Underground infrastructure and sustainability
Underground infrastructure and sustainability is a research topic within Building and Construction. Science Explorer counts 11k research works in it since 1950. 12.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the development, sustainable management, and utilization of urban underground space, with an emphasis on sustainable development, utility tunnels, spatial planning, subsurface resources, infrastructure, and resilience. It addresses challenges such as sustainability assessment, governance issues, social costs, and the integration of underground space into urban planning. The research also explores the potential for urban resilience, GIS-based evaluation methods, and integrated planning concepts.
- Urban Underground Space
- Sustainable Development
- Utility Tunnels
- Spatial Planning
- Subsurface Resource
- Infrastructure
- Sustainability Assessment
- Urban Resilience
- GIS-based Evaluation
- Integrated Planning
- Research works
- 11k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 1.3k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 12.0% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +43% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Underground infrastructure and sustainability research?
By volume, China and the United States publish the most (962 and 269 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China 962 works
- 2 United States 269 works
- 3 Russia 111 works
- 4 United Kingdom 91 works
- 5 India 79 works
- 6 Canada 66 works
- 7 Australia 50 works
- 8 Italy 48 works
- 9 Türkiye 46 works
- 10 Poland 44 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Underground infrastructure and sustainability research?
By volume in 2022–2025, China University of Mining and Technology publishes the most Underground infrastructure and sustainability research, followed by Tongji University and National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China University of Mining and TechnologyChina 43 works
- 2 Tongji UniversityChina 33 works
- 3 National University of Architecture and Construction of ArmeniaArmenia 18 works
- 4 Southeast UniversityChina 16 works
- 5 Southwest Jiaotong UniversityChina 15 works
- 6 Moscow State University of Civil EngineeringRussia 15 works
- 7 Chongqing UniversityChina 14 works
- 8 Shenzhen UniversityChina 12 works
- 9 Xi'an University of Architecture and TechnologyChina 12 works
- 10 Beijing Jiaotong UniversityChina 12 works
Who are the leading researchers in Underground infrastructure and sustainability?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Underground infrastructure and sustainability include Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas.
- 1 Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas Lithuania 2k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Underground infrastructure and sustainability research done?
The largest centres of Underground infrastructure and sustainability research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Wuhan (China) and Nanjing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Xuzhou and Chongqing.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- XuzhouCN · 46.3 works21×
- ChongqingCN · 32.0 works3.1×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Underground infrastructure and sustainability than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Underground infrastructure and sustainability?
Among universities, judged by research, China University of Mining and Technology, Tongji University and Shenzhen University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China University of Mining and TechnologyChina | 83.6 | 30.4% | 22.3× | 43 | +42.1% |
| 2 | Tongji UniversityChina | 74.6 | 23.8% | 10.6× | 33 | +3.6% |
| 3 | Shenzhen UniversityChina | 68.9 | 26.4% | 6.6× | 12 | +194.5% |
| 4 | Chang'an UniversityChina | 52.7 | 21.2% | 9.8× | 9 | -4.9% |
| 5 | Xi'an University of Science and TechnologyChina | 50.6 | 17.3% | 17.5× | 10 | — |
| 6 | Southeast UniversityChina | 49.1 | 17.8% | 4.9× | 16 | +75.7% |
| 7 | Southwest Jiaotong UniversityChina | 47.9 | 16.4% | 8.2× | 15 | -20.0% |
| 8 | Xi'an University of Architecture and TechnologyChina | 46.4 | 16.0% | 16.1× | 12 | -78.6% |
| 9 | Beijing Jiaotong UniversityChina | 44.4 | 16.3% | 7.8× | 12 | +4.6% |
| 10 | Henan Polytechnic UniversityChina | 43.6 | 15.7% | 12.4× | 9 | -18.1% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Underground infrastructure and sustainability research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 43% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Underground infrastructure and sustainability.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.