Traditionally, cities around the world have used these spaces to lay down service lines—for water, sanitation, electricity—or for parking and transport. However, the multifaceted value of underground spaces is often overlooked in traditional planning processes—focussing on the horizontal and vertical expansion of urban areas above the surface. This neglect of underground spaces is linked to a limited understanding of the value of underground spaces and the importance of spatial planning to effectively utilise these spaces.
The purpose of the Cyber Agora is to expand urbanism to think beyond the “above ground”, and amplify the future of cities, which is impossible without integrating the subsurface into the urban fabric. Moreover, this event aims to highlight the value of underground spaces in the development, planning and management of a resilient and sustainable urban future, and therein role of public policies and governance.
The idea to plan and manage the use of the underground has been around for a long time. The use of the subsurface has evolved below many modern cities. It has evolved to focus on the use of subsurface as a spatial relief valve—freeing up vital space on the surface for alternate use. In the foreseeable future, planning the use of underground spaces for a sustainable, resilient, liveable and inclusive city will become inevitable—to avoid future chaos and limitations on city development. It will require cross-disciplinary integrated urban planning and government policies where public policies and urban planning acknowledge the existence of underground space and plan its use with the development of the surface.
For ITACUS and ISOCARP, underground urbanism is a domain that not only needs to be addressed but offers ample opportunity for further development in the planning community.
The event is open to urban planners, designers, urban decision-makers, engineers, placemakers, urban explorers.