BBC Focus - 03.2020

FEATURE 20 IDEAS

UNDERGROUNDCITIES

Aspopulationsmoveawayfromruralareas,urban

planners look beneath their feet for answers

Withspaceincitiessolimited,oftentheonlyoptionforthosewhocan

affordto expandtheirpropertyis to gounderground.Luxurybasements

arealreadya featurebeneathmanyhomesinLondon,butwithurban

populationssetto continuegrowing,subterranean developments are

beginningto appearona muchlargerscale.

Oneidea,stillat theconceptstage,is the‘Earthscraper’proposedfor

MexicoCity.This65-storeyinvertedpyramidhasbeensuggestedasa way

to provideoffice,retailandresidentialspacewithouthavingto demolish

thecity’shistoricbuildingsorbreachits8-storeyheightrestriction.

Manyquestionsremainasto thefeasibilityof sucha project,however,

suchashowyouprovidelight,removewasteandprotectpeoplefrom

fireorfloods.Someof thesequestionshavepotentiallybeenanswered

withtheconstructionof theIntercontinentalShanghaiWonderlandhotel

inChina.This336-roomluxuryresortwasbuiltintotherockfaceof an

88m-deep,disusedquarrythatopenedforbusinessinNovember2018.

Theislandcity-stateof Singaporeis alsoexploringitsunderground

options.NotonlyareitsJurongRockCavernsintheprocessof being

turnedintoa subterraneanstoragefacilityforthenation’soilreserves,

buttherearealsoplansto buildan‘UndergroundScience City’ for 4,200

scientiststo carryoutresearchanddevelopment.

InNewYork,theLowlineProjectis turninganabandonedsubway

stationintoa park.Expectedto openin2021,it usesa systemof

above-groundlight-collectiondishesto funnelenough light into the

underground space to grow plants, trees and grass.

16.PRIVACY

MATTERS

Afterspendingmuchofthelast
decadehandingourdataovertothe
likesofApple,FacebookandGoogle
viaoursmartphones,socialmedia
andsearches,it seemsasthough
peoplearoundtheworld,andthe
governmentsthatrepresentthem,
arewisinguptotherisksofthese
corporationsknowingsomuchabout
us.Thenext 10 yearslookstobe
nodifferent,onlynowwecanadd
fingerprints,geneticprofilesandface
scanstothelistofinformationwe
handover.Withthenumberofdata
breaches– companiesfailingtokeep
thedatatheyholdonussecure–
climbingeveryyear,it’sonlya matter
oftimebeforegovernmentsstep
in,oraswiththecaseofApple,tech
companiesstartsellingusback the idea
of personal privacy itself.

17.UBIQUITOUS

INTERNET

Between5Gnetworks,andinternet
beameddowntousfromElonMusk’s
StarLinksatellites,mobileinternet
willgeta lotfasteranda lotmore
evenlyspreadoverthenextdecade.
Thesenewnetworkswillempower
entirelynewfieldsoftech,from
autonomouscars,droneairtraffic
controltopeer-to-peervirtualreality.
Butit isn’twithoutit’sdrawbacks.
SpaceXis planningtolaunch12,000
satellitesoverthenextfewyearsto
createitsStarLinkconstellation,with
thousandsmorebeingdeployedby
othercompanies.Moresatellitesmean
morechancesofcollisionsandmore
spacedebrisasa result.Thesatellites
havealsobeenshowntointerfere
withastronomicalobservations and
weather forecasting.

18

Earthscraperscould

helpprovideliving,

officeand

recreationalspace

forever-increasing

urban populations