Research Projects

The proposed research project addresses a critical gap in India’s Smart Cities Mission: the lack of integration of underground infrastructure into urban planning and digital governance. While smart city initiatives have focused largely on surface-level development—such as ICT infrastructure, public spaces, and mobility—subsurface utilities such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, power, gas, and telecom remain inadequately mapped, poorly documented, and managed by siloed agencies with limited data-sharing capabilities. This fragmented approach results in frequent service disruptions, unsafe excavations, and poor coordination, undermining long-term urban resilience and efficiency. This project proposes a structured, replicable, and technologically advanced framework for the digitalization of subsurface utilities in Indian smart cities. By treating underground infrastructure as a foundational urban asset, the study aims to embed subsurface utility models within a digitally driven, geospatially enabled planning ecosystem. The hypothesis is that a unified digital model—leveraging technologies such as LiDAR, GPR, GIS, BIM, and digital twins—can significantly enhance planning coordination, reduce excavation risks, and enable resilient, future-ready urban infrastructure. The research is divided into five interlinked phases. Phase 1 focuses on baseline data collection and review of best practices from global leaders such as Singapore, the UK, and the US. Phase 2 maps stakeholder ecosystems through interviews, focus groups, and Delphi surveys to identify institutional bottlenecks. Phase 3 integrates technical tools and institutional processes to develop a unified digital underground utility model, with typologies for both greenfield and brownfield contexts. Phase 4 pilots this model at campus, street, and city levels to evaluate its feasibility and effectiveness. Phase 5 focuses on knowledge dissemination and policy integration through toolkits, workshops, academic publications, and policy briefs. The innovative aspect of this project lies in developing a “Smart Below-Ground” framework, which moves beyond traditional urban infrastructure models by including invisible utility systems. Augmented Reality (AR) tools will be used to visualize subsurface infrastructure for enhanced stakeholder engagement and decision-making. The project also promotes institutional reforms by introducing coordination protocols, data-sharing mechanisms, and capacity-building tools modeled on successful international practices like the UK’s PAS 128 and the US’s SUE guidelines. Preliminary studies, including a review of 80 Smart Cities Mission proposals, revealed significant underrepresentation of underground infrastructure projects and a lack of modern technologies for utility mapping. Pilot demonstrations using LiDAR and AR visualization at the campus level confirmed the technical feasibility and practical utility of the proposed approach. The project aims to scale these initial efforts into city-level applications, generating tangible impacts such as reduced utility conflicts, improved service reliability, lower infrastructure costs, and safer excavation practices. The outcomes of the project will benefit multiple stakeholders including municipal authorities, utility providers, and urban planners by providing a digital foundation for data-driven infrastructure planning. The proposed framework aligns with national initiatives like the 2023 “Call Before You Dig” (CBuD) and aims to establish standardized practices for underground utility management. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, international conferences, national workshops, webinars, and stakeholder toolkits. Ultimately, this research aims to transform subsurface utility governance in India by developing an integrated, scalable, and resilient underground infrastructure management system—paving the way for more inclusive, sustainable, and efficient smart cities.