UNDERGROUND SPACE | INSIGHT
Above, figure 2: Panel discussion moderated by ITACUS Co-Chair Antonia Cornaro (left) during the “Rethinking Our Cities using the Underground Space” event, hosted by the Portuguese tunnelling society, CPT
Daniel Salvador Da Silva Leite, Senior Engineer at Systra – Sotecni, and AFTES representative. They were joined online, on screen in the auditorium,
by Han Admiraal, Co-chair ITACUS, and Abidemi Agwor, Steering Board member and National Action Think Deep Programme Lead, ITACUS, and President of the Nigerian Tunnelling Association, in the 2.5-hour panel discussion that explored topics ranging from underground construction and metro development to high-speed rail. As ITACUS co-chair, I had the honor of leading and
moderating the roundtable discussion during the gathering. Key points of discussion among the panelists
revolved around: building a vision for the underground; the importance of policy; planning strategies; and, overcoming obstacles in political, contractual, and financial realms. Audience engagement provided valuable insights into
the evolving role of underground spaces, emphasizing their intensifying use for resilience, climate change adaptation, and diverse energy sources. Han Admiraal emphasized the need for a strategic
vision in using the subsurface, urging cities to consider its impact on sustainability and resilience. Abidemi Agwor highlighted regional disparities in the demand and utilization of underground spaces, stressing the need for novel strategies and frameworks, especially in the Global South. ITACUS asserted that there is often a disconnect
between society and engineers regarding how to utilize the subsurface. Engineers typically concentrate on finding solutions, but a more effective approach might be to first understand the challenges that cities encounter. This is where urban planning steps in, emphasizing the importance of having a vision and strategy to address these challenges. Imagine a city wanting to be sustainable and resilient:
Can that city achieve this without looking beneath the surface? Is it possible to be resilient without any knowledge what lies below out feet?
This is where geology comes in to help. Expanding on this theme: What opportunities does
the subsurface offer when it comes to fulfiling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? What it equates to is that even if a city has no
intention to use its subsurface, it would be foolish not to know what lies below the surface. So, in any case: a vision and strategy are required
to consider the impact of the subsurface on the city. If a city wants to look at the opportunities that the subsurface offers in terms of underground spaces, the vision and strategy can be expanded by relating to the UN SDGs by asking: of what is the subsurface composed? what is present in terms of groundwater in aquifers, and, for example, where there are old mines do they present risk or are they assets? By looking at the various SDGs – like Zero Hunger,
Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy – we can see how the use of the subsurface, through creating or reusing underground spaces, could contribute to the pursuit of such goals. After this initial stage, the next steps would be to
develop a policy on the use of the subsurface, and then utilize planning as an instrument to achieve this policy. Not doing so will inevitably lead to chaos in the subsurface with different potential uses competing for the limited available space. It could lead to contamination of underground water aquifers or hinder development of transport systems through energy uses. Instead, a more strategic approach can be taken. Abidemi Agwor leads the ITACUS National Action
Think Deep Programme (NATDP). Joining the event online from Lagos, Nigeria – where he was then hosting a national conference on the potential of underground space, there joined by ITA-AITES and ITACET – he stated that the demand and utilization of underground spaces in our cities do exhibit noteworthy variations between major regions, notably between the Global North and the Global South.
Summer 2025 | 51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61
