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High Speed Train Tunnel Compromises Landmark Cathedral's Foundation

Posted by: Nate Berg

10 May 2007 - 4:00pm

Transportation planners in Spain have proposed building a tunnel for a high speed train system which would run directly underneath a cathedral designed in the late 1800s by Antoni Gaudí. Experts say the tunnel could cause the cathedral to crumble.

"A group of architects believes that the excavation of the tunnel, about 40 meters below ground, could cause the water-logged earth to subside under the weight of the vast building, whose facade will include four towers weighing 22,500 metric tons. The subsidence could cause cracks in the rippling exterior or the willowy 65-meter pillars that support the nave."

"The tunnel will carry a high-speed train that will halve the five-hour journey between Barcelona and Madrid. Magdalena Álvarez, the development minister, said in a television interview Monday that she would be 'very surprised' if the project - which could begin as early as next spring - was halted."

Full Story: Fears for Barcelona cathedral when trains start to run
Source: International Herald Tribune, May 9, 2007
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All of that only scratches the surface of what's wrong with this study. The idea that complex urban development patterns and human behavior can be meaningfully studied according to one primary criteria — density — is wrong from the start.
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