Show notes:

In this episode, we imagine a future where some Indian cities expand underground. Population in our cities is at an all time high and there’s limited space to grow outwards. So city administrators decide to move downwards, below the land the city already has. Is it technically possible for Indian cities to expand underground? What can we move below our land surface? And would people even want to live or work there?

Imagined Tomorrow is created and hosted by Shreya Dasgupta. The episode was co-edited by Abhishek Madan. Intro and outro music is by Abhijit Shylanath. Get in touch via Twitter, or email imagined.tomorrow@gmail.com.

Guests:

Subject experts

Dr. R. K. Goel, an expert in Tunnel & Underground Space Design and a former professor at the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel research in Dhanbad.

Dr. Sanjukkta Bhaduri, a professor of urban planning, in the School of Planning and architecture in New Delhi.

Dr. Adam Charles Roberts, a human factors psychologist at Singapore-ETH centre. Disclaimer: Dr. Roberts’ research is supported by MND and NRF, Singapore. Findings and opinions expressed are those of the author’s alone.

Others

Saraswati and Chintan - People who work in the basement office of a housing complex, in order of appearance.

Episode music

Interlude music by Abhishek Madan, astrofreq, and lesfm from Pixabay.

Episode artwork

Image by allinonemovie from Pixabay.

For further reading:

The underground mining town of Coober Pedy in Australia. Read this or this.

Indranil Banerjie's article on the opening of Kolkata's first underground metro stretch. Read here.

Singapore's plans of expanding underground. Read here.

Helsinki's underground master plan. Read here.

Gjøvik, Norway's olympic cavern hall. Read here.

Show notes:
In this episode, we imagine a future where some Indian cities expand underground. Population in our cities is at an all time high and there’s limited space to grow outwards. So city administrators decide to move downwards, below the land the city already has. Is it technically possible for Indian cities to expand underground? What can we move below our land surface? And would people even want to live or work there?
Imagined Tomorrow is created and hosted by Shreya Dasgupta. The episode was co-edited by<a href="https://twitter.com/abhishekmadan"> Abhishek Madan</a>. Intro and outro music is by<a href="https://twitter.com/htedum?lang=en"> Abhijit Shylanath</a>. Get in touch via<a href="https://twitter.com/ShreyaDasgupta"> Twitter</a>, or email imagined.tomorrow@gmail.com.
Guests:
Subject experts
<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rk-Goel-2">Dr. R. K. Goel</a>, an expert in Tunnel &amp; Underground Space Design and a former professor at the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel research in Dhanbad.
<a href="http://spa.ac.in/User_Panel/UserView.aspx?TypeID=1430">Dr. Sanjukkta Bhaduri</a>, a professor of urban planning, in the School of Planning and architecture in New Delhi.
<a href="https://frs.ethz.ch/people/researchers/adam-charles-roberts.html">Dr. Adam Charles Roberts</a>, a human factors psychologist at Singapore-ETH centre. Disclaimer: Dr. Roberts’ research is supported by MND and NRF, Singapore. Findings and opinions expressed are those of the author’s alone.
Others
Saraswati and Chintan - People who work in the basement office of a housing complex, in order of appearance.
Episode music
Interlude music by Abhishek Madan, <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/astrofreq-19902647/?tab=audio&amp;utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=audio&amp;utm_content=2575">astrofreq</a>, and <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/?tab=audio&amp;utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=audio&amp;utm_content=5642">lesfm</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/music/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=music&amp;utm_content=5642">Pixabay</a>.
Episode artwork
Image by&nbsp;<a href="https://pixabay.com/users/allinonemovie-201131/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1106253">allinonemovie</a>&nbsp;from&nbsp;<a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1106253">Pixabay</a>.
For further reading:
The underground mining town of Coober Pedy in Australia. Read <a href="https://www.cooberpedy.sa.gov.au/district-information/history">this</a> or <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/coober-pedy">this</a>.
Indranil Banerjie's article on the opening of Kolkata's first underground metro stretch. Read <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19841215-despite-criticism-from-bengal-ministers-calcuttans-take-a-liking-for-metro-train-803488-1984-12-15">here</a>.
Singapore's plans of expanding underground. Read <a href="https://www.ura.gov.sg/Corporate/Get-Involved/Plan-Our-Future-SG/Innovative-Urban-Solutions/Underground-space">here</a>.
Helsinki's underground master plan. Read <a href="https://www.hel.fi/helsinki/en/housing/planning/current/underground-master-plan#:~:text=A%20new%20underground%20master%20plan,the%20bedrock%20underneath%20the%20city.&amp;text=Only%20the%20most%20important%20underground,in%20the%20underground%20master%20plan">here</a>.
Gjøvik, Norway's olympic cavern hall. Read <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gj%C3%B8vik_Olympic_Cavern_Hall">here</a>.

Imagined Tomorrow is a long form podcast that imagines futures for India and this part of the world through the lens of science and technology. Each episode explores a hypothetical future for India, and with the help of different voices and experts, tries to figure out what the journey to that future might look like given Indian realities in mind. Perhaps, the future could become a reality ten or twenty years from now. Maybe it’s a future only a few can reach. Or perhaps, it’s a future we shouldn’t even try to get to.

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