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This Group Is Dedicated To Sharing Examples Of “Urban Hell,” Here Are The 30 Worst Ones (New Pics)
Interview With Expert
Cities are fascinating places, a culmination of history, architecture and human design, both good and bad simultaneously. Some even are said to have a life and spirit of their own, but like everything we make, there are also downsides.
The “Urban Hell” online group is dedicated to sharing images from some of the most dystopian-looking places that humans have put together. We got in touch with Professor Alan March from the Melbourne School of Design to learn more. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Garbage In A Canal, Basrah, Iraq
KJ Nower 1 year ago
Sanitation and garbage collection isn't what it was pre-war, thank the Americans for that!
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sbj 1 year ago
I feel sick to my stomach just imagining the stench and all the flies around there
Kat 1 year ago
My husband is a war veteran. And he often complained about how bad it smelt there. And whenever something smells really bad;he says "smells like Iraq."
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Jessica Bertram 1 year ago
This. Everyone talking about how gross it is, but no one says a word about WHY it is this way. As if the western world didn't help create this by wilfully destabilizing the country.
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der sebbl 1 year ago
Well, the USA invaded the Iraq in 2003 and occupied the country untill 2011. Maybe the occupiers could have done something? Maybe with all the oil money?
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RELATED:
#2
"Me First!!!!" Mentality (In Viet Nam Btw)
Evan 1 year ago
i went to bali on a vacation, and this is literally the traffic. There arent even traffic lights
sbj 1 year ago
I can't cope with the selfish way people drive in the country where I live at junctions but if I experienced this I would get out my car and just lie on the floor crying
Bexxxx 1 year ago
The cars would just drive around you 😂 I’d get out and lay down and cry with you
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TheGoodBoi 1 year ago
Looks like one of the traffic lights is red. Maybe they're working but no one cares? No idea.
#3
Residential Units In Hong Kong
Quwiyint 1 year ago
This is what I was talking about in above post, this kind of stuff is soul crushingly depressing.
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
This looks far less depressing to me than the picture of Mesa, Arizona. To house the same number of people as these blocks you would need to cover tens of thousands of acres with bland, cheaply constructed housing that destroys the habitat for as far as the eye can see.
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Suck it Trebek 1 year ago
This looks so depressing. Like a bunch of chickens shoved into cops with no room or privacy. I really think I would leap out a window to my death. I wonder how many suicides there are in this building alone.
shankShaw deReemer 1 year ago
Imagine if it goes out and you're ready to go home on one of the tippy-too floors,?
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Bored Panda got in touch with Professor Alan March from the Melbourne School of Design, who specializes in Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction. He was kind enough to share some of his thoughts on bad urban design and “urban hell.” Firstly, we wanted to hear what common misconceptions about this field he has encountered.
“That planners have control over all aspects of cities and towns! We don’t – we are but one actor in a complex system of developers, bureaucrats, other government departments, politicians and other interest groups. We don’t really have that much power,” he shared. After all, some of the “worst” offenders emerge without any planning or authority, like the favelas of Latin America.
#4
Agbobloshie (Ghana) This Suburb Of Accra Is Western Europe's Preferred Dumping Ground For Electronic Waste. Population Affected: +40,000
Rinso The Red 1 year ago
Here's the really sad part. It is, by children and homeless peoples.
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Surralvampi 1 year ago
This is literally Cyberpunk live...... What an absolute tragedy. We need a flipping global solution!
The Original Bruno 1 year ago
Apparently, the allegation is largely untrue. "While numerous international press reports have made reference to allegations that the majority of exports to Ghana are dumped, research by the US International Trade Commission found little evidence of unprocessed e-waste being shipped to Africa from the United States, a finding corroborated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Memorial University, Arizona State University, UNEP, and other research."
Martin Gürtel 1 year ago
Okay, so where do you think the electronic waste from the United States will be taken? To South America?
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frederick clause 1 year ago
And thanks to Windows 11 Microsoft wants to greatly increase those piles.
ShadySlytherin 1 year ago
Are you talking to Europe? Cause this is their mess
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#5
The Border Between The Brazilian City Of "Manaus" And The Amazon Rainforest
TheAmericanAmerican 1 year ago (edited)
Well J, you know what you must do... Pack up your death metal band, fly them to Brazil, and create your epic album Manaus in Manaus 😝🤘
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Binky Melnik 1 year ago
I see an awful lotta sad, soul-crushing photos of Brazil, like the fancy highrises that look out on the favelas, or the fancy shopping area that overlook the favelas, or this one. Brazil sure is fond of lines of demarcation, isn’t it? 🤔
#6
Smog At The River In New Delhi - No, That Is Not Ice On The Water
meh 1 year ago (edited)
Industrial pollutants in the river Yamuna, Delhi.
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Amanda Moore 1 year ago
If it's toxic foam I wonder what the people are actually doing by it? Hopefully not actually touching it or getting the water to use. That'd just be horrible.
Donald 1 year ago
I guarantee you people still regularly bathe in that river and drink the water too. The Ganges is a boarder line open air sewer and millions upon millions of Indians travel there ever year to bathe in its holy waters.
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Caessy Meschar 1 year ago
that reminds me of the 70s in east germany. that's how the foam stood on the rivers in the gdr, all the rivers were gray and nothing lived in them. now everything is full of life again and all the sewage is cleaned. many people try to live as environmentally friendly as possible, but especially when you have little money by german standards, it's very difficult.
Casey Payne 1 year ago
They won't need that bridge for much longer. At this point, you can almost walk to the other side.
