Talk:Underground city

Shumen Bulgaria
I suggest adding Shumen in Bulgaria. There were plans for a huge (largely underground) development. Some of it actually has been built, but it is not in use. It's fascinating. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.211.79.146 (talk) 21:41, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

In Seattle's Metropolitan Tract
Note the modern subways in Seattle connect buildings within the Metropolitan Tract. Back in the early 1980s it was also possible to walk underground between the Financial Center and Rainier Square via the Cobb Building (and might possibly still be). The passage resembled a stairwell or maintenance corridor; although open to tenants, it was not signed nor known to the public.

There was a skybridge across Fifth between the Financial Center and the Olympic Hotel before (and during) the hotel's renovation into the Four Seasons Olympic 1981-82, when its main entrance was relocated from Fourth around the corner to University Ave. The skybridge might never have reopened and a glimpse at Google Earth shows it no longer exists. The 1971 Financial Center has a remarkable, virtually unused elevated exterior walkway in a one-story setback all around the 2d floor, and the unique pedestal design of the Rainier Square (before retail expansion pushed the base up a floor), offered similar exposed space at the 2d floor level, which gave me the impression that when the Tract was redeveloped in the late sixties it may have been intended to connect all of the Tract buildings via skybridges, before the Rainier Square/Union Squares subway came to be.

A heavily-used skyway also connects the lobby of the ferry terminal with the sidewalk of Marion St across Alaskan Way, passing beneath the 99/Aurora/Alaskan Way Viaduct. (Access from Alaskan Way street level to the terminal lobby was via a weird inclined moving walkway.) After the First Interstate Center opened about 1983, many ferry commuters bound for offices on Fourth and Fifth found its public, exterior (though covered) escalator on the west (3d Ave entrance) a great way to avoid the steep sidewalk trek from 3rd to 4th, although this involved tromping through the bank lobby at the upper end. Some would also snag an elevator between the 2d and 3d Ave lobbies of the New Federal Building (two floors apart) to avoid the first part of that steep climb, but I'm sure those days are long over. These "lobby shortcuts" probably do not qualify as tunnels, but serve a similar function, as they offered shelter from the rain and wind off the bay, as well as a lift. Jeffreykopp 06:18, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Philadelphia
In Philadelphia, it is possible to walk underground from 18th Street to 8th Street, and also about 4 blocks south on Broad Street through the same network of walkways.

At 18th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard, one will find the westernmost entrance to Suburban Station, which extends to around 15th Street and Market Street (Market is one block south of JFK) where one can find City Hall and 15th Street Station of the Market-Frankford subway. South Broad Concourse is connected to the entrance of 15th Street Station via a long empty tunnel, which opens up into a larger empty tunnel, extending southward under Broad Street from Market Street to about Locust Street (I think). That's about four blocks. Back to City Hall... another series of small tunnels lead from here along Market Street. The main walkway parallels the MFL, opening up at the 13th Street and 11th Street subway stops. At 11th Street, one can gain entrance to Market East Station and The Gallery, a large partially underground shopping mall which spans from 11th to 8th along Market Street. Walking through The Gallery, one will come to 8th Street Station, located at the junction of 8th & Market Streets.

Hopefully relevant for you. There may be some minor inaccuracies. I doubt all those small details are necessary anyway. cromonna 02:38, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Burlington
Does Burlington (UK) belong here?

Sacramento
I know that Sacramento has a large abandoned underground city. Does anyone have more information about that? 156.34.51.201 (talk) 23:58, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Minneapolis
Except for the tunnels around the University, everything else described here is above ground. Should be removed. 69.95.232.3 (talk) 20:17, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

pedestrian tunnels
pedestrian tunnel redirects here yet there's no mention of them. i wasn't sure they belong here, but have no clue where they'd be better suited. this may be based on my understanding of underground city as similar to an aboveground city, when it is simply a term for the underground parts of the city. i would like to encourage anyone to add any tunnels they know of. 151.201.30.98 (talk) 23:31, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

Calgary
Calgary has a similar system in the downtown core which is not mentionned in this article 142.179.219.229 (talk) 13:03, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

climate
So, umm.. "Underground cities are especially important in cities with cold climates, as they permit the downtown core to be enjoyed year round without regard to the weather." Funny, I was just thinking that, only in terms of places with -hot- climates.

