Special Issue on Underground Engineering in Urban Complex Environments
Published 31 July, 2026
Introduction
Urban underground construction is expanding rapidly as cities densify, creating highly complex subsurface environments where tunnelling, deep excavations, and utility works interact with existing infrastructure. These conditions demand far more accurate geological characterisation, real-time sensing, and predictive control than traditional methods can provide. Despite progress in geophysical monitoring, digital modelling, and climate-adaptive engineering, current practice still struggles with disturbance mitigation, structural integrity preservation under variable geology, and long-term waterproofing and drainage performance under extreme hydrological conditions. At the same time, societal expectations for safety, resilience, and transparent governance of underground space continue to rise, yet regulatory frameworks often lag behind technological advances.
Although research has grown across areas such as digital twins, BIM-based lifecycle risk management, and innovative excavation technologies, these efforts remain fragmented. Geotechnical, structural, digital, and policy studies frequently advance in isolation, leaving practitioners without integrated frameworks for coordinating real-time site characterisation, excavation control, climate-adaptive protection systems, and governance mechanisms. The lack of unified approaches is particularly evident in managing structural responses to complex geological interactions, optimising adaptive support systems, and ensuring the integrity of adjacent utilities and surface facilities in dense urban settings.
This Special Issue aims to advance innovative solutions that address these challenges. The main topics of interest include real-time geophysical sensing for enhanced site characterisation, digital twins and BIM for intelligent lifecycle management, low-impact tunnelling, excavation and ground conditioning techniques that minimise surface settlement and utility interference, climate-adaptive waterproofing and drainage systems, and regulatory frameworks for sustainable underground space governance. By integrating the latest research across these interconnected areas, this collection seeks to provide a comprehensive foundation for safer, more resilient, and more sustainable underground construction in dense urban environments.
Topics covered
- Advanced site characterization and real-time geophysical sensing in urban complex environments;
- Digital twins and BIM for lifecycle risk management of underground engineering in urban complex environments;
- Innovative tunnelling, excavation and ground conditioning techniques that minimize surface settlement and utility interference, e.g., face stabilizing and tail void grouting technologies, and active control method for excavation deformation;
- Climate-adaptive waterproofing and drainage systems;
- Regulatory and societal frameworks for underground space governance.
Important Deadlines:
- Submission deadline: 31 December 2026
- Publication date: 30 April 2027 or as per the journal's policy and plan of EIC
Submission Instructions
Please read the Guide for Authors (http://www.vr-ih.com/vrih/html/EN/material70.html) before submitting. Submission website: https://www.editorialmanager.com/vrih/default.aspx. Please select the special issue "UrbUndEng".
Guest Editors
- Dong Su, Professor, Shenzhen University, China. Email: sudong@szu.edu.cn
- Adam Bezuijen, Emeritus Professor, Ghent University, Belgium. Email: adam.bezuijen@ugent.be