Charity Angel 1 year ago
Terry Pratchett was supposed to be making a *point* about pollution in the River Ankh, not a *goal*
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Keith Lancaster 1 year ago
Water can produce foam like that naturally. Though, I doubt that this is natural or healthy to be honest. Looks an awful lot like pollution.
Jrog 1 year ago (edited)
Industrial waste foam from the Yamuna River, a tributary of the Ganges. Local factories dump byproducts of chemical processes in the river, that has the highest content of ammonia and phosphates in the world making it ecologically dead. Also, the river is a recipient for the city's wastewaters, including untreated sewage, and parts of the river are used to dump waste, including a good share of the plastics that make their way to the ocean.
Jrog 1 year ago
What's worst, is the connection to the Ganges is *upstream* from the site where pilgrims have to bathe to follow their religious precepts, and the pollution doesn't stop pilgrims from taking the bath or even drinking the water. Every year are documented outbreaks of dysentery, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis among the pilgrims.
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“That we sit in front of drawing boards designing towns and cities. Well, we sometimes do, but mostly not. We actually have diverse tasks: regulations and policy (writing and administering), running meetings, project management, legal processes, advising politicians, economic analysis, heritage and so forth,” he added.
#7
Trash Next To La Saline Market, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
Libstak 1 year ago
Sorry but is there ANY part of Haiti that is remotely liveable at this point....there is no rule of law there besides the gun and machete.
rullyman 1 year ago
There's a fantastic permaculture project called Grown In Haiti, working to plant food forests and connect local people with the land so they support themselves. They have a campaign at the moment where you can adopt a tree.
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Suck it Trebek 1 year ago
This is heartbreaking to see. How are human beings supposed to live in these circumstances? We need to help more people in this world.
Kenneth Smith 1 year ago
Agree with those who say that it's pretty much everywhere in Haiti. Going there was quite a shocking experience.
Joanne Earle 1 year ago
Go ahead and downvote me, I don't care, but I call this place Port Au Potty.
#8
Income Inequality In Mumbai, India
Libstak 1 year ago
It breaks my heart knowing babies are being born into that abomination of an existence every freaking hour.
E.V. 1 year ago
And they had that lavish wedding recently. The Indian billionaires flaunting their wealth while the majority of their people live in squalor. At least have the decency to not parade around town in millions of dollars worth of goods and splashed all over the media.
TheAmericanAmerican 1 year ago
And how's that any different from the American, European, and Asian Billionaires flaunting their stolen wealth on the daily?
Load More Replies... Miranda Veracruz de la Joya Cardenal 1 year ago
That's what happens when the middle class disappears in order to defeat socialism
Binky Melnik 1 year ago
Had I not been told what this was, I’d have assumed it’s yet another photo of Brazil where the people are protected from the favelas. 😰
#9
Milano, Italy
Alex 1 year ago
You should see what they plan to do to the historic Liverpool St Railway Station and Hotel in London, UK.
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Leonard Hamers 1 year ago
If they would paint it all the same colour it could be an interesting object...
He had some more misconceptions to share. “That we are officious and want to make peoples’ lives difficult. In fact, most of us really want to help people as well as having the public good in mind. We chose the profession for that reason. Often, saying “no” to someone or something is in favor of collective outcomes.”
#10
The Michigan Theater In Detroit. Closed In 1976 And Gutted To Put A 3 Story Parking Garage Inside. Many Remnants Of It Remain
EP 1 year ago
Whoa! This is just wrong. What happened to making it a library of a Starbucks lol. I’ve seen both of those repurposes in online pics. This could have been a multi store site if need be. Even a new car dealership all pretty and clean would be better than dirty garage!
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
A damp building that is uninhabitable is unlikely to be a suitable venue for a library, even if there was a requirement for one that size at that exact time. Multi-storey Starbucks was definitely not a thing in 1976. It wasn't even something that would have been imagined.
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David 1 year ago
This entry isn't that fair. It isn't like someone took a grand, wonderful theater and made a parking garage. Rather, a grand theater was built in 1925, eventually floundered, then several attempts were made at getting it going again by different people - as a theater, as a night club, as a venue for rock concerts. They all failed and by the end the place was pretty trashed. "Parking garage" only happened after a lot of money and failed attempts at saving the theater. There is an interesting article about its history here: https://www.historicdetroit.org/buildings/michigan-theatre
Mike F 1 year ago
Detroit lost so many movie houses. The Riviera was beautiful, the Norwest was a great cheap theater, but the area became "the hood" for both theaters. Up (inbound) Grand River had a bunch of beautiful places that just could no longer be supported and they closed. There were lots of reasons for their demise not the least of which was the advent of multi screen theaters. They were also hellishly expensive to maintain, so that didn't help in the efforts to revive some of them.
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PostState Globe 1 year ago (edited)
I see negative comments...but remember, this is Detroit, a fallen victim of Free Trade Agreements where cheap labor was found elsewhere to meet the demand of global mass consumerism...in this case, the car industry. It will happen again and again if we don't stop mindless spending. Perhaps in this case...US corporations should only hire US laborers, to maintain wealth inside its borders?
#11
Somewhere Along The Karachi Circular Railway, Pakistan
Jennik 1 year ago
"The River Ankh is probably the only river in the universe on which the investigators can chalk the outline of the corpse."
rullyman 1 year ago
There was much less pollution before companies like Coca-Cola came in and introduced coke in plastic bottles
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A Concrete Jungle Somewhere In China
Paul Brown 1 year ago
Who are all those people on the roof of that building? They're all dressed the same, is it a prison?
Captain McSmoot 1 year ago
Is anyone else reminded of those buildings in the N64 game Firefox?
