Abstract
Placement ofutilitieshasnotbeengenerallyaccomplishedinanysustainabletechnique
resultinginaveritablemazeinhighdensityurbanareas.Asundergroundspacescarcity
growsinourcitiesduetotheincreasingdemandsforutilityservices,subsurfacefacilities
such asutilitytunnelsarebecomingmoreefficientinprovidingtherequiredinfrastruc-
ture.Thereisagrowingpublicawarenessofaestheticconsiderationsandimpatiencewith
street cutsandtheirassociatedcosts,trafficinterferences,noiseandaccidentalutility
cuts. Unfortunatelythelackofdataandthedifficultyinquantifyingtheintangibleshas
made itimpossibletoarriveatareasonablyaccuratefigureofoverallnegativeimpacton
the urbanenvironmentofstreetcuts.Duetothis,currentpracticesoftraditionaltrenching
depending onlyoncostindicatorsremainasfirstoptioninurbanplanninginsteadofmore
sustainabletechniques,likeutilitytunnels.However,itiswellknownthatintangiblecosts
to thepublicandtheutilitiesmightmaketheutilitytunnelconcepttobeeconomically
feasible inthelongrun.ThispaperpresentsamethodologybasedonAHPandDelphi
processes fortheselectionofutilitiesplacementtechniquesinwhichtheintangiblesare
also assessedtoavoidshort-sightedurbanundergroundplanning.
