Underground agriculture: repurposing abandoned tunnels in coal-mining systems

Underground agriculture is a way to reclaim abandoned tunnels in coal-mining systems, putting them to new, productive uses. Underground agriculture is also a way to help revive the economy of mining districts, transforming their basis from a limited-lifespan extraction industry to an unlimited-lifespan generative industry. This method could help address a major problem facing cultures and economies today: sustaining food production in the face of systematic failures, growing urban populations, and climate change. This project starts with a specific concern for post-industrial coal mining areas, which suffer economic depression and environmental pollution. Many abandoned coal mine tunnels are now being repurposed as landfills or, after cleaning, as storage facilities. This project is an opportunity to rethink how we might treat such situations productively, taking advantage of existing infrastructure. This project also sets up system-specific approaches for dealing with similar situations, in which economic growth and co-operative engagement are sought.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.L.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Landscape Architecture

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2016

Author dc:creator

• Zhao, Qingyi

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hays, David L.
• Sears, Stephen
• Ting, Kuan Chong

• Coalmine
• Agriculture
• Repurpose
• Reclaim

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2016 Qingyi Zhao

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/93019

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F93019