Vacant underground property includes anything from tunnels and military bases to mining operations and subway systems. Local governments can find ways to keep these abandoned or decommissioned parcels safe and grow opportunities for economic development, urban agriculture, tourism and more.
Three global cities have found interesting ways to repurpose underground assets in the heart of urban centers.
London’s Vacant Underground Tunnels Sprout Carbon -Free Farming
During World War II, Londoners relied on a series of deep underground shelters to stay safe during enemy air raids. These bomb shelters were used during the famed “Blitz,” along with the city’s numerous subway stations.
In addition to a museum housed in the Clapham South air raid shelter, about 2.5 acres in central London now supply tony restaurants above with hydroponic peashoots, watercress, Thai basil and more, according to the Web Urbanist.
The entrepreneurs that developed Growing Underground saw an opportunity to provide local micro greens to restaurants, wholesalers and vendors right in the heart of the city. They were able to create a controlled, closed-loop environment in the vacant underground tunnels. Their underground farm uses 70 percent less water, and no pesticides, and offers zero emissions.
Here was the pitch to the city and investors:
Rotterdam’s Abandoned Waterpark Grows Edible Fungi
The abandoned Tropicana water park’s underbelly produces mushrooms, thanks to an anti-squatting lease.
After bankruptcy closed its doors in 2010, the water park sat empty and was plagued with “hygiene” problems, according to Web Urbanist. But the park’s basement dressing rooms and other areas of its vacant underground now grow oyster mushrooms by the bagful.
The two owner operators of RotterZwam use spent coffee grounds from nearby cafes to make compost that feeds their subterranean crop. They sell their mushrooms to local restaurants, bakeries and food trucks and also make consumer mushroom grow kits. The small business repurposes everything, including clothing hangers to hold up their mushroom grow bags, and envision the water park’s central pool to someday serve as a greenhouse.
Tokyo’s Underground Houses Bikes Upon Bikes
Tokyo has not technically repurposed an existing vacant underground property. But, its undergrond bike storage system design holds promise for repurposing other cities’ wasted underground spaces -- such as abandoned subway stations, according to Web Urbanist.
The Eco Cycle Anti-Seismic Underground Bicycle Park was designed and built by the Japanese firm Giken LTD. The park stores up to 800 of Tokyo’s bicycles at a time. Commuters and visitors take bikes to kiosks, and conveyance relays and retrieves the bikes from cylindrical storage underground.
It takes under 10 seconds to stow a bike, and getting it back is reportedly just as fast.
Also of note, is the city of Louisville, Ky., home to the world’s largest underground bike adventure park. It reportedly took 12 years for Louisville Metro to permit Louisville Mega Cavern in a privately-owned, former limestone mine beneath highway leading to the city.
