The underground space of Singapore

I visited Singapore to present my paper on "Urban Characteristics of Underground Cities and Extraterrestrial Colonies: Challenges and Opportunities" at ACUUS 2023. I was excited about the research I did on the urban characteristics of underground space and extraterrestrial colonies, and how the development of underground cities can expand the knowledge of space architecture.

Being from Kolkata, and having visited a few megacities of India, I was constrained to the possible utilities of underground space. For a country like India, economics and sustainable development is the core priority, and most of India's city is expanding. So, the expansion of CBD or increasing the grades of transportation infrastructure can successfully control the increasing urbanization for the upcoming 10 to 20 years. From an economic point-of-view developing an underground tunnel is 100 times costlier than having an elevated grade separation. I also read the research of Jacques Besner , the urban planner at Montreal's Underground City and also the co-founder of ACUUS, with whom I had a chance to meet at ACUUS 2023.

After visiting Singapore, particularly Orchard Road, Vivo City, and Marina Bay Sands, my perspective towards underground development changed. So, here are some lessons for the urban designers and planners from the underground cities of Singapore which can be incorporated for the better tomorrow.

1. Policy for underground development- A policy framework must be developed for each city for underground development. A win-win situation can be achieved for the city development authority and developer, by studying the development of Montreal Underground City. Before the planners start their work the guidelines must be set to avoid interference with the existing underground infrastructure.

2. Enhanced connectivity- The most crucial area of the city which requires underground infrastructure is the CBD. The CBD areas have undergone urban redevelopment/revitalization in most of the highly dense cities. But as the population of CBD increases, the underground infrastructure can give more public spaces and sellable built-up areas. The planning should be done in such a way that it can enhance walkability and connectivity between roads and landmarks.

3. Improvement of the public realms- The underground space also enhances the amount of public realm available to crater the demand due to urbanization. With the proper technology and passive ventilation techniques, the heat load can be decreased significantly and ultimately improve the urban quality of life. One such example is using underground space as a food court, hypermarkets, and a common interchange space between different buildings. Artificial sky, natural sunlight, community engagement activity spaces, and spaces with biophilic interiors can also be introduced to enhance the quality of space.

4. Sustainable development- There are lot of debate that goes around the sustainable utilization of underground space. In most cases, we misinterpret the meaning of sustainability and can't reach our end goal. A sustainable circular loop of development must be made so that each stakeholder gets the benefit of underground infrastructure development without harming the environment.

I feel that underground development is the future of all megacities. With the improvement of technology, increased safety, and international collaborations we can develop the underground infrastructures. The path will be long and tough to achieve the goals, but with strong leadership and commitment, nothing is impossible.