Subterranean Spaces

This research project is considering how hidden, subterranean spaces, such as tunnels, are products and artefacts of specific social relations. Subterranean spaces are not just the domain of essential urban infrastructure, but vital conduits for resistant actors who wish to hide from expressions of state authority. By exploring and considering tunnels that are deliberately occupied or constructed under border walls, for instance (such as those under the US-Mexico border or the Gaza strip), this thesis is arguing that much of what is deliberately hidden is as enlightening as what is on the surface. And for the communities of people who strive for the underground, the very existence of these exilic spaces constitutes the success of their resistance.