# Below-Ground Public Gardens The Delancey Underground Turns Old Subway Tunnels into New Parks By Michael Hines | Published 2011-09-29 | Autos Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/delancey-underground References: [gizmag](http://www.gizmag.com/new-york-delancey-underground-garden/19962/) & [delanceyunderground.org](http://www.delanceyunderground.org/index.html) The Delancey Underground is a proposed subterranean garden that would occupy the unused subway tunnels sitting under New York City's Lower East Side. The project has been conceptualized and is being pushed by three very different individuals: architect James Ramsey, VP of PopTech Dan Barasch and money manager R. Boykin Curry IV. Despite all of the backers differing backgrounds, they all share the same goal: turning old subway tunnels into usable public space. The Delancey Project would do just that, using technology to ensure that the park is naturally as well as controlling for temperature and water levels. How the temperature and water levels will be controlled is unknown, but the project already has an innovative answer for how to get sunlight from the street to the subway tunnel in the form of fiber-optic cables. The special cables would channel sunlight from the street above to the park below, capturing the elements necessary for photosynthesis. If the issue of natural lighting can be solved, then finding a way to control the temperature and water levels should be cake. The men behind the Delancey Underground are currently in talks with the MTA and the local community governing boards about the proposed park. You can check out conceptual images of the Delancey Underground here. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.2/10 - Popularity: 67% | Activity: 81% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Autos](https://www.trendhunter.com/autos) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Subterranean Parks:** The idea of turning unused underground spaces into public parks offers opportunities for disruptive innovation in urban design, engineering, and energy management sectors. - **Fiber-optic Sunlight:** The use of fiber-optic cables to channel sunlight into underground spaces opens up opportunities for new applications in sustainable energy, architecture, and construction industries. - **Smart, Climate-controlled Spaces:** Developing technologies to control temperature and water levels in subterranean parks will drive innovation in advanced materials, artificial intelligence, and urban agriculture sectors. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Urban Planning and Design:** The development of subterranean parks creates opportunities for urban planners and architects to integrate unused spaces into sustainable city infrastructure. - **Energy and Environmental Management:** Fiber-optic sunlight technology offers opportunities for energy and environmental companies to provide sustainable solutions for lighting and climate control in underground spaces. - **Smart Materials and Agriculture:** The creation of smart, climate-controlled environments in subterranean parks will drive innovation in materials science and urban agriculture for growing crops in challenging conditions. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Urban Roofscape Projects](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/central-yards.md) - [Knitted New York Subways](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/straphangers-lounge.md) - [Subterranean Social Spaces](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/william-vale-hotel.md) - [Partially Buried Tranquil Retreats](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/house-under-the-ground.md) - [Underwater Bicycle Parks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ijboulevard.md) - [Immersive Garden Bar Experiences](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/americas-first-botanical-garden.md) - [Excavated Underground Living Space](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hideaway-house.md) - [Repurposed Waste Transit Tiles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/jeffrey-miller.md) - [Color-In Commuter Tunnels](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/masterpeace-painting.md)