ABSTRACT
The concept of geosystem services has been put forward to make the multiple re-sources in the subsurface more visible and acknowledged in spatial planning and decision-making. Here, a case study is used to demonstrate how geosystem services can provide a basis for assessing how tunnel corridor selection can impact the subsurface and how subsurface conditions impact tunnel construction. The tunnel corridors are located in the southern part of the City of Gothenburg, Sweden, where a future railway is proposed to improve the southbound commuting opportunities. Three alternative corridors have been identified and space for these corridors has been reserved in the comprehensive plan. However, to prevent blocking urban development and to free up space, the least preferred corridor needs to be excluded from the comprehensive plan. To support the decision on which two corridors to keep, a systematic inventory of the impacts on different geosystem services and how the subsurface conditions can impact future underground construction was carried out and summarised in a performance matrix. The assessment highlights e.g. aspects related to conflicts of interest with geo-energy and other subsurface space use, as well as issues related to the working environment during construction. Impacts on the subsurface and how the subsurface conditions influence the construction are rarely part of the early planning assessments and this study demonstrates that such an assessment is possible and can provide valuable information at an early planning stage.