Olga Sushko 1 year ago
Nothing wrong with that. There's a huge population in China, and they have to live somewhere. They have a school at a walking distance. And to me, living in a high-rise is much better than in a private house
Caessy Meschar 1 year ago
in china there is a city that has room for several million people and looks like the one in the picture, but only a few hundred people live there. i would be afraid to live in a city like that. it must feel like being in a ghost town.
“For example: “No, you can’t demolish a heritage structure, even though you own the land, because the cultural significance of that is of significance to the wider community”. Alternatively, “Yes, that is an old building, but it doesn’t really have any cultural or heritage significance, so the developer is allowed to demolish it to provide more housing in keeping with our elected government’s policy”.”
#13
Polluted Haze Above Dubai
Ken Beattie 1 year ago
One interesting side effect of that level of pollution is you don't need as much sun burn cream. Visited a couple Asian cities a long time ago and the pollution was hell, but I could also go a full day in the sun (for what it's worth) with no sunburn cream without burning.
olaff 422 1 year ago
Dubai is all that is wrong with the world. Be sure to get a good sniff of the poop trucks, and take a tour of the slave pens.
Piper 1 year ago
Dubai is an absolute illustration of the Haves and Have Nots.
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Let Me Introduce You To My Hometown Of Duisburg In Germany
Bored Birgit 1 year ago
Duisburg looks way better than this. Industry, yes, factories, yes, but also much green, nice houses, nice environment.
Piper 1 year ago
The way it’s dissipating, even with the dramatic filter, I think it’s steam. I could be wrong, wouldn’t be the first time, but I have been around a lot of stacks in my career and this isn’t looking like smoke.
Load More Replies... Casey Payne 1 year ago
Here is a good example of the "Dramatic" filter on your phones camera. Life is muted but the rust really stands out. There are also the "Dramatic Cool" and "Dramatic Warm" filters as well. In case you DON'T want your pictures to all look like they've been taken in a dystopian hellscape, there are also the "Vibrant" filters to play with.
#15
Near The Flea Market, Marseilles, France
StretcherBearer 1 year ago
I was gonna say the same thing but using Portland and Seattle or Phoenix or...
Load More Replies... Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Hard to differentiate the items for sale from the trash (which I think is the stuff on the left hand side)
We were also curious to hear about some examples of poor urban planning from his perspective. “Non-integrated services. Examples include train timetables and physical connections that don’t connect with buses. Unsafe places, particularly for the vulnerable,” he shared.
#16
Island Heat Effect ✨
Upstaged75 1 year ago
Pasay City, Philippines - if you click on the small gray text under the left of the pic you can get more info.
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Imreallyjustaghost 1 year ago
For those wondering: "These heat islands form because urban surfaces such as roadways and rooftops absorb and emit heat to a greater extent than most natural surfaces. On a warm day with a temperature of 91°F, conventional roofing materials may reach as high as 60°F warmer than air temperatures" Source: https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/learn-about-heat-islands#:~:text=These%20heat%20islands%20form%20because,F%20warmer%20than%20air%20temperatures.
The Original Bruno 1 year ago
"Heat islands" make measuring global warming very difficult. Their effect can be intense, as much as 30 degrees F. Alarmists and denialists are arguing about whether 1 degree F has taken place. Given that much climate data was collected from airports, which tend to be near cities, there's been an intense war over whether the airports are affected by heat islands and whether that effect has grown or diminished. Your "average temperature" measurement is nowhere close to raw data, but has been subject to numerous attempts to statistically adjust data in the face of challenges like this. Satellite data isn't easier: To me, the best evidence for the fact that warming is anthropogenic and global in nature as opposed to local heat islands was actually the fact that the satellites have upper layers of the atmosphere have cooled. Variations in solar output are real, and there are way more solar storms in the past century than during "the LIttle Ice Age" of a couple hundred years ago,but...
The Original Bruno 1 year ago
... if global warming is natural, why is the upper atmosphere cooling?
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Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
True, but there are buildings, especially older ones, where it is impossible to install it.
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Mirny, Yakutia, Russia
User# 6 1 year ago
It's an open diamond mine. The whole town sprung up around it.
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Binky Melnik 1 year ago
I can’t begin to fathom how many people (especially children!) go missing in this area. Me, I’d faint before getting within 50 feet of it.
#18
Mesa, Arizona, USA
Mason Denton 1 year ago
Mesa. AZ is a hole filled by those who cannot afford 15 minutes away. Phoenix is the new Detroit.
Verena 1 year ago
Instead of this gigantic, overheating, endless concrete desert, where everybody is wasting water with their individual pools, a handful of well designed, climate-controlled appartement buildings would occupy a tenth of that space, with a park surrounding them.
Tristan J 1 year ago
My neighbours would get more annoyed when I play drums, which is required for my work.
Load More Replies... Stephanie A Mutti 1 year ago
I realize it's sprawl and repetitive, but those look like perfectly fine houses
Manana Man 1 year ago
Looks like heaven compared to that picture from Pakistan
Load More Replies... Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
We lived in Mesa when its population was about 10% or so of what it is now. Glad we left when we did. We're back to a part of the country that has four seasons. I wouldn't live anywhere else.
