This paper reviews the key issues relating to the increased future use of underground space where geoscientific information will be indispensable as a decision support tool for the sustainable development of underground space. A clear understanding of what is in the underground space (geology, utilities etc.) and its properties are required in order to form a correct grasp of the potential assets and challenges of underground space as a resource. To inform urban developmental choices, regions having geological units which lend themselves to development or expansion of underground space use in the future, will be given precedence over those with adverse geological conditions. Such information needs to be included into decision support systems for conventional types of underground construction. This paper establishes that there is a strong need to adopt computational visualization approaches in the form of GIS based Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA); these provide a platform to enable the testing of underground space through a virtual experimental set-up of different uses, using a broad range of different yet divergent future scenarios to ensure that the core objectives of sustainable development are met.
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