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People In This Online Community Mock “Urban Hell” Posts And These 50 Memes Are Hilarious
When one hears the term “Urban Hell,” most of us envision horrible, gray sprawl, smog and an acute lack of any greenery in sight. At the same time, through an abundance of ill-informed memes and digital word of mouth, some folks start to believe that they actually know a lot about places they’ve never visited.
We’ve gathered some of the best posts from a group dedicated to making fun of the echo chamber that is the “Urban Hell” group. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments section down below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Horrible, Look At All This Concrete. This City Must Be Horrible To Live In
ArthRol:
Soviet architecture and urban planning is so bland and senseless. Like what is the purpose of that dumb circular thing???
420_E-SportsMasta:
A buy-here pay-here used car lot would look amazing instead of that colosseum.
wizard680:
Ok so it actually was pretty bad to live in. So bad that when the Romans made new cities, they used Rome as an example of how NOT to build a city
Edit: bad in the sense that they had no planning. Traffic was Huston level bad.
Hidden Tracks 4 months ago
Little known fact: Uranium glass found in multiple locations in the floor of the Colloseum has upended the idea that the building was a theatre. The most accepted theory amongst the archaeological community now is that the structure was actually part of some sort of directed energy weapon, presumably for the purposes of planetary defence. Ian Dury of the London School of Archaeological Studies has even suggested that originally, there was a glass dome covering the entire open top of the structure that acted as a sort of rudimentary lens to focus the beam. Look it up! You'll find I just invented the whole thing.
zerofoxgiven 3 months ago
The things you hear when you accidentally switch to the History Channel.*insert Aliens meme here*
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Rich Black 3 months ago
google images says this is not a real photo. apparently its some sort of model kit you can buy
Learner Panda 4 months ago
I can see the aqueduct that still serves as a model example on how to bring water to the centre of a city.
L.V 4 months ago
I don't think they had drones or cameras when the Colosseum was still intact :D
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#2
Literally Unlivable
SubnauticaFan3:
Literally the UK. Most places just seem unlivable because of the bad weather, the rare sunny day can really raise the mood.
David Paterson 4 months ago
The only difference between living in London and a Dickensian slum is that in Dickens' time the buildings were new.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 months ago
And our lif expectancy is 4x, and our health is perfect in comparison, and we have unlimited choices in comparison, and we have fresh water, food and electricity, and we have universal health, and we have education, and we have toilets! What has civilization ever done for us, eh?
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Robert Beveridge 4 months ago
Hell with the bad weather, I'd still move to Stromness in a heartbeat.
Vivian McBride 4 months ago (edited)
If you look at early 19th cantury maps of San Francisco, California, the western half of the city (next to the ocean) is labeled, "Unhabitable Fog". Now, though the city is built out to the beach.
#3
God I Hate American Urban Planning
moreVCAs:
What is this, a city for transistors?
cornmonger_:
Note the SDRAMs Stadium to the left.
Anon:
I think you’re confusing it with the old Qualcomm stadium.
Hidden Tracks 4 months ago
I'm sure the local board put up a lot of resistance. "We just don't have the capacity for this kind of architecture"
keyboardtek 4 months ago
I have repaired electronics for years but have no idea what those tall components that look like the twin towers would be.
Lee Gilliland 4 months ago
I think they're resistors. Strange configuration.
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Israel Hinojosa Baliño (Ishiba RO) 3 months ago
Funnily enough, Houston look like this back in the 60s-70s
Forums on the internet founded upon topics like "Urban Hell" set out with a pretty clear agenda: to publish and discuss the downside of modern urban life, ranging from bleak architecture to overpopulation to soulless city planning. In the beginning, these kinds of sites can be enlightening, allowing people to vent, highlight real issues, and share perspectives from all over the world. But as time goes on, many of those groups tend to turn into echo chambers, where the conversation narrows and contrary views get drowned out.
Some of the reason for that has to do with online group dynamics. Most individuals head to places they already align with in terms of underlying concept, and algorithms also reinforce that by bringing forward content that fits within the existing tone of the group.