Jan Moore 1 year ago
Currently in SE MO it was 88 this afternoon. Sometimes you can get all 4 seasons in one day. The saying is "if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute and it'll change"
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Guess Undheit 1 year ago
All those sheet paper "houses" could have been replaced with 50 apartment buildings fifteen storeys tall, and left 90% of that land as open parks. And people have the nerve to criticize how the Soviets used to build their cities. 9_9 soviet-apa...561112.jpg 
Skara Brae 1 year ago (edited)
If anyone is curious, the long google maps link below will show you a satellite picture of the dead-end street that is visible at the lower-left corner of the picture above. If anyone wonders why people in the US drive everywhere instead of walking, scrolling around the map should make it clear. It's not that people like driving everwhere, it's that there are few affordable options for owning (not renting) a home in a walkable community. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mesa,+AZ/@32.8674038,-111.7644492,152782m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x872ba7c2c0c592c1:0xd10fc215694e771b!8m2!3d33.4151843!4d-111.8314724!16zL20vMHFwbjk?entry=ttu
“Increasing inequity of services, manifest in spatial distribution and exacerbated by concentrations of wealth or lower income across cities. This is increasingly leading to intergenerational inequity.” For many readers, the classic “slum” comes to mind, while wealthier people live in fully separated neighborhoods.
#19
Anti-Homeless Spikes In Guangzhou, China
Lee 1 year ago
If I were to be homeless in China I'd try bed down behind a fence at night or something, can't imagine to the police being super sympathetic to anyone that beats these spikes by using a piece of plywood.
Load More Replies... Jennik 1 year ago
"Communism is an economic ideology that advocates for a classless society in which all property and wealth are communally owned, instead of being owned by individuals." Not going so well, is it.
Bookworm 1 year ago
This is not just a Chinese thing. The U.S is full of hostile architecture like this. Every time you see an armrest across the middle of a public bench, picture this, because it was put there for exactly the same reason.
jasper 1 year ago
I mean, yes, but good heavens, some cities have such large groups of homeless people clogging up areas, I don't blame them for putting up deterrents. My city is a prime example- they have no real restrictions and there are whole areas that are scary to pass through. The trash and d***s are beyond comprehension. It's disgusting.
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Timbob 1 year ago
One-off those egg shell mattress toppers, upside down, would be perfect here .
Piper 1 year ago
The thing is you aren’t going to go against the Chinese government. You just don’t.
Load More Replies... kelsischloe1986 1 year ago
It's irritating how humans disparage our own kind. Pointing out issues, illnesses, addictions, and troubles we may have. When we have everything right here to help our fellow man, woman, and child. Every resource on this planet to help all and allow us to all be taken care of and thrive. Yet somehow it's a knee jerk reaction to dismiss and condemn our own people that just don't know how to manage existing. The lack of understanding and compassion and empathy that we all have is hideous. It's also selfishness mixed in there as well. For some awful reason we're going out of our way to make things even worse for those who are already struggling with their lives. By putting spikes on areas so people can't sleep. It's massively inhumane and wrong.
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🦄 Unicorn Princess 1 year ago
So, are they giving those that are homeless a home or somewhere to sleep since they are taking places away?
#20
An Empty 20 Lane Highway In Naypyidav, Myanmar
Full of Giggles 1 year ago
The history of this city is…interesting. The city was planned and designed to house roughly 6 million. Its current population is only about 775,000.
Sunny Day 1 year ago
Still better planning than here. "Let's build a new school!" OK, how big should it be? --- and they hire people to do surveys and check population etc. And some 10 years later the school has been built - and it's too small because they built it for the population 10 years ago and now it's increased by 30%.
Load More Replies... Skara Brae 1 year ago
Maybe there were too many potholes in the next lane over.
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DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
I was going to say this, and also explained it pretty well.
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Shayne Randlett 1 year ago
The chicken took one look, said "F*ck that!", turned around and went home
#21
Los Angeles, From Above
QijianSanek 1 year ago
idk why but something about seeing urban sprawl is kind of beautiful to me
kelsischloe1986 1 year ago
Why you're being downvoted is crazy! Here's an upvote because I find it intriguing in some ways. How we live on earth, the things we've created, the things we've destroyed. Seeing our own footprint on the world is very interesting and sometimes it can be sad to. Or even upsetting looking at photographs of how we do things. All in all, this kind of photography is eye opening and raw and that's why I like it.
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AnnwylTheBloodyLovesFerghus 1 year ago (edited)
This is a major city that houses millions of people. What's the issue here? This is basically only the downtown and surrounding areas. There are countless other neighborhoods with various types of environments. Only one of the things you don't see here is Elysian park which is below the bottom left of the photo. Dodger Stadium (shown), is at the edge of the park. The park is a bit of wilderness in the middle of urban sprawl. It is not the only one. Griffith Park houses an observatory, zoo, golf course, beautiful merry-go-round, countless picnic areas, bird sanctuary, an awesome open air world famous theater, miles of wild untouched hills, hiking trails, all manner of wildlife, and even homes on the edges. Yes, Los Angeles is huge. Yes, there's a lot wrong, but this photo is not all of it. Nor is it really representative. Heck, even the cemeteries are beautiful.
JM 1 year ago
I once saw a billboard in Encino, CA, U.S. that read "California population: way too many"
Sherry Errera 1 year ago (edited)
This is actually false, but ok California is what it is.
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Skip Reynolds 1 year ago
Thanks for the explanation. I never would've known it's "from above."
Other examples included “Car dependency along with poor public transport, obesity and food deserts in poorer areas where there is a lot of high calorie-low nutrient-low cost food available, contributing to climate change emissions. A lack of community due to insufficient or poorly designed public realm spaces for a diverse range of people.”
#22
Built Up Tunnel In Napoli
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago
Change the lightening, repaint, and I bet tourists would gladly stay there...
Anna Briggs 1 year ago
I came to the comments looking for someone to mention stray. So glad someone did!
