Here are some of the most significant issues cities deal with today: congested traffic, poor pollution control, lack of urban greenery, and dilapidated urban areas. All of these can be traced back to one culprit: roads. So, what if we moved those roads underground?
The concept of moving transportation underground is not new, even in a historical context: the first metros were built in 1863 in London as part of an effort to reduce traffic on streets above-ground. Nowadays, thousands of cities around the world have complex transportation systems underground. Nonetheless, making the step to eliminate all above-ground roads is still far from our current financial and technological capabilities. In the hypothetical situation that every country in the world committed to building underground roads, there would be many benefits — and also some drawbacks — to the environment, pedestrians, and drivers.
One of the primary benefits of an organized underground road system would be significantly-reduced traffic. Idle cars with their engines running contribute large amounts of pollution and decrease fuel efficiency drastically. Furthermore, congestion takes up huge swaths of time for drivers, with the average American stuck in traffic for over 54 hours per year. Completely renovating the current road system—which is filled with temporary patches, extra and unneeded lanes, and obtrusive highway systems—could potentially reduce traffic worldwide.
The key word, however, is potentially. There is no real evidence that simply rebuilding a system of arteries and connectors underground would alleviate the traffic toll. Underground roads do have advantages traffic-wise: for example, multiple layers of tunnels could completely revolutionize the red-light system most above-ground roads follow, and essentially convert every main road into the modern equivalent of an interstate highway. Despite these advantages, such systems could easily cause fatal accidents for human drivers, forcing drivers to switch to automated cars to use underground highways. Given the current situation of the myriad of potential safety issues associated with self-driving cars, a completely underground road system sounds futuristic—not to mention chaotic and potentially life-threatening—to say the least.
Another drawback of a fully-automated underground road system would be the loss of demand for public transportation. In a world where drivers could simply order a driverless car to take them to their destination, any interest in public transportation might plummet, except among the poor—assuming that in the future some people are still poor. Carpooling and using public vehicles prevent huge numbers of cars from wandering the roads. Also, it is unclear whether the increase in privately-ordered cars would be enough to render the potential system more efficient than the roads filled with numerous public-transit lines that we possess today.
The second leading factor that makes underground roads seem like an excellent idea is urban-space and environmental concerns. Parking lots and streets take up huge proportions of a city’s valuable land assets, and removing these could restore acres of much-needed urban space to cities around the world. For example, the Big Dig project in Boston, which rerouted the city’s main highway to an underground route, freed up 300 acres of land that was partially converted into the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a 17-acre park where numerous events and festivals are now held. Building more parks in urban environments brings a myriad of benefits, from increasing air quality drastically to decreasing the general city temperature. In fact, an abundance of trees may decrease a city’s average temperature by up to forty percent.
Finally, safety concerns also prompt engineers to suggest underground roads. Over 1.3 million pedestrians are killed in traffic accidents every year, a number that would drop close to zero if underground roads were implemented. Imposing stretches of highway serve as dividers between communities with different average incomes, sidelining poorer families from jobs and opportunities.
Safety of wildlife is also a large concern: above-ground highways built in remote regions can increase poaching and separate animals – especially apex predators – from their genetically diverse groups, making them more vulnerable in their habitat.
On the con side, there are safety concerns for humans related to underground roads: a large volume of toxic gases from exhaust pipes would have to be controlled and cleared regularly, and gas buildup could cause huge fires and explosions inside tunnels. Drivers would also be made much more vulnerable when physically leaving their cars to connect to above-ground public-transit systems, a problem that could dissuade many people from using the underground system.
All in all, underground roads have the potential to resolve many problems modern cities and governments face. However, without comprehensive investigation, trial and error, and careful, meticulous planning, underground highways still remain a faraway aspect of the future.
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1656876043881x568553517446523700/What%20if%20all%20roads%20went%20underground_%20-%20BBC%20Future.pdf
The concept of moving transportation underground is not new, even in a historical context: the first metros were built in 1863 in London as part of an effort to reduce traffic on streets above-ground. Nowadays, thousands of cities around the world have complex transportation systems underground. Nonetheless, making the step to eliminate all above-ground roads is still far from our current financial and technological capabilities. In the hypothetical situation that every country in the world committed to building underground roads, there would be many benefits — and also some drawbacks — to the environment, pedestrians, and drivers.
One of the primary benefits of an organized underground road system would be significantly-reduced traffic. Idle cars with their engines running contribute large amounts of pollution and decrease fuel efficiency drastically. Furthermore, congestion takes up huge swaths of time for drivers, with the average American stuck in traffic for over 54 hours per year. Completely renovating the current road system—which is filled with temporary patches, extra and unneeded lanes, and obtrusive highway systems—could potentially reduce traffic worldwide.
The key word, however, is potentially. There is no real evidence that simply rebuilding a system of arteries and connectors underground would alleviate the traffic toll. Underground roads do have advantages traffic-wise: for example, multiple layers of tunnels could completely revolutionize the red-light system most above-ground roads follow, and essentially convert every main road into the modern equivalent of an interstate highway. Despite these advantages, such systems could easily cause fatal accidents for human drivers, forcing drivers to switch to automated cars to use underground highways. Given the current situation of the myriad of potential safety issues associated with self-driving cars, a completely underground road system sounds futuristic—not to mention chaotic and potentially life-threatening—to say the least.
Another drawback of a fully-automated underground road system would be the loss of demand for public transportation. In a world where drivers could simply order a driverless car to take them to their destination, any interest in public transportation might plummet, except among the poor—assuming that in the future some people are still poor. Carpooling and using public vehicles prevent huge numbers of cars from wandering the roads. Also, it is unclear whether the increase in privately-ordered cars would be enough to render the potential system more efficient than the roads filled with numerous public-transit lines that we possess today.
The second leading factor that makes underground roads seem like an excellent idea is urban-space and environmental concerns. Parking lots and streets take up huge proportions of a city’s valuable land assets, and removing these could restore acres of much-needed urban space to cities around the world. For example, the Big Dig project in Boston, which rerouted the city’s main highway to an underground route, freed up 300 acres of land that was partially converted into the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a 17-acre park where numerous events and festivals are now held. Building more parks in urban environments brings a myriad of benefits, from increasing air quality drastically to decreasing the general city temperature. In fact, an abundance of trees may decrease a city’s average temperature by up to forty percent.
Finally, safety concerns also prompt engineers to suggest underground roads. Over 1.3 million pedestrians are killed in traffic accidents every year, a number that would drop close to zero if underground roads were implemented. Imposing stretches of highway serve as dividers between communities with different average incomes, sidelining poorer families from jobs and opportunities.
Safety of wildlife is also a large concern: above-ground highways built in remote regions can increase poaching and separate animals – especially apex predators – from their genetically diverse groups, making them more vulnerable in their habitat.
On the con side, there are safety concerns for humans related to underground roads: a large volume of toxic gases from exhaust pipes would have to be controlled and cleared regularly, and gas buildup could cause huge fires and explosions inside tunnels. Drivers would also be made much more vulnerable when physically leaving their cars to connect to above-ground public-transit systems, a problem that could dissuade many people from using the underground system.
All in all, underground roads have the potential to resolve many problems modern cities and governments face. However, without comprehensive investigation, trial and error, and careful, meticulous planning, underground highways still remain a faraway aspect of the future.
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1656876043881x568553517446523700/What%20if%20all%20roads%20went%20underground_%20-%20BBC%20Future.pdf