#4
Cancer On An Otherwise Compact, Walkable City
TheSamuil:
What's the deal with that green space? It makes me want to puke.
TheQuestionMaster8:
One of the few redeeming qualities of Cairo as a place to live in. The city has an overpopulation crisis, poor public transport and as a consequence, traffic is beyond insane, dust pollution as well as air pollution from the traffic is a major problem.
keyboardtek 4 months ago
New York City has the same situation. But instead of dusty sand, they have cockroaches and rats.
Rich Black 3 months ago
its a public park in downtown cairo. cairo is not a "a compact walkable city". this post is hilariously mislabeled
#5
South Korea 👎🤮 North Korea 🤰 🤰
average-alt:
See, some people talk about light pollution and some people do something about light pollution. Kim Jong-un, bless his heart 🥰
Benjamin_Stark:
The ship traffic off the coast of South Korea gives off more light than North Korea.
Hidden Tracks 4 months ago
in 1962 Cpt. William Bainbridge of the USS Philadelphia gave the order for the ship's experimental magnetic resonance drive to be switched on for the first time. What happened next was the ship - and North Korea - disappeared.
Panda Cat 1 month ago
Except for the coal they burn to generate that little bit of power.
Load More Replies... #6
Japan, Random Railway 🤮 Japan, Anime 😍
SilentSpr:
It’s not random at all. Very well known spot for photos of trams with the sea as background. I believe there are animes with this location as a reference.
If a more nuanced perspective gets shared, such as pointing out the benefits of density, or reminding folks that cities also have strong cultural and social assets, the response is tepid at best, hostile at worst. This has a cumulative effect of stifling balanced dialogue and reinforcing content that caters to the mood of the moment, too often negativity.
#7
In Spirit Of Recent Trend:
Background_Cut_6325:
This is unironically a great example of how trees and vegetation can change how we feel about places.
#9
Saw This Really Ugly And Run Down Building In Italy 🤢
kilqax:
So old smh why don't they put an office building or something in there
It lacks underground parking as well + no cyclist paths
Then there's the psychological salve of validation. Whining about ugly concrete skyscrapers or shoebox apartments is therapeutic, but it's the spike of agreement, likes, comments, affirmations, that makes it addictive. People quickly learn that the surest way to get attention is to post things that reinforce the collective sense of outrage or despair. Nuance, context, or contrarian views just don't go viral as easily, as they don't resonate on the same emotional frequency.
#10
Are Japan Glazers Stupid?
Rechupe:
You can tell OP never walks.
Ece Cenker 4 months ago
When traffic is rushing by, there are no destinations within walking distance and there are zero to no other person walking around, the existance of wide sidewalks with little protection from the elements mean little concerning walkability. The narrow human-scale street street with low motor vehicle frequencyin in a dense urban environment is much more walkable.
#11
Ughh Suburbs. Car Dependency Boat Dependency Most Streets Are Dead Ends
Brayden_1274628:
Mosquito season must be deadly.
ShaggyFOEE:
Well I'm walking to the store I'll see you guys in 6 hours...
sbj 4 months ago
I'd like to live here just for the fact I'd have a little boat and my own private jetty
George Costanza 4 months ago
And obviously plenty of people share your opinion or these places wouldn't exist. But yeah, I like to be able to walk places without having to use a car, so no go for me.
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Rich Black 3 months ago
westlake village, a suburb outside los angeles. honestly, which place would you rather live?
#12
Probably The Most Heartbreaking Trailcam Image Ever Seen
The-Legend-26:
No, he is clearly aware that the sea of light is constructed by human design over the last hundreds of years and that the rate at which this human society is growing will inevitably consume all available resources at the cost of the mountain lion's natural habitat.
Susan Reid Smith 4 months ago
In Southern California, habitat is being protected and connections between areas are being maintained and in one case even created with a bridge over US 101 north of Los Angeles.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 months ago
If you actually travel in the wilderness, you will swiftly come to realise that human civilization only exists in small pockets in a huge area of wild countryside. Get out more!
