Underground city | EPFL Graph Search

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An underground city is a series of linked subterranean spaces that may provide a defensive refuge; a place for living, working or shopping; a transit system; mausolea; wine or storage cellars; cisterns or drainage channels; or several of these. Underground cities may be currently active modern creations or they may be historic including ancient sites, some of which may be all or partially open to the public. The term may also refer to a network of tunnels that connects buildings beneath street level that may house office blocks, shopping centres, metro stations, theatres, and other attractions. These passages can usually be accessed through the public space of any of the buildings connecting to them, and sometimes have separate entries as well. This latter definition encompasses many modern structures, whereas the former more generally covers tunnel systems from ancient times to the present day. Underground cities are especially functional in cities with very cold or hot climates, because they permit activities to be comfortably accessible year round without regard to the weather. Underground cities are similar in nature to skyway systems and may include some buildings linked by skyways or above-ground corridors rather than underground. Some cities also have tunnels that have been abandoned. Beijing built an extensive tunnel network called the Underground City () during the Sino-Soviet conflict, supposedly covering 85 km2, falling into disuse in the 1970s. It was opened in 2000 to the public and tourists, but closed in 2008 for renovations. , all "official" remaining entrances appear to be closed. Guangzhou has at least 16 different underground networks. The largest underground network is in Zhujiang New Town. It connects the commercial basements of over 35 office towers and malls surrounding the Zhujiang New Town Central Park, and extends to Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Huangpu Dadao and Huacheng Dadao metro stations. The mall portion under the Zhujiang New Town Central Park alone totals at least of commercial space.

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Related concepts (3)

Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be called a subway, tube, or underground. Unlike buses or trams, rapid transit systems are railways, usually electric, that operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles. They are often grade-separated in tunnels or on elevated railways.

A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods. A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. The central portions of a rapid transit network are usually in the tunnel.