Utrecht is working on a Subsurface Vision because the subsurface is becoming increasingly crowded and deserves a full place in the sustainable growth of the city. However, many underground space claims are not yet well understood. Therefore, PosadMaxwan's Digital Cities team helped the municipality visualize and analyze the situation in the subsurface.

Our approach consisted of:

  • Making an inventory of current space claims and tasks for 2040 for ten different themes in the occupation layer, network layer and deep subsurface.
  • Analyzing process pressures: where in the city do many tasks from different departments converge?
  • Calculating the theoretically available public space: where is it tight and where is there still room?
  • Getting a grip on the possibilities for steering by means of complexity typologies: where is little space, but there are many tasks? And where is it the other way around?

The map layers have been made available in an interactive online GIS viewer. With this, the complexity has been made available in a clear and navigable way, facilitating the right discussions for the Subsurface Vision.

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