London Paris 4 months ago
You know what? I highly doubt ANY of those thoughts crossed murder cats brain.
Thanos'Fingers 4 months ago
Fewer than 30 fatalities in the past century. Do you think WE can say the same to the mountain lions?
Load More Replies... David Paterson 4 months ago
Try not to use the flash on trailcams. It disturbs the animals. At least this mountain lion has the sense to look away from the light.
As a result, the tone of the group becomes extreme. Instead of the healthy dose of criticism and praise, everything starts to shift to the negative. A moderately ugly building is dystopian, a crowded sidewalk is evidence of societal collapse, and a single bad instance of city planning is taken to be a universal rule. What begins as a forum deteriorates into more of a self-reinforcing cycle of frustration, with people competing to mention the worst possible examples.
#13
Barcelona Mixes Soviet Blocks With American Car Dependant Infrastructure
420_E-SportsMasta:
Imagine how cool that would look if it were several 18 lane superhighways with cloverleaf ramps and combination Taco Bell/KFCs and “buy here pay here” used car dealerships inside the on/off ramps instead.
The-Archangel-Michea:
Real ones know that the current state of Barcelona is a far cry from the much better designed original plan. It was SO much nicer.
Abel 4 months ago (edited)
I am spaniard and this post is insulting. F*****g ignorants! Google Barcelona Eixample Cerda plan for more info. Edit: Ok These are joke posts. 😅
Jrog 4 months ago (edited)
Not all of them. Some is proper r/shitamericanssay
Load More Replies... keyboardtek 4 months ago
A musician from a famous smooth jazz band recently emigrated to Barcelona. He had traveled the world in that band, visited many cities, and when he made his decision on where he wanted to live, he choose Barcelona.
London Paris 4 months ago
Okay . . . . . You probably need to add a little more context . . .
Load More Replies... Stannous Flouride 4 months ago
Barcelona has numerous plazas that were created when the f@scists bombed the civilian downtown area during the Spanish Civil War. Each one has a plaque describing the event and victims. Screen-Sho...1a-png.jpg 
#14
Not A Single Tree In Sight. No Bike Infrastructure Whatsoever. Is This The European City They Keep Praising?
shumpitostick:
Venice is beautiful as a tourist destination but it's not a pleasant place to live in at all. Lacking in infrastructure, hard to get around, overpriced, no green spaces, hordes of tourists everywhere. Also, the city stinks.
Wyrdwoman 4 months ago
There are LOADS of green spaces - I literally did a public garden day last time I was there. Also, it doesn't smell. Popular myth by people who don't know how tides work.
Helena 4 months ago
it is a city built in a swamp, on stilts. Calm down, its already quite the monumental achievement.
persephone134 4 months ago
And yet millions of tourists from all over the world flock there every year, turning the city into some sort of open-air theme park.
#15
Pedestrianisation's 9/11
ALPHA_sh:
Bro cannot comprehend food delivery via bike/moped/anything other than a car.
JayWantsACat 4 months ago
Bro cannot comprehend that there's probably a cafe, store, etc within a very short walking distance of just about any location. And, yes, the disabled can't walk etceteetc Obviously not what I'm talking about. I really wish I didn't have to make disclaimers because too many people here are ridiculous and/or basic inference skills.
Jp@nda 4 months ago
Every. Freaking. Person. Now feels like if something is not easy then it's clearly because they're ADHD or autistic and the world must cater to that. It's taking away from the people who genuinely have diagnosed issues that cannot get the service they need because idiots have appropriated it as their entire identity
Load More Replies... One is the manner in which people utilize these groups as a platform for more abstract anxieties. A photo of a poorly designed intersection can set off not just a debate about city planning, but a general bemoaning of modern existence, capitalism, or inequality. Those concerns are undoubtedly valid, but when each posting is interpreted by the same lens, the group no longer remains about exploring urban spaces, but rather a collective venting area for all sorts of grievances.
