Urban development is increasingly looking underground as cities strive to enhance resilience, sustainability, and equitable growth. Rising population density, climate pressures, and limited natural resources are driving planners to explore subterranean infrastructure as a solution. Underground spaces can support housing, transport networks, parking facilities, and energy-efficient solutions like geothermal systems, while freeing surface land for green areas and affordable housing, emphasizing pedestrian-friendly urban design.
Cities such as Montreal and Singapore illustrate how underground development can be integrated into urban planning. Montreal’s underground network, known as La Réso, spans 33 kilometers of interconnected corridors covering 12 square kilometers. It connects over 1,200 offices, 2,000 shops, 40 cinemas, and multiple universities, metro stations, train and bus terminals, creating a climate-resilient hub that supports economic activity, pedestrian safety, and community life during harsh winters. The system manages more than 500,000 daily users through advanced security and smart access technologies, including RFID, facial recognition, and IoT-enabled monitoring of crowds, smoke, and temperature changes.
In Singapore, the Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC) demonstrate a different underground application, storing up to 1.47 million cubic meters of liquid hydrocarbons 150 meters below ground. The facility, Southeast Asia’s first commercial underground storage, frees up roughly 60 hectares of surface land for additional industrial development. Advanced engineering features, including a “water curtain” system for containment and IoT-connected sensors for monitoring temperature, pressure, and seismic activity, ensure safety and operational efficiency.
Both Montreal and Singapore highlight the benefits of integrating underground infrastructure into broader urban strategies. Montreal’s La Réso supports economic and social life in extreme climates, while Singapore’s JRC maximizes scarce land resources and strengthens energy security. Singapore further complements its underground initiatives with comprehensive subsurface planning, including legislative control and mapping for utilities and transit, enabling efficient coordination and long-term urban resilience.
By leveraging technology, strategic planning, and innovative design, these cities demonstrate that subterranean development can transform land constraints into opportunities, improve urban livability, and provide sustainable solutions for the challenges of modern urbanization.
