspective, underground development could play a crucial role in addressing the future needs of growing urban populations.
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7 commentsWater.
Diffusion/osmosis means that moisture is going to want to go from high to lower concentrations. Untreated poured concrete is permeable and will allow water to seep through if installed without any sort of vapor barrier. There are building products to help out here, but it’s difficult to identify leaks if you are only leaking a 0.1oz of water per day, it evaporates faster than you can identify it. Once it has some refuge (humid air, damp environment, porous surfaces) it will begin to accumulate and cause problems. I’m not saying it’s not impossible (I think under ground stuff is cool and we should have more of it), but we need to develop standard, cheap methods of reliably sealing off our structures that reach down below.
There are other problems that are site-specific (sandy soils, clays, bedrock), but building below grade happens once so these problems can be overcome with enough money.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops
[pdf] https://web.cs.ucdavis.edu/~rogaway/classes/188/materials/th...
With an environment that seems to be continually warming and becoming more hostile, going underground will probably become a natural defense that humans will take as we retreat from the harsh heat, wildfires, etc.
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