#16
Concrete Jungle:😡🤬 “Wait Guys No It’s Japan”: 😍😊
reidft:
The people who idolize Tokyo have never been there. It's literally just city, Japan. Except multiply the population and size. There's people everywhere, it takes forever to get anywhere (even with trains), it's all concrete unless you go to a park, everything is priced higher than elsewhere. Oh cool Weebtown and the red light district exist, it's still Not Great™.
Please don't send me back.
Hidden Tracks 4 months ago
This is photo is actually an electron tunnelling microscope view of a splinter in the palm of your hand.
Rich Black 3 months ago
AI image detection site says it is 94% confident this picture is fake: https://isgen.ai/ai-image-detector
#17
Arizona - Suburban Decay Overtaking Nature
Rich Black 3 months ago
upvoted for irony. this is a native american village (Anasazi) whch was abandoned in the 13th century due to drought/climate change. cars were not involved.
#18
USA 🤢; La 😍😍
Edsel_B:
😂😂😂 To be fair, LA does have better public transportation than Altoona, PA. Plus the streets are thinner and there is actually a bit more density. It is also less flat in terms of the landscape. And the gas is actually not as bad as that sign either. LA is just ridiculously expensive in terms of housing and is way overhyped. It is also much more suburban than many other, denser cities on the East Coast. The public transit is also very mediocre in LA, but only for such a large city.
Johnnynatfan 4 months ago
That top photo is a famous photo of a weird area in PA that the interstate highways cant connect so there is a small connector road. There is a short documentary about it on youtube.
keyboardtek 4 months ago
The lack of taste that commercial advertisers had when designing logos is what makes America so ugly.
The Darkest Timeline 4 months ago
I’d say what makes America so ugly is MAGA
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The echo chamber phenomenon does not mean that such groups are valueless. They draw attention to subjects that need to be debated and give people a feeling of belonging. However, when the environment becomes too biased, perception becomes skewed. Cities are complex, the ugly and beautiful stand together, but echo chambers force members to look at only one side of the equation. Ultimately, it can make the group more about the reaffirming of one story instead of helpful criticism.
#19
I Can't Believe That These Ugly Stone Buildings Are Still Standing, So Depressing
Other_Movie_5384:
There are no bike racks, ew.
Literally unliavable.
DarthRevan456:
Literally a concrete nightmare 😱
AndreaTwerk:
So disproportionate.
persephone134 4 months ago (edited)
Those stupid Romans, what were they thinking, building pantheons two thousand years ago without bike racks. So inconsiderate towards all those tourists travelling with strollers or influencers in wheelchairs.
#20
Night In Chinese City 😡🤬🌚🏭 vs. Night In Japanese City 🥰😍🌕🌸
Polak_Janusz:
Parts of the internet really glaze Japan, its so annoying to talk about anything Japan does in good faith online because there are people who cant accept that their super kawaii >_< Country actually has a lot of problems and then there are people who overcorrect and paint it as a dystopia.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 months ago
I think it's very obvious that a country selling used girls' underwear in vending machines has a problem...
keyboardtek 4 months ago
Not as much of a problem as the country that sells bullets and ammunition in vending machines.
Load More Replies... JayWantsACat 4 months ago
It's so weird when Western guys are like "I'm going to Tokyo to get a Japanese wife, easy!" only to find out the Japanese are very reserved and even those who have lived there for years tend to not have very many Japanese friends.
#21
Istanbul, Turkey 🤢🤮 Istambolana, Spain ☀️🍉🌊😍😍
artin2007majidi:
I love how by looking at the interactions of r/urbanhell and r/urbanhellcirclejerk the entire philosophical history of mankind from mythos to enlightenment to modernism to postmodernism can be observed in a microcosm.
In short, groups like "Urban Hell" devolve into echo chambers because human psychology, internet algorithms, and the fundamental desire for validation collude to prefer repetition to nuance. What begins as a forum to trade opinions turns into a chorus of agreement, in which disagreement is discordant and balance is drowned out in the din.