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Toni Ahlgren 1 year ago
The Spanish Quarter was full of inner courtyards like this and the apartment we stayed was highly livable. Also, I doubt it's an actual tunnel.
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
I could almost expect to see Inspector Maigret coming down those stairs, but this is Italy, not France.
#23
Downtown Houston In The 1970s Was Just A Massive Parking Lot
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
Behold, the Lost City of Asus! The-Ancien...4bbbea.jpg 
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago (edited)
That's not a city, that's a recipe for heatstroke...
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
I've been in Houston in the summer, and I'd rather be in Atlanta!
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trollingergirl 1 year ago
Have they invented parking garages in the meantime? Maybe they should take a look at White Plains...
Big Jacket Smith 1 year ago
I literally thought this was a mother board before I read the text
RosenCranzLives 1 year ago
That's one of the reasons Texas is so plagued by flooding - all the places that used to absorb rainwater is paved over.
#24
Guryong Village In Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea
MotherRobinson 1 year ago
Just heard the song in your comment now playing in my head
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#25
Airbnb Listing Says “Posh Location” - Bangkok, Thailand
Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
That red building must have all those air conditioners to try to filter out the stench from next door.
Calvin Smelliott 1 year ago (edited)
Only if “posh” is what happens when vomit hits the ground.
Regina Holt 1 year ago
Posh. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means
Ken Beattie 1 year ago
Bangkok was weird, you'd have a four star hotel and right next to it a street like this (or worse). So posh area could be right.
Mary Kelly 1 year ago
i bet it's scrupulously clean inside...looks at the curtains in the windows on either side...that trash looks new and clean, ready for reuse...mold just grows on the outsides of the buildings in that climate...
#26
Which Urban Hell Do Y’all Prefer, American Hell Or Chinese Hell?
Quwiyint 1 year ago
Something about the lifeless 10,000 story tall mashed together apartment buildings in places like Hong Kong and China terrifies me. It's absolutely soulless and depressing.
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
This strangely horrifies me less than the thousands of acres of soulless suburbs and shameful hidden trailer parks that we (rightly or wrongly) associate with the USA.
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ThisIsMyDisplayName 1 year ago
Americans seem to be mostly complaining about all the houses looking the same, but they do seem to be actual houses with gardens that people can individualize however they like. You can't do that with tower blocks. That would depress the hell out of me (and I have lived in one)..
LargeMarge 1 year ago
I'll take that American Hell for 100, Alex. I can say that because I live in the states and I have lived in more than one state, and all have been cities. I currently live in the middle of the city, so trust me, an American Hell sound and looks lovely compared to that.
Nikki Gross 1 year ago
I'll take American Hell because in a lot of cities you can have a mix of architecture instead of endless buildings that all look the same. It's also one of the reasons I like to live in the South instead of the West or the Southwest and not just because of cost of living. They have endless housing additions that all look the same and are as cookie cutter as you can get. Yes, some states do have that type of housing but it isn't all there is and the only choice you have. I'm 20 minutes from Downtown OKC and my city has a 70,000 pop thanks TAFB, but you can still live in areas with older housing additions like mine that have big yards or newer ones that are closer together. Metro OKC is pretty spread out, which sucks for public transportation in some areas, but at least you aren't stuck in an urban hellhole. We may have a lot of issues, but at least that isn't one of them.
#27
Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
Amy Manzanares 1 year ago
I find the majority of these opinions to be ignorant and in poor taste.
My O My 1 year ago
A church....in the middle of nowhere....with a huuuuge parking lot.... My european mind can't anymore
nbfresh 1 year ago
i'm in US and this makes me want to vomit because i also just can't....
Load More Replies... StretcherBearer 1 year ago (edited)
I have ancestors and family past and present in the church and I don't agree with it. They are always announcing new temples and people are sleeping in the streets. How bout using the tithed money for shelters or housing or pay taxes ( tax exemption for religion is ridiculous if a church turns a profit) instead of these expensive buildings.
Mother Of Birb 1 year ago
Hello! You can read about the church helping others here :) https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2023/03/22/lds-church-upped-its-charitable/ this is NOT a church run news outlet. https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/press-release/2024/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-donates-7M-to-the-american-red-cross.html Neither is this. I went to Salt Lake City and the church had areas for the homeless to apply for jobs. They also had self help classes. They really are trying.
Load More Replies... Mother Of Birb 1 year ago
The inside of this temple is absolutely beautiful! https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/saratoga-springs-utah-temple/photographs/
michael Chock 1 year ago
The mormon temple. Essentially men pay the church to marry as many women as they can afford from their catalog. Not all Mormons are this extreme.
David 1 year ago
The scary part is those houses around the temple. Probably has an HOA from hell. I'm sure to live there you have to be in good standing and probably high up in the church and if you don't toe the line you lose your house.
Mother Of Birb 1 year ago
This isn’t true. In our church one of the questions asked when you get a temple recommend is “Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord’s house and participate in temple ordinances?“ It was explained to me when I hesitated at this question that anybody who is striving and honestly putting forth effort to follow the Lord (along with following a few commandments) is worthy to enter his Temple. There is no scale of worthiness or required role in the church to get into the temple. I’m not high up in the church at all! But I am completely welcome in the House of the Lord. I feel so close to him while there. The HOA has no way to deny you access to your home or temple :)
Load More Replies... #28
Every Building You See Is A Parking Garage. White Plains, NY
Virginia Mayer Bpositivo 1 year ago
Well, White Plains is the closest, largest city to Manhattan and many people commute on the train, so this makes sense. It is, however, a beautiful area among woods.
