Why the future of our cities might be headed underground | CNN

Inspired by the past, subterranean developments might be the future of our cities CNN  —  There is a megaproject underway that’s not so much breaking new ground, as burrowing beneath it. In Singapore, a series of extensive tunnels are being bored into the soil some 60 meters down – below subterranean shopping malls and even the city’s metro. Originally envisioned in the mid-1990s, the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) is an underground “superhighway” that could provide a blueprint for other cities around the world. It’s all part of a masterplan to conserve two precious resources: space and water. “We were faced with the challenges of a rising population and also increasing developments for industries,” said Woo Lai Lynn, chief engineer for the project, which is run by PUB, the national water agency. “With this added demand, we couldn’t keep on relying on expanding the existing wastewater infrastructure. We had to find a solution that was more sustainable and gave us greater resilience for our water supply.” The first phase, which finished in 2008 and cost an estimated 3.4 billion Singapore dollars ($2.5 billion), included 48 kilometers of deep sewer tunnels and a new centralized water reclamation plant. Phase two broke
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