#22
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
#23
Pure Hell In Germany
Janissary35680 4 months ago
I'd never leave. They'd end up carrying me out.🏰
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London Paris 4 months ago
AI Overview +2 The image shows Neuschwanstein Castle, a 19th-century palace located in Bavaria, Germany.
Jrog 4 months ago (edited)
Little known fact: Neuschwanstein was a folly of king Ludwig II, who in a time of economic crisis kept pouring resources in that unnecessary castle (he had two other castles a stroll away). For 15 years he drained his allowance, his savings, took extensive loans... and then died while the construction was less than halfway and way over budget. In order to recoup at least some of the financial disaster, the state opened the unfinished palace to touristic visits, charging an admission. The plan worked, maybe even too much. Since then, construction resumed slowly and with a new objective: no more aspiration of imperial grandeur, just build a tourist trap to bring visitors to the region.
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Richard Henderson 1 week ago
Went there a couple days ago. Temperature was -17°C and we had caught colds. Walked all the way from the other castle to this one, then had to carry my daughter up all the stairs. We almost died. 💀 It’s amazing though.
Ece Cenker 4 months ago
Just don't give me a room on higher floors away from the entrance. It is hell remembering that I've forgotten something up in my room riiiight at the door on my way out.
#24
Repeating Buildings Scare Me
harryofbath:
Me: looks out window I hate my country's "architecture."
London Paris 4 months ago
Regardless of one's ability to spell, looking out upon a sea of identical, crammed in like sardines accommodation boxes with little to no character or individuality is a legitimately depressing experience especially when they could and SHOULD be an expression of the people inside rather than the bland corporate expression of "cheapest available materials" . . . .
Asmodeus Hare 4 months ago
Personally the cookie cutter developments scare me because if you rob one you have the layout of the security system of the others and get the set.
Load More Replies... George Costanza 4 months ago
What do you think is wrong about how they spelled the possessive form of country?
Load More Replies... #25
I Am Conducting A Social Experiment
Professional_Rise148:
To be fair, Bethesda sucks.
Johnnynatfan 4 months ago (edited)
Bethesda Maryland does suck. I hate when I have to go there for any reason.
Rich Black 3 months ago
actual residents prefer bethesda to almost any neighborhood in the district of columbia.
#26
Town, Japan:😡 Town, USA:😍
Simple_Man_899:
The grass is always greener on the other side.
persephone134 4 months ago
So so beautiful. The fanta fuehrer's favourite word (in his limited grasp of vocabulary).
#27
The Dprk Has Identical Suburban Lots, What A Dystopia!
London Paris 4 months ago
Are you kidding me? In Brisbane, we have new estates where you had better be on REALLY good terms with your neighbours because if they are f***ing or fighting, you are gonna hear it and probably smell it too. Houses are so close that you cannot walk between houses and they have to put the fence in FIRST before they build the actual house. Million dollar houses where you have no view, no privacy and no garden. 👆 They have a garden, space and at least SOME view . . . . . Australians DREAM of having this much space to move in.
Patsy Robins 1 week ago
I was just thinking the same! Looks like any new housing development I’ve seen in Australia. Assuming all those houses are semis, they’ve still got decent backyard space. Although I think this is a generated image.
Load More Replies... keyboardtek 4 months ago
What? North Korean government builds homes for its people? So it does one thing better than the USA!
Forrest Hobbs 4 months ago (edited)
1) North Korean government is in charge of everything in North Korea. 2) That looks like CGI, not photography. If it's really North Korean, I'd guess it's faked up for internal propaganda purposes to make North Koreans think that their government is doing something good for the people. America's favorite orange rápist might be dreadful, but he's better than Kim Jong Un. (yes I did mean to mis-spell favourite...)
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#28
Because Of Heavy Worm Traffic Arrakeen Is No Longer A Safe City For Pedestrians
#29
Caste System For Cities
QMechanicsVisionary:
Japan is actually so ugly. It's literally concrete hell, made even worse by the fact that the buildings are old and bland. I have no idea why it's so revered - at least from an aesthetic point of view.
