Under the rhythm of city life, we tend to think of urban spaces as towering skyscrapers, sunlit streets, and bustling sidewalks lined with cafés. The idea of a city entirely underground seems like something straight out of a sci-fi novel or a post-apocalyptic survival story. But what if I told you cities beneath the surface do exist, and while none are 100% subterranean in the full sense, some come remarkably close? Is an underground city not just a metaphor but a very real, functioning place? Let’s dig into that.
When you hear “city built entirely underground,” the first thought may revolve around hidden bunkers, abandoned tunnels, or secretive hideouts. While these do exist, the truth is more nuanced. Humanity has long been fascinated — sometimes forced — to build below the surface, whether for protection, climate control, or sheer necessity.
Surviving the Harsh Surface: Why Build Down There?
Before diving into the concept, it’s worth pondering why anyone would choose to live underground at all. Surface dwelling offers light, open skies, the sounds of nature, and that instinctual connection to the world around us. But sometimes, conditions above ground severely limit those comforts.
History shows us that extreme climates, wars, and resource scarcity have driven entire communities to seek refuge underground. Ancient peoples carved out dwellings in caves; modern humans create subterranean networks to maintain comfort and safety.
Take the underground cities in Cappadocia, Turkey. This region is famous for its labyrinthine complexes carved into soft volcanic rock. These weren’t built for city planning flair—they were bunkers. At some points, thousands of people lived in these multi-tiered underground havens to evade invaders and harsh winters. It’s not a “city” in the modern metropolitan sense, but a networked community with homes, storage rooms, chapels, and ventilation shafts—a subterranean metropolis in miniature.
What’s the Closest Thing to a Fully Underground City?
If you’re imagining a sprawling city where every street, home, and office exists beneath the surface, we don’t quite have that yet. However, some contemporary subterranean complexes blur the lines.
One of the most profound examples is the Montreal Underground City (RÉSO). It’s a colossal network stretching over 33 kilometers beneath the city’s surface, housing shopping centers, hotels, offices, and metro stations. This underground web is used daily by about half a million people. It’s so extensive that you can traverse large swaths of downtown Montreal without ever seeing daylight. Still, Montreal itself is above ground, so this is more an underground district than an entire underground city.
Another standout: Coober Pedy in Australia. This quirky town is famous for its underground residences. Over half the population lives below ground to escape the brutal desert heat. It’s not a “city” in the likes of New York or Tokyo, but a community where houses, shops, and even churches have been dug into hillsides and caves. Imagine living in a home with natural stone walls keeping you cool all year round, completely immune to the harsh sun. Coober Pedy’s underground living represents a sustainable, creative response to extreme climate.
In the Middle East, the Derinkuyu underground city in Turkey is an astonishing archaeological site, large enough to have sheltered approximately 20,000 people. It’s an entire city built in layers underground, complete with wells, ventilation shafts, and rooms for livestock and food storage. It’s not inhabited today, but it remains an extraordinary blueprint for what an underground city can be.
Modern Subterranean Architecture: A New Frontier
The future might hold underground cities beyond survival bunkers and tourist curiosity. Architects and urban planners have toyed with the idea when thinking about densification, climate control, and urban resilience.
Countries facing extreme heat, like parts of the Middle East and China, invest heavily in underground infrastructure. Some proposals even imagine complex underground pedestrian networks or multi-level living spaces that could dramatically change how we view a “city”. These plans prioritize energy efficiency (natural insulation means heating and cooling demand plummet underground) and safety from surface pollution.
Still, cultural inclination favors the sky and the open anyway, so underground living tends to stay experimental or limited to practicality’s realm, not mass adoption.
The Weird, The Wonderful, and The Sometimes Creepy
Part of the fascination—dare I say, attraction—of underground cities lies in their maze-like quality and mysterious history. These places feel imbued with stories of survival, secrecy, and ingenuity. The idea makes you imagine a networked, hidden society living parallel to our own, beneath the beaten paths.
And there’s something poetic about the contrast: while our ancestors lived hand-to-hand with nature, some of today’s underground developments wrestle the environment itself by going beneath it. That’s bold, thoughtful, and sometimes just plain wild.
Could There Be a Fully Underground City Tomorrow?
Honestly? It wouldn’t be easy. The challenges are massive: air quality, sunlight absence, psychological effects of prolonged living underground, infrastructure costs, emergency evacuation considerations, and social acceptance. For a city to survive fully underground, it must balance these factors seamlessly.
But urban sprawl, climate crises, and increasing population pressures mean architects and planners aren’t dismissing the underground realm lightly. It offers a home away from extreme weather, and with smart technology and ventilation, it can be livable.
Here’s a fun tidbit: Singapore is already exploring “underground master plans” for integrated underground urban development—think utilities, malls, transit—essentially building a hidden city underneath the one bustling above. Not a city underground per se, but a strong step toward it.
If you like brain teasers or puzzles about places on Earth you barely believe exist, you might enjoy trying your luck with some geography or history quizzes. Here’s a site where you can sharpen your curiosity about places, including underground urban marvels: take a geography quiz on Bing Weekly Quiz.
An Unearthly Appeal
Thinking about underground cities is like exploring a shadow world, a dimly lit counterpart of familiar city life. It reminds us how adaptable humans are. When nature or conflict pushes, ingenuity carves out possibilities literally carved in stone.
You can visit ruins of underground cities, live in places like Coober Pedy, or rush through Montreal’s chilly tunnels on a cold winter morning. But a fully underground city? It might still belong in the realm of imagination or near future innovation, waiting for the moment when technology and necessity finally make it possible.
For now, sprawling human settlements remain mostly bathed in sunlight. But every time the surface gets too hot, too crowded, or too unstable, we might look down—as in underground—and think: this could be home.
If you want to explore more fascinating facts about human settlements and the weird places we call home, the National Geographic site offers in-depth articles on ancient cities and survivability strategies: National Geographic on underground cities.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only. While based on current research and expert sources, it does not constitute professional advice. Readers should verify facts with qualified professionals and authorities when making decisions related to underground living or construction.