The Original Bruno 1 year ago
Not sure about this but given where White Plains is, this is almost certainly where people drive towards New York City, leave their car off, and switch to commuter rail because there isn't parking in the city.
Alan Foster 1 year ago
Unfortunately, a program of "urban renewal" begun in the 1970s saw the demolition of most of the old buildings in downtown White Plains and their replacement with these modern monstrosities.
Sherry Errera 1 year ago
And so started the era ugly architecture with these abominations in the late 70's. I remember it began in the DC area with the metro statiions that spidered out into the MD and NOVA suburbs.
David 1 year ago
Westchester County requires all offices to have a certain amount of parking, however there are land usage rules, so they build up. However, you do not find this many clustered together outside of a Metro North Rail Station, which is the way to get into NYC for work, so this is likely just a place people drive from their upper middle class suburban areas to take a train into NYC
Andy Frobig 1 year ago
When I lived in the Bronx, I'd sometimes drive up to White Plains to shop; there was a Walmart across the street from a Target, and it looked a lot like this. Most of the suburban train stations along Metro North and the LIRR are low rise, old fashioned stations with parking lots. As I recall, White Plains fits that mold
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#29
Newcastle, England 1970s
Ace 1 year ago
They're all boarded up, nobody lives there. Almost certainly due for demolition and redevelopment. History shows that in many cases money would have been better spent bringing them all up to modern standards - the replacements were often worse, and in many cases they too have become unpleasant undesirable areas and have by now mostly been torn down and replaced all over again.
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Adrian 1 year ago (edited)
Towns like this were built around coal mines to house the miners. It's not a bad thing that we're less reliant on coal...
Piglet 1 year ago
True, however in the case of Newcastle, the main industry was shipbuilding. Like coal mining, shipbuilding in the North East stopped many years ago. There are, unfortunately, still a lot of deprived areas from both of these industries' demise.
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michael reid 1 year ago
Most towns in northern England have areas like this. Terraced houses built for miners. Nowadays they're usually sink estates
Charity Angel 1 year ago
Or mill workers. We were cotton central for the Empire, back in the day. It's the damp climate - apparently it's great for weaving because it reduces the risk of the cotton drying out and snapping. (Also, decent flowing rivers = power)
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Barbara Wilcock 1 year ago
This is a very typical street in the UK. The houses are surprisingly roomy
Danielle 1 year ago
It's on here because they are boarded up rather than saying they are bad in themselves I think
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El Dee 1 year ago
Cheap workers housing from early 1900s England didn't have 'foundations' but merely 'spreader walls' This meant lots of them had cracks in the walls after a few decades. Despite how they looked it was WAY cheaper to tear them down rather than refurb them. But now much of what was built to replace them is coming down too..
Richienotsorich 1 year ago
I'm just hearing a trumpet and seeing a kid in shorts pushing his bike up t'hill wi' bread in't basket.
#30
Newly Completed World Trade Centre 1973
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago (edited)
There was a joke at the time: "Welcome to NYC, home of the two most beautiful modern constructions in the world: The Empire State and the Chrysler buildings... and the boxes they came in."
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
I always thought they were an eyesore. Nowadays, though, pictures of them are poignant.
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The Original Bruno 1 year ago
This is the rubble from construction. Believe me, the place was cleaned up.
Andy Frobig 1 year ago
The nasty land in the foreground wasn't there fifteen, maybe even ten years previously. Everything west of West Street and south of Chambers is fill from the foundation of the WTC
#31
Los Angeles
Kate 1 year ago
Nah, this is normal during the day. Gets much worse during drive time, though.
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Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
Scenes like this are why I left the metro area I lived in for many years. I just couldn't stand that crowded place anymore. I now live about 50 miles away in a small city. Our "rush hour" is about 10 minutes long. It's great!
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
Or Atlanta's Downtown Connector. There is no such thing as a good time to drive it.
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#32
Somewhere In South Korea
Sheri Lytle 1 year ago
I would be so afraid to leave my apartment, I would never find my way back
Mohsie Supposie 1 year ago
You are not meant to find your way back. You are meant to get the hell out of there and NEVER look back!
Load More Replies... Regina Holt 1 year ago
i woild hope they have good public transportation, otherwise, where would they all park their cars?
Paul Brown 1 year ago
I don't understand how people can live like that. I guess they don't have much choice.
Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
No wonder there are so many crazy people in the world. I'd go crazy if I had to live here. 😬
#33
Flying Into La For The First Time
Becky Samuel 1 year ago (edited)
Horrific. This area was originally popular because of its great natural beauty. Way to go humans.
Maim 1 year ago
Everyone wants everywhere to maintain its beauty, and be sprawling green they see in their heads. But then these same people want to move there, shop there, work there, drive there, etc. What does anyone expect? Also, this looks like a lot of places you fly into.
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sofacushionfort 1 year ago
I first flew in at night in 1985. As we passed over a neighborhood park I saw over 50 guys in a huge donnybrook fight.
#34
Largest Office Building In The World In Surat
Agfox 1 year ago
I looked this place up, it's in Surat, India, the World's largest diamond manufacturing centre. This is the Diamond Bourse, the world's largest diamond trading hub with a floor space of 660,000 sq m (7,100,000 sq ft)
Regina Holt 1 year ago
don't buy mined diamonds. so bad for so many reasons. Buy lab-grown diamonds. better for the planet and not jacked up prices by DeBeers
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#35
Saw This In Chicago Today. On The Lawn Of The Police Station
Captain McSmoot 1 year ago
If only the Federal government would lower interest rates to make housing affordable and would stop giving kick backs and no consequences for businesses to buy up all the single-family homes. If only President Biden cared for the housing issues as much as he cares about mint chip ice cream and trailing off mind sentence.
