Underground urbanism for climate resilience and healthy cities

The special session aims 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 the 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 the 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.