Comparative floorspace?
How are the various floorspace estimates being calculated? Does the PATH estimate include the entire Eaton Centre, just its sub-surface levels, or exclude it and the Atrium on Bay entirely and count only the exclusively underground malls? If the first, could Edmonton instantly rival Toronto if someone were to build a low-rise office building with an underground connection to the West Edmonton Mall? Are the Japanese and Canadian numbers defined the same way? I suspect the former do not include suface-level retail, can anyone verify?--207.245.10.220 (talk) 23:28, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

What about bunkers?
This article doesn't mention anything about military bunkers - some of them are practically as big as cities. Smartse (talk) 23:27, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Not what I expected
This article doesn't have what I expected. I expected to find a list of underground cities sorted by size. To me this means extensive bunkers and large underground shopping malls. Subway systems without large shopping infrastructure don't seem relevant. Nor do skyways. I also see one obvious omission - the COEX mall in Seoul. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.55.54.38 (talk) 18:32, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Toronto and Montreal
The article starts off by saying that Toronto has the largest according to Guiness World of Record 2008, but then under CANADA, it says Montreal has the largest one in the world.

I didnt edit anything, but looking at the articles current state this was addressed some time ago. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.84.5.210 (talk) 17:19, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Strand Concourse, Cape Town, South Africa
There is a shop lined walkway called Strand Concourse linking the grounds of Cape Town Station to the Golden Acre Shopping Center, the Old Mutual Building, the Woolworths Department Store, and a local hotel (cant remember its current name and its access might be closed) and a number of street entrances, the building is directly below Strand Street in the city center. Radavvadra (talk) 22:37, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

oslo should perhaps be mentioned
in oslo it is possible to move from oslocity to byporten just by walking through jernbanetorget subway station. it is also possible to walk to oslo s directly from that station. i used the norwegian names because i am norwegian.84.208.64.62 (talk) 15:18, 20 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Is this bigger or smaller than the underground shopping concourse between T-Centralen and Sergels torg in Stockholm (seen in this photo)? What you are describing sounds like an underground concourse, but I don't see any indication that this is as extensive as an underground city. Do you have any reliable sources (in English or Norwegian) that refer to this area as an "underground city" or underjordby? Wilhelm Meis (&#9742; Diskuss &#124; &#x270D; Beiträge) 03:22, 21 October 2013 (UTC)

Proposing split
I propose that this article be split into two pages, one at the current title and another at List of underground cities. Comments? &mdash;George8211 / T 18:38, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

Can a "city" exist without housing?

 * A city is a large human settlement. Cities generally have extensive systems for housing, transportation, sanitation, utilities, land use, and communication. Their density facilitates interaction between people, government organizations and businesses, sometimes benefiting different parties in the process.

The above is from the introductory paragraph in the WP article on Cities (citations omitted). Most of the underground constructions cited in this Underground cities article do not come close to meeting the above definition of a city. They instead are developments devoted to commerce and mostly have little to no living accommodations. At very least there needs to be a source (or more) that explains this different standard of definition, perhaps specific enough to allow an editor to reject entries based on that standard.

GeeBee60 (talk) 00:30, 8 October 2017 (UTC)


 * It's possible that the phrase 'underground city' isn't directly related to the word 'city'. I'd have to go through the citations of this article to confirm whether the phrase is used for underground structures without a resident population. sheridan (talk) 11:50, 9 October 2017 (UTC)


 * Obviously "city" is a term used fluidly and loosely including here. At risk of seeming picky, we none-the-less should aspire to a better, and better sourced, definition. GeeBee60 (talk) 15:58, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

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Bakersfield tunnels
I think the section on tunnels between Bakersfield and Tehachapi should be removed. The tunnels are racist conjecture.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/the-legend-of-bakersfields-downtown-tunnels-truth-or-fiction/article_1e0428e9-68f7-5c1b-b27b-e0b914f61943.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.134.1.128 (talk) 17:12, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

Gibraltar
The Rock has more tunnels than roads - still, no mention. Jensstark (talk) 22:27, 24 December 2021 (UTC)

Terrible article
This article needs to be massively shortened. Not every underground structure is a city. This has suffered for too long from people adding what they want 71.105.148.209 (talk) 15:31, 29 October 2023 (UTC)