El Dee 1 year ago
Homelessness has effectively been ended where I am. It can be done but there needs to be the political will to do it..
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
All too often the political will is countered by ignoramuses with big mouths and tiny hearts howling "Socialism!"
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neytjie 1 year ago
Those are homeless people staying in tents. In an atleast somewhat safe area.
Load More Replies... #36
Residential Area In Chongqing, China,1990s
TheGoodBoi 1 year ago
This stresses me out. I feel like me just scrolling is going to make a building or two fall over lol
#37
Sheraton Hotel In Rio De Janeiro, It’s So Big That Covers The Whole Beach, Making It Inaccessible
Panda 1 year ago
Beaches, forests, rivers should belong to the people not to a few individuals.
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
That's how it used to be in Thailand before the 2004 tsunami. Then thieves stole the land from farmers and fishermen (through illegal deals and violence) and the once public beaches became "private".
Load More Replies... Adam McNally 1 year ago
It is not inaccessible to the locals. The beach is not controlled by the hotel.
Regina Holt 1 year ago
Beach and locale is so beautiful. let's monetize it and prevent the locals from enjoying it. /s
#38
Crumbling Colonial Mansion In Havana Now Inhabited By Multiple Families. These Buildings Are Called "Solares"
Scrappychick 1 year ago
It reminds me of old building in Vietnam (in Saigon), with multiple families living in them. My first boyfriend and his family had a kind of cabin bef arrangement in the entrance arce
Víctor Alfonso García Olmo 1 year ago
It´s not "colonial" bc Cuba never was a colony, Cuba was a Spanish province, with the same rights than the citizens of Peninsular Spain.
Cat Chat 1 year ago
Colonial can also be used to describe the period it was built, or the style of architecture.
Load More Replies... #39
Suburbs In South Florida, USA
Donald 1 year ago
The majority of the state is only a few dozen feet above sea level. If flooding is a concern FL ain't the state for you.
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Vermonta 1 year ago
Those houses on the smelly marsh are on pylons sunk deep. Expensive and exclusive way to live. I visited an area like that - Marsh Landing- and had to wait for a smallish alligator to cross the road. Alligators are surprisingly noisy when mating. Keep your pets inside.
PataSata 1 year ago
Never mind the alligators, but how many gajillion mosquitoes are there every summer?
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Daniella Reynolds 1 year ago
No way those homes get homeowners insurance… they are at sea level and a guaranteed flood every time it rains
Regina Holt 1 year ago
yes, it is getting harder and harder to get homeowner's insurance in Florida.
Load More Replies... Libstak 1 year ago
Do t they have hurricanes and wild storms? Whose bright idea was this sea level housing ffs?
Quwiyint 1 year ago
At least global warming will take these monstrosities first.
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Joe Reaves 1 year ago
If it wasn't for the alligators (and potentially bullsharks if that's connected to the sea because those things live in salt and fresh water and are scary) that would be quite nice. In other words, if it wasn't in Florida lol.
ShellsBells 1 year ago
People make gators out to be worse than they really are. There are a lot in my neighborhood. They just chill. People play golf around them. If you get too close, they spook and run into the water. The grass is maintained around the water so they can't ambush. People are smart enough that they don't walk 2 lb fluffy next to the water's edge, especially when it's dark. No one feeds them, as every body of water is supplied with really big fish. You have to respect the wildlife around you, and don't put yourself in a situation that could cause an attack.
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#40
Crazy Architecture In Lyon, France
#41
Tulsa, Us.. Most American Cities Are So Aesthetically Unpleasing That It Hurts
BlitheSpirit 1 year ago
That is not representative of what most of the city looks like, by the way…
Tamra 1 year ago
This is one small portion of the city. Yes, it's ugly. There are also charming, historic areas with cafes, galleries, shops and restaurants, on tree-lined streets, that are all eminently walkable. I used to live there.
Ravioli 2 months ago (edited)
Most American cities have a couple nice roads downtown and then dystopian looking suburbs and horrifying everything else
Load More Replies... ƒιѕн 1 year ago
I know this intersection, 71st and Memorial in Tulsa OK. But lets zoom out.... tulsa-6632...a62ec3.jpg 
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Meanwhile, idiots call walkable cities and public transit "communism".
#42
That Be £450k Please
Blue Bunny of Happiness 1 year ago
I am most distressed by that wobbly central line of fencing…
Joe Reaves 1 year ago
Never buy a new build if you have a choice. These days they're put up really badly. Make sure at least one owner has suffered through it first so they can fix most of the issues if you must buy one.
Hobby Hopper 1 year ago (edited)
Wouldn't it be better to knock down all of those fences and have one big shared common area for all the kids to play and neighbors to hang out? Maybe even a community garden.
Pittsburgh rare 1 year ago
A house with a small backyard for 450K? Depending on location, that's a bargain in Spain. 80-90 m2 apartments are already well over €300k in medium cities, near half a million in bigger ones.
Emma S 1 year ago (edited)
Sadly, good quality affordable housing is getting harder and harder to find in the UK. Private landlords are allowed to charge what they like so are charging high rents for poor housing, and many won't rent to a tenant with poor credit or who is on benefits, buying a home is almost impossible without the help of parents for the deposit. Once upon a time you could at least get a social housing property if you had no other options, but every local authority now has far more people on the waiting list than properties available. The UK is one of the most populated countries in Europe, but small in area size.