Forrest Hobbs 4 months ago
Where would you let your primary school child travel to school alone? Japan or India? Many Japanese cities might be ugly, but they're clean and safe.
#30
Place 🤮... Place, Japan 😍
#31
Evil Manhattan Be Like
#32
Disgusting
Rich Black 3 months ago
but now we have jobs on billionaires yachts. before we were subsistence fishermen, with no electricity or medical care.
keyboardtek 4 months ago
Is this a yacht club on the French Riviera? Yes ,so disgusting that only the super rich want to live there.
#34
Clean And Safe, M*slim Country: 🤮 Clean And Safe, Japan: 😍
#35
Apartments Surrounded By Nature 🤮🤮🤮
Auntriarch 4 months ago
I rather liked the soviet era blocks of flats in Warsaw. The weren't high rise, they had big park/green areas around each block with children play areas, and they were still in good condition. So they already won over blocks I've seen in UK.
#37
Portland, OR. Then And Now. Utterly Disgraceful
StretcherBearer 4 months ago
Such an urban librul drag queen anarchist murder filled d**g town and other right wing never-been-there but so frightening insults.
#38
Not A Single Car! No Traffic At All. Japan Is The Future ^___^
#39
Train, USA 🤮🤮🤮 Densha, Nippon 😍😍😍
Stannous Flouride 4 months ago
It means "Women Only Car" because women get molested on the mixed cars. TBF- Many other cities in other countries have the same thing because so many men are $hitheads.
#41
Place: Place, Japan: 😍🌸🌸🌸
Lyone Fein 4 months ago
Weird . . . . Also, there are plenty of other places more beautiful than Taj Mahal in India.
keyboardtek 4 months ago
And surrounding the Taj Mahal are crumbling slums.
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#42
Urbanhell Posters Be Like
Anon:
I LOVE BIG TALL BUILDINGS MADE OF CONCRETE AND GLASS I LOVE LIVING IN A SOCIETY CAPABLE OF CREATING SUCH STRUCTURES.
#43
2 Post From Same Guy💀
Stannous Flouride 4 months ago
Parked next to George Jetson's flying one.
Load More Replies... #44
I Think I Mightve Pissed Off The Weeaboos 💀
#45
San Fierro, San Andreas 🤮
#46
Look How Dark And Gray This Photo Is. What An Awful Place To Be
Bookworm 4 months ago (edited)
I'm most likely moving next year and I too dread ending up living in a place that's in black and white and gray .
keyboardtek 4 months ago
Take a look at the Black and White pics of New York city. They all look so depressing.
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#47
Amazing Public Transit And Walkable Streets In Nairobi, Japan 🎀🐱
#49
God Forbid A City Develops
Ece Cenker 4 months ago
This isn't development. There literally is NOT an iota of "development" in human living conditions from one concretification to the next.
#50
We Got Outjerked Again
#51
North Korea 🥰compared To Europe🤮
Giulia Fortunati 4 months ago
I don't exactly think Paris is in North Corea!
Load More Replies... #52
I Know It's Not Fair To Compare The Us To Europe, But I Think This Meme Says A Lot
JayWantsACat 4 months ago
Obvioulsy the joke is showing the worst parts in one and the good parts in the other. BUt you could obviously swap that and the reverse would be true.
Forrest Hobbs 4 months ago
JayWantsACat: the (slightly) more subtle joke is that you can take a photograph of any part of Brussels and it looks awful. Even the best bits are ugly. Don't take my word for it - ask the inhabitants.
Load More Replies... London Paris 4 months ago
Yeah, I've BEEN to New York so I can confidently say this meme is HIGHLY selective in its use of imagery.
Greenkitty 4 months ago
I've been to Berlin and there is no place like what is shown I the picture.
Toni Ahlgren 4 months ago
That's really impressive. Must've been quite the task to scout every single inch of Berlin.
Load More Replies... #53
Park For The Public In Egypt😡😷👎, Home For The Monarchy In Japan 😄🥰👍
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