UNDERGROUND SPACE IN LAND-USE PLANNING

In 1988, the Finnish Ministry of the Environment appointed a committee to review existing planning systems for underground construction. In its report in spring 1990, the committee concluded that current legisl ation and planning procedures were unsatisfactory. In response, a stud y on ''Underground Space in the Planning and Land Use'' was launched i n June 1994, and was completed in summer 1996. The study formed part o f Finland's Rock Engineering 2000 programme. The study reviewed the pr esent situation in underground planning; examined current uses of unde rground facilities; created a basic method for the classifying the bui lding potential of rock areas; identified the various methods currentl y available for assessing the environmental impacts of underground con struction on the basis of the legislation in force (EIA); to developed methods for assessing the costs to the urban community of underground space, particularly in comparison with equivalent costs of space abov e ground; and drafted a proposal concerning planning of different leve l and permit procedures for underground space. This paper discusses ea ch aspect of the study. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.