“$58 Billion Ghost City”: 50 Shocking ‘Urban Hell’ Photos That Expose The Price Of Modern Life (New Pics)

Ramchandra canal in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, which has been cleaned up and restored in 72 hours as part of ongoing efforts to clean up revitalise Bangladeshi canals. Led by NGOs with sponsorship from a bank and support from the government and the city corporation. Hopefully we can keep it this way!

Beijing’s Liangma River went from a dry, cracked canal in the late ’90s to a green, thriving part of the city by 2025. Clean water, tree-lined walkways, and modern buildings from city planning.

Rows upon endless rows of identical bland and monotonous, perfectly symmetrical houses in a newly opened countryside residential complex in North Korea.

Fixing a problem with a problem.

📍Kajaani, Finland

Planned as a solution to Cairo’s congestion, the NAC aims to house government buildings, embassies, and millions of residents. The trip itself was an experience—an hour-long Uber ride from Cairo, passing through three security checkpoints before entering. Security presence was unmistakable: police, military patrols, and constant surveillance. Yet, aside from them and a few gardeners, the city felt almost deserted.

However, despite its scale, the NAC raises concerns about affordability, social impact, and whether it will truly alleviate Cairo’s urban pressures or remain a prestige project benefiting a select few.

Urbanist and architect Yasser Elsheshtawy captures this sentiment well.

Makati is the financial district of the Philippines. Recently someone saw a person coming out of a very narrow ditch. Another person chimed in with their own sightings.

We don't know yet why people are there, how many people are there, and where this narrow canal leads to. According to the post, it's possible that the narrow canal leads to wider canals.

Now, authorities are patching the openings and closing the ditch entrances.

I knew of documentaries of people living in waterways but this ditch is very narrow.

I tried to show poverty without showing Roma/refugee camps, Ik it’s just screenshots, but i lost my phone and lost the old photos i had. I still wanna visit sometime soon, most of its beautiful but let’s not ignore that there is still very real poverty in southern Italy.

The building in question is BRAC university campus located in Dhaka | Photo by arekta_photogram on Instagram.

In 1954, a thin wedge-shaped building was erected by architects Salah and Fawzi Itani on a 120 sq m plot in Beirut, Lebanon at the request of a man wanting to spoil the sea view of his brother after they failed to agree to jointly develop their neighboring plots. The street facade appears to be an ordinary apartment building, but is 60 cm at the narrowest and four meters at the widest. It is known as Al Ba'sa (The Middle Finger) and formerly as The Queen Mary due to its resemblance to the cruise ship.

"White Magnolia", Batumi, Georgia

During this decade, the city gained notoriety for high rates of crime and social disorders; the city’s subway system was regarded as unsafe and dangerous, and people were warned not to walk the streets after 6 PM. Prostitutes and pimps frequented Times Square, while Central Park became feared as the site of muggings and harassment.