Evaluation of urban underground space resources using a negative list method: Taking Xi'an City as an example in China

Utilization of urban underground space has become a vital approach to alleviate the strain on urban land resources,and to optimize the structure and pattem of the city.It is also very important to improve the city environment,build livable city and increase the capacity of the city.Based on the analysis of existing evaluation methods and their problems,a method for evaluating underground space resources based on a negative list of adverse factors affecting underground space development is proposed,to be primarily used in urban planning stages.A list of the adverse factors is established,including limiting factors,constraining factors and influencing factors.Taking Xi'an as an example,using a geographical information system platform,a negative list of adverse factors for the underground space resources in Xi'an City are evaluated,and preventive measures are proposed.Natural resources,exploitable resources,and the potential growth of exploitable underground space resources are evaluated.Underground space assessment in the different development stages of the city,collaborative utilization and safety evaluation for multiple subsurface resources,environmental impact and assessment,as well as evaluation methods based on big data and intelligent optimization algorithms are all discussed with the aim of serving city planning and construction.

Underground space planning in Helsinki

This paper gives insight into the use of underground space in Helsinki,Finland.The city has an underground master plan(UMP) for its whole municipal area,not only for certain parts of the city.Further,the decision-making history of the UMP is described step-by-step.Some examples of underground space use in other cities are also given.The focus of this paper is on the sustainability issues related to urban underground space use,including its contribution to an environmentally sustainable and aesthetically acceptable landscape,anticipated structural longevity and maintaining the opportunity for urban development by future generations.Underground planning enhances overall safety and economy efficiency.The need for underground space use in city areas has grown rapidly since the 21 st century;at the same time,the necessity to control construction work has also increased.The UMP of Helsinki reserves designated space for public and private utilities in various underground areas of bedrock over the long term.The plan also provides the framework for managing and controlling the city’s underground construction work and allows suitable locations to be allocated for underground facilities.Tampere,the third most populated city in Finland and the biggest inland city in the Nordic countries,is also a good example of a city that is taking steps to utilise underground resources.Oulu,the capital city of northern Finland,has also started to ‘go underground’.An example of the possibility to combine two cities by an 80-km subsea tunnel is also discussed.A new fixed link would generate huge potential for the capital areas of Finland and Estonia to become a real Helsinki-Tallinn twin city.

Evaluation of urban underground space resources using digitalization technologies

Exploitation and utilization of urban underground space resources is gaining increasing attention in cities’sustainable development.Due to the attributes of fragility and irreversibility,urban underground space resources can be extremely vulnerable to damage and it is often difficult in restoring their original state once damaged.Therefore,scientific and reasonable evaluation of urban underground space resources is of vital importance in urban planning and development.This paper first describes the content and methods for the evaluation of urban underground space resources,and introduces the digitalization technologies to handle the problems of strong subjectivity,low efficiency and rough precision encountered when using traditional evaluation tools.Then,the related concepts and main technologies for digitalization were demonstrated and an intelligent GIS-based engineering geology system was built.Based on the drilling information in Changzhou City,stratum standardization and 3D modeling of strata,underground structures and pipelines were conducted in the built intelligent system.Finally,with the help of spatial overlay analysis in the GIS-based platform and a combination of other digitalization technologies,the urban underground space resources of Changzhou City were evaluated.Maps of geological suitability were produced,which provide scientific guidance and reference for the exploitation and planning of urban underground space resources in Changzhou City.In addition,site selection for key projects was conducted based on the evaluation results using this platform.