What you should know
- Platform Will Visualize Underground Built Environment Across New York City to Better Coordinate Future Emergency Responses and Facilitate Quicker Development Above Ground
- Public-Private Partnership Amongst New York City Agencies, Utility Companies, Universities to Leverage Latest in Technology for Mapping Efforts
- New York City Becomes First in U.S. to Launch Citywide Data Sharing Initiative
- Aligns New York City with Global Leaders Like Singapore, Tokyo, and U.K.
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the launch of 3D Underground (3DU), a cutting-edge program to develop a highly secure, 3D-data-sharing platform for New York City’s underground built and natural environment. The platform will help government agencies and utility companies securely share and access information about what lies below New Yorkers’ feet, such as water and sewer pipes, gas lines, electrical conduits, fiber optic cables, and soil composition.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe doesn’t just mean understanding what is happening above ground, but also what is happening below ground. The web of pipes, cables, and lines that are below our feet are crucial in helping our city run and respond in emergencies, and, for too long, the city has not had a complete picture of how all these pieces work together,” said Mayor Adams. “Today, we are launching a groundbreaking $10 million initiative that will allow the city and its partners to anticipate delays in construction and improvement projects, while also enabling the city to better respond to emergencies. This new data sharing initiative is laying the foundation for a smarter, more coordinated, and more resilient New York City, and is another example of how we are using technology to keep New Yorkers safe, now and into the future.”
“Our ability to build and maintain critical infrastructure starts with knowing what’s beneath our feet,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Jeff Roth. “This initiative strengthens our partnerships and helps us deliver projects faster, safer, and smarter.”
Born out of lessons learned during the recovery from the September 11, 2001 attacks in Lower Manhattan, the idea for the 3DU initiative was born after 9/11 to meet the critical need for precise mapping recognized during those efforts, including the detection and remediation of dangerous freon tanks. The platform will be designed to enhance the city’s ability to respond to emergencies, analyze emerging threats, and more effectively plan and deliver capital projects to New Yorkers.
As part of this effort, the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation will create a comprehensive map of the city’s soil by digitizing geotechnical reports already submitted to the New York City Department of Buildings and partnering with Columbia University to estimate what the soil is like in areas without direct data. Understanding soil composition is important for planning construction projects, maintaining infrastructure, managing stormwater, and anticipating and responding to emergencies. The city will also start collecting soil samples digitally to make the underground soil model even more accurate over time.
Key goals of 3DU include:
- Improving emergency response and preventative threat analysis capabilities for underground infrastructure failures.
- Modernizing capital project planning and delivery through better data sharing to reduce costs and schedule overruns.
- Supporting climate adaptation and stormwater management.
- Minimizing disruption to businesses, residents, and transit.
Funded through a $10 million U.S. Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery in the wake of Hurricane Ida, the city anticipates to launch the platform for users in early 2028. The platform will leverage an earlier mapping effort that included ground scanning, conducted by the city in partnership with utility companies and New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering.
Today’s announcement aligns with Mayor Adams' broader "Getting Stuff Built" agenda, which focuses on streamlining project delivery, cutting red tape, and investing in 21st-century infrastructure for all New Yorkers.
“The New York State Department of Public Service values opportunities for the state's regulated utilities to engage with local governments on innovative projects like New York City's 3D Underground initiative,” said Rory M. Christian, CEO, New York State Department of Public Service. “This project will strengthen the city's ability to respond to emergencies and emerging threats and will benefit both taxpayers and utility ratepayers by improving the coordination of large capital projects."
“Whether there is a focus on supporting safe excavation procedures in London or improving the resilience of city infrastructure and preparedness in New York City, providing access to authoritative information about underground infrastructure has become a crucial enabler that directly benefits citizens,” said Carsten Roensdorf, product manager, United Kingdom’s National Underground Asset Register. “It’s great to see private and public sector actors come together, efficiently share data and collaborate based on a common understanding of the infrastructure beneath our cities.”
“A significant component of New York City’s effort to map its underground is the detailed description of the soil properties in three dimensions. This is important for future digging and excavation, maintenance and operation of existing underground lifeline infrastructure, as well as safety and security reasons,” said George Deodatis, professor of earth and environmental engineering, Columbia University. “Columbia University’s partnership with New York City is turning decades of soil data into actionable knowledge. By developing a citywide 3D soils model grounded in advanced statistical methods, we are helping to build a more resilient and sustainable New York—from its infrastructure and transportation networks to its future urban development.”
“This project represents the fruition of a multiyear, $1.2 million investment by the National Science Foundation, led by New York University professors Debra Laefer and Rae Zimmerman and supported by more than 50 public, private and academic partners, including Alan Leidner, Wendy Dorf and Josh Friedman,” said Debra Laefer, professor of urban informatics, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University. “The purpose of that grant was to address a community problem — the ‘utility spaghetti’ that typifies New York City’s underground — to pilot a solution and then to transfer that solution to the city to be scaled and sustained. We are all so proud to be part of this achievement.”
###