Underground Space Use: Supporting Urban Ecosystem Services

The urban ecosystem provides services that help humans lead physically and mentally healthy lives. However, pressure on urban areas increases due to demographic and climate change. Thus, urban underground space (UUS) offers a possible solution to achieve healthy, adaptive, and livable urban areas. Society has long made use of underground systems to enhance human health (e.g., through sewage and wastewater removal), deliver vital services (e.g., water, utilities), provide climate or security isolation and containment, reduce construction and energy costs, improve transportation and traffic flow, and achieve various aesthetic benefits. Based on the classification of Urban Underground Ecosystem Services (UUES) and their possible interactions with urban above and underground spaces, this study proposes four scenarios to explore how underground spaces can maintain the stability and sustainability of urban ecosystem services. The results show that the underground can continue to provide long-term, space-specific, or region-specific ecosystem services critical to maintaining and improving human well-being. This would help fully recognize the role underground space use plays in ecosystem services.