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Onze stedelijke ondergrond is onbekend en onbemind terrein, een letterlijke en figuurlijke black box. Nochtans zit de grond onder onze voeten bomvol potentie om bij te dragen aan de creatie van meer duurzame steden.

Urban underground space (UUS) can be an effective means to meet the needs of the cities and simultaneously deal with societal and urban challenges. However, in Flanders the use of UUS remains to be one of the most forgotten urban assets and is characterised by a haphazard, uncoordinated ‘last resort’ practice detrimental to sustainable development. In a search for new possibilities for qualitative densification the Flemish Government instigated a policy exploration to investigate if efficient use of the UUS could be a possible solution for lowering the daily land take. This paper describes the process and content of the policy exploration and sets out policy recommendations. The paper concludes that although the merits of UUS have been thoroughly recognized and the significance of the subsurface in urban renewal is clear, the efficient use of UUS in Flanders and the fulfilment of Flemish policy objectives cannot be guaranteed without the development of UUS policy and the integration of UUS policy in the overall Flemish urban planning system. The research finds that a clear definition of planning factors for the use of UUS is necessary to support the transition from using the UUS to integration of the UUS into wider urban planning processes. It puts forward the need for a comprehensive list of planning factors, gathered in a holistic, integrated manner, necessary to transition from UUS projects to UUS planning.

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