#43
Rome - Every Beautiful City Has It's Ugly Sides
#44
"Transport Dreams" In Arkhangelsk
M O'Connell 1 year ago
Here's a nicer view of transit in the same city. The Soviets did a lot of awful things, but putting electric trolley busses everywhere was not one of them. Trolle-663...37ebdd.jpg 
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
Sure. What a nightmare to have affordable public transport /s.
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#45
Alleys Of Shenzhen
#46
Mcdonalds Spring Festival Pop-Up Store In Guangzhou, China
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
Gaudy, garish, out-of-place colour. No city or built-up area looks great from this angke, but I see lush green trees, grassy park and bluenrooves. One building in the foreground has a beautiful artistic paint job. The McDonalds thing looks trashy.
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Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Should have made it drab gray and brown to blend in with the surroundings
#47
Charleroi, Belgium
Nicolas Schirvel 1 year ago
Ok... I'm from Charleroi, and this is Philippeville road, it's a suburb road outside Charleroi in the old industrial quarter... Totally not the best part of the city...
SCamp 1 year ago
By no means the worst image in this thread, by comparison is positively beautiful
mandy the capibara 1 year ago
Believe me though, the suburbs of Charleroi are the absolute armpits of Belgium.
Load More Replies... #48
Guess Where?
Ban-One 1 year ago (edited)
Mexico? Even though it would be a lot more yellow like Hollywood taught me. Or Peru?
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago
I was going to say that, but the houses are too far apart.
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Add New Image
What do you think ?
Janet C 1 year ago
Agent Smith was right. "I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure." Nature would do well to just wipe us off the planet as a bad evolutionary idea.
Sinister Murder 1 year ago
I love it that an anthropomorph computerprogram uses an anthropomorph way of reasoning about nature. Humans are a problem for humans, not for the planet. There was a planet before humans and there will be a planet after. The same goes for nature.
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martin734 1 year ago (edited)
I am so glad that I live in a very rural part of the UK, I absolutely hate being in large towns and cities. I used to live in London while I was at university and every weekend I would travel home to Dorset just to get away from the place. Where I live now is perfect for me, I live in a small village with the Purbeck hills and heaths all around and Studland beach a short walk away. If I need to go into town for anything then Poole and Swanage are within easy travel distance. The only real downsides are that the only road through the peninsular gets very, very busy in the summer and half of the houses in the village are owned by townies who only spend 2-3 weeks a year and contribute absolutely nothing to the local community.
Scrappychick 1 year ago
I've lived in cities, rural villages, tiny hamlets and towns of all shapes and sizes. I wouldn't want to return to city living, and found the really rural places a bit too quiet. Finally found a home in an old market town a 45 minute train ride to Central London with a thriving music, theatre and food scene. I love that an 8 minute journey from my front door can have me in a music venue or open fields
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Natasha Forchione 1 year ago
Totally! We don't deserve this beautiful planet.
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Roxie Carter 1 year ago
Try imagining these are pictures of your own not-so-distant future for maximum anguish.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
Man's inhumanity to man pales in comparison to our inhumanity towards our planet. We need to stop fouling our nest, or we'll have nowhere to live. If Nature tires of humanity, we won't stand a chance!
digitalin 1 year ago
The hard part is that humans take up space. Most of these photos are trying to find space for humans. Some stack up giant concrete buildings for density. Some allocate breathing room for each home, but at the expense of massive sprawl. Is there a good balance that takes into account population? Dense housing that is humane and aesthetic? Nature interwoven in urban space? The solution isn't just "fewer people". That's it's own level of dystopia.
Janet C 1 year ago
Agent Smith was right. "I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure." Nature would do well to just wipe us off the planet as a bad evolutionary idea.
Sinister Murder 1 year ago
I love it that an anthropomorph computerprogram uses an anthropomorph way of reasoning about nature. Humans are a problem for humans, not for the planet. There was a planet before humans and there will be a planet after. The same goes for nature.
Load More Replies... martin734 1 year ago (edited)
I am so glad that I live in a very rural part of the UK, I absolutely hate being in large towns and cities. I used to live in London while I was at university and every weekend I would travel home to Dorset just to get away from the place. Where I live now is perfect for me, I live in a small village with the Purbeck hills and heaths all around and Studland beach a short walk away. If I need to go into town for anything then Poole and Swanage are within easy travel distance. The only real downsides are that the only road through the peninsular gets very, very busy in the summer and half of the houses in the village are owned by townies who only spend 2-3 weeks a year and contribute absolutely nothing to the local community.
Scrappychick 1 year ago
I've lived in cities, rural villages, tiny hamlets and towns of all shapes and sizes. I wouldn't want to return to city living, and found the really rural places a bit too quiet. Finally found a home in an old market town a 45 minute train ride to Central London with a thriving music, theatre and food scene. I love that an 8 minute journey from my front door can have me in a music venue or open fields
Load More Replies... Natasha Forchione 1 year ago
Totally! We don't deserve this beautiful planet.
Load More Replies... Roxie Carter 1 year ago
Try imagining these are pictures of your own not-so-distant future for maximum anguish.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
Man's inhumanity to man pales in comparison to our inhumanity towards our planet. We need to stop fouling our nest, or we'll have nowhere to live. If Nature tires of humanity, we won't stand a chance!
digitalin 1 year ago
The hard part is that humans take up space. Most of these photos are trying to find space for humans. Some stack up giant concrete buildings for density. Some allocate breathing room for each home, but at the expense of massive sprawl. Is there a good balance that takes into account population? Dense housing that is humane and aesthetic? Nature interwoven in urban space? The solution isn't just "fewer people". That's it's own level of dystopia.
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