December 9, 2015

# These 8 Hidden Underground Cities Are Groundbreaking (Literally)

What goes up must come down. At least, that’s true as far as cities are concerned. Following the news that super-cities are continuing to expand in size—and predictions that two-thirds of the world’s population will be city-dwellers by 2050—urban centers that are short on space are starting to turn their attention underground.

From subterranean parks and malls to inverted skyscrapers and tunnel-bound farms, these hidden underground cities and urban projects are going to have us doing some serious spelunking in the future.

## **1. GROWING UNDERGROUND, LONDON:**

A farm without sunlight? It sounds like an impossible idea. But [Growing Underground](http://growing-underground.com/)—a hydroponic, vertical, pesticide-free farm—is proving otherwise. Located in an old war bunker in London (and created in partnership with Michel Roux, Jr., one of the city’s top chefs), the farm provides a model for a very promising way of using subterranean space…and cuts typical farm-water usage by 70%, too.

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## **2. EARTHSCRAPER, MEXICO CITY:**

If skyscrapers soar towards the heavens, then earthscrapers, well, plunge towards the earth’s core. [BNKR Arquitectura](http://www.bunkerarquitectura.com/)’s striking, Mexico City-based concept envisions a pyramid-shaped construction that stretches a full 65 stories below the Earth’s surface. Thanks to an open central space, daylight is still part of the bargain. Question: If elevators go underground, should they be called descendevators instead?

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## **3. THE LOWLINE, NEW YORK:**

Hidden underground cities need parks, too. Inspired by the wildly successful [High Line](/content/ziptopia/future-metropolis/adaptive-reuse-the-high-line-new-york/index.html), which turned an abandoned elevated railway into a lush public space, the [Lowline](http://www.thelowline.org/) is a project aimed at giving an unused trolley terminal a makeover. Except this Lower East Side space is well below street-level. The project is currently in the works, with plans to open by 2020. And don’t worry, it won’t feel like a cave, thanks to “remote skylight technology.” (Ooh, fancy.)

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## **4. RÉSO, MONTREAL:**

What happens when you live in a city that regularly hits 20 below in the winter? You build underground. Montreal’s “[RÉSO](http://montrealvisitorsguide.com/reso-underground-city-la-ville-souterraine/)”—the largest such subterranean complex in the world—has been in use since the 1960s, and is a model for other cities looking to do some digging. Comprised of multi-level shopping centers, hotels, restaurants, metro stations, and more—all linked by tunnels—it means you can get stuff done _minus_ the frostbite.

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## **5. UNDERGROUND CITY, HELSINKI:**

What do a swimming pool, a church, a hockey rink, and a data center have in common? Well, in Helsinki, they’re all underground. The Finnish capital’s [underground city](http://www.cob.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/Documenten/PDF/Verdieping/UndergroundMasterplanHelsinki.pdf) includes more than 125 miles of tunnels, as well as plans to continue to expand subterranean public spaces. Thanks to many buildings’ rough, rock-carved walls, the complex is also a pretty awesome architectural landmark.

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## **6. SUBTROPOLIS, KANSAS CITY:**

One of the quirkiest underground projects out there, SubTropolis in Kansas City has occupied 1,100 acres of abandoned limestone mines since 1964. [More than 1,600](http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/01/smallbusiness/subtropolis-underground-businesses/) people work in this naturally climate-controlled, rock-carved space every day. And there’s lots to explore. SubTropolis houses everything from cave-aged cheese to car storage space, and an array of [small businesses](/content/ziptopia/our-stories/how-car-sharing-helps-small-businesses-grow/index.html)—and even hosts an annual 10k (which, when you finish, you can totally say made you feel “run down”).

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## **7. UNDERGROUND BIKE PARKING, AMSTERDAM:**

File this one under problems that are almost good to have: bike-loving Amsterdam has [officially run out](http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/02/amsterdam-has-officially-run-out-of-spaces-to-park-its-bicycles/385867/) of cycle parking spaces. In the short term, that’s not so great (the city has to remove more than 73,000 bicycles from its streets a year). But in the long term, it’s leading to innovative new projects, including plans for underwater bike storage space (and even floating cycle parking islands).

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## **8. UNDERGROUND SCIENCE CITY, SINGAPORE:**

What happens when your city has very limited available land…and is predicted to grow by [1.5 million in the next 15 years](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/business/international/crowded-singapore-looks-below-for-room-to-grow.html?_r=0)? Yup, you guessed it: time to bring out those shovels. Singapore is preparing for a growing population by doubling down on some big new underground construction projects. A proposed science research center would see all the action take place below the surface, while the sprawling Jurong Rock Caverns are now being used as a commercial facility to store liquid hydrocarbons. Many restaurants and shopping malls already extend below ground. Goodbye, crowds; hello, caves.