Land is becoming a scarce resource as its availability can no longer satisfy the needs of the ever increasing world population. Today, most of us live in cities, many of which are competing to attain high economic growth. Finding extra space for development above ground seems increasingly difficult. Will subterranean space be a way out?
There are some advantages of underground dwellings. The interior temperature is more constant because it is insulated from the weather condition above. It is also quite unaffected by extreme weather, so energy costs can be greatly reduced.
To make the underground space habitable, we must ensure that there is a constant supply of fresh air. It also needs to be spacious with good lighting that simulates the sun, or else some people may get too claustrophobic to stay in there.
In the case of Hong Kong, levelling hills and reclaiming land from the sea were methods of supplying usable land. However, this reclamation comes at a cost to the environment and people are more aware of the importance of preserving our coastlines. When we cannot reach out to the sea, we may hit down for our future home.
| JPC Monthly Newsletter | |
| Editor： | Police Public Relations Branch, 11/F Arsenal House, Police Headquarters, No. 1 Arsenal Street, Wan Chai, HK. |
| Tel： | 2860 6157 |
| Fax： | 2200 4304 |
| JPC homepage： | http://www.hkpjpc.org.hk |
| Police homepage： | http://www.police.gov.hk |