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2 The Evolution of and Factors Affecting Underground Development
Pages 37-66

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From page 37...
... Unfortunately, underground space is not similarly planned and zoned, and an explicit value for underground space is not generally recognized (Sterling et al., 37 Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 37 2/6/2013 3:16:08 PM
From page 38...
... . Formal planning and control of underground space by municipalities is a responsibility to be recognized and acted upon in the United States if sustainable urban development is to be realized.
From page 39...
... to the construction project itself, other infrastructure, worker health and safety, the environment, and economic interests; • there is higher interdependence between planning and project design 1 Based on 2008 exchange rates. Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 39 2/6/2013 3:16:08 PM
From page 40...
... Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 40 2/6/2013 3:16:09 PM
From page 41...
... An underground project requires a systems perspective, such as illustrated in Figure 2.1, that emphasizes interactions between interrelated systems including those associated with land use, intermodal transportation, environmental, cultural, and socio-economic systems. This type of approach highlights the unique combination of skills, knowledge, management, and leadership required for successful infrastructure planning, construction, operation, and maintenance for a sustainable urban environment.
From page 42...
... What factors drive acceptance of underground placement of infra Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 42 2/6/2013 3:16:09 PM
From page 43...
... Triple-bottom-line cost estimates -- analyses of social, environmental, and economic costs and benefits -- for underground facilities may provide per suasive justification for underground installation, but direct and indirect impacts need to be considered for a true lifecycle engineering design. Higher costs of underground utility installation may make the underground less attractive to the private sector, and government stakeholders often display mixed acceptance to underground installations, sometimes depending on their relationships with utility providers.
From page 44...
... Scandinavian experience with underground sewage treatment plants and hydropower facili ties, for example, has led to a strong preference for underground infrastructure by the public, utility company, and government stakeholders, driven by the cli matic, topographic, and geological environments (Parker, 2004)
From page 45...
... Difficulties sustaining public support for investment decisions may lead to overpromising on design, analysis, and construction in order to get projects under way.3 It may be possible to develop and use tools to raise the collective awareness in the com munity of the benefits and costs associated with underground infrastructure. For example, geotechnical databases have been developed for multiple communi ties around the world that can visually display the relationships between built infrastructure and the geologic environment (Reeves, 2010; Thompson, 2010)
From page 46...
... Most large urban areas within the United States and around the world exhibit the growth of underground facilities as urban development intensifies. In this regard, one might conclude that no special policies or drivers need to be in place to cause development of the underground -- it will happen as a natural result of land use, environmental pressures, and the need to upgrade transportation and utility services for a growing city.
From page 47...
... and ignore the importance of the underground in major urban areas. Without federal, state, Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 47 2/6/2013 3:16:13 PM
From page 48...
... Negative perceptions about the interior environments of underground facilities, confusing layouts and lack of reference to surface landmarks that inhibit easy wayfinding, and fears about personal safety in what may be perceived to be poorly designed and operated underground facilities may decrease public support of underground infrastructure. However, there are many examples of successful underground infrastructure projects that lead to more sustainable societies.
From page 49...
... It is critical that future underground development options are not degraded by unplanned or unsuitable earlier uses, that policies and administrative structures provide the right guidance, that the public is fully engaged in developing a long-term vision for its community and community standards, and community expectations regard ing how underground facilities will serve it are met. CROSS-SYSTEMS INTERDEPENDENCIES As underground use becomes more complex, it is evident that proper respect of the interplay between the surface and underground is necessary during all phases of infrastructure life cycle.
From page 50...
... . They include systems that provide potable water, wastewater and storm water collection and disposal, electric power, fuel distribution, telecommuni cations, and digital television and Internet connectivity and communications Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 50 2/6/2013 3:16:14 PM
From page 51...
... This complex ownership model leads to confusion regarding, for example, responsibility for funding and performing essential periodic inspections, maintenance, and repair of individual Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 51 2/6/2013 3:16:14 PM
From page 52...
... Disruptions can spread to systems in other cities, states, and countries. For example, cascading failure of interdepen dent underground infrastructure occurred as a result of the 9/11 attacks on surface infrastructure in New York City.
From page 53...
... The useful life of critical infrastructure is dependent on the service being installed and determined during design and materials specification processes. Buried utility services are expected to operate for 50 years; transit and sewer tunnels and structures for 100 years.
From page 54...
... Personal and economic safety and health may be put at greater risk by an inability to mitigate projected 6 For example, Internet access, unheard of just a few decades ago, is considered by many to be a "fundamental right." See BBC, 2010. Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 54 2/6/2013 3:16:15 PM
From page 55...
... . Building Foundations and Future Underground Use Building foundations constitute a major use of urban underground space, provide necessary building support, and can add value and space to proper ties.
From page 56...
... Designs may take into account long-term plan ning for the urban area as a whole, for example, avoiding specific designs in an area zoned for future underground transportation. This approach will be more successful when the urban underground is incorporated into urban growth plans as part of a functioning and evolving system of systems.
From page 57...
... PLANNING AND GOVERNANCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY Some cities around the world have made greater progress planning and governing underground space. Helsinki, Finland, a notable example, has identi fied and protected its prime near-surface rock resources and has developed deep common utility tunnels that limit interference with shallower, people-oriented underground infrastructure, such as that used for transit, pedestrian connections, and parking.
From page 58...
... This warrants thoughtful and extended consideration by owners, urban planners, developers, and the public about the geotechnical and geo-environmental issues related to all urban construction, about underground space development specifically, and about the explicit valua tion of underground space as a resource. Effective planning and infrastructure investment decisions require that rele vant administrators and planners accept the need and responsibility for integrated Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 58 2/6/2013 3:16:16 PM
From page 59...
... Some aspects of the databases and software needed to undertake this task exist, but many complications remain in terms of permission to access detailed private Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 59 2/6/2013 3:16:17 PM
From page 60...
... LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT OF THE UNDERGROUND There are many fabled successes in underground infrastructure (e.g., the New York City and Boston subway systems) and more recent successes in under ground infrastructure development -- the Washington, D.C., Metro, the Metro politan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, and the Chicago Transit Authority.
From page 61...
... The cost of these or any future underground infrastructure in urban settings will increase because of the inability to plan effectively around existing infrastructure. Research opportunities to develop a framework and management approach to planning, documenting existing conditions, setting land use requirements, and issuing permits for approved uses of the urban underground can be found in Chapter 7.
From page 62...
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From page 63...
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From page 64...
... Presentation at the First Meeting on Under ground Engineering for Sustainable Underground Development, June 1, 2010, Washington, DC. Rundgren, L., and J
From page 65...
... . Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 65 2/6/2013 3:16:19 PM
From page 66...
... Underground Engineering Camera-Ready.indd 66 2/6/2013 3:16:19 PM


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