People On This Group Are Sharing Examples Of ‘Urban Hell’ That Look Like A Dystopian Movie But Are Sadly Real (40 Pics)
Not every building is as beautiful as the Palace of Versailles. Or blends into its surroundings as well as the Macallan Distillery. On the contrary, there are many structures across the world looking like outcasts that will fall apart during the next storm. In some places, they aren't isolated examples, either — even an entire neighborhood can be an abomination. And you can find them on r/UrbanHell.
It's a photography subreddit of "all the hideous places human beings built or inhabit." The online community invites everyone who wants to explore the darker side of the cities, towns, and villages in our shared world and welcomes any photos which show either ugliness, or a problem in urban development. Rural and suburban nightmares are also allowed.
Below you will find a collection of pics that perfectly describe what this subreddit is all about.
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The Annual Monsoon Ritual Of Mumbai's Ocean Giving Back What Has Been Dumped In It
If only nature could actually give back all the trash to us, maybe we will see the damage we are doing :(
Hong Kong Street Life
About half of the global population already lives in cities, and by 2050, two-thirds of the world's people are expected to live in urban areas. But as you can see from some of the photos in r/UrbanHell, in cities, two of the most pressing problems facing the world today also come together: poverty and environmental degradation.
Bad urban development isn't just ugly aesthetics. It's also poor air and water quality, insufficient water availability, waste-disposal problems, and high energy consumption, all of which are exacerbated by the increasing population density and demands of urban environments. Strong city planning is essential in managing these and other difficulties as the world's urban areas grow.
New Delhi - During Lockdown vs. Now
For a few months earth took a breath, then humans came back with a vengeance :(
Hong Kong
Beirut Port
Some of the biggest problems caused by urbanization are:
- Intensive urban growth can lead to greater poverty, with local governments unable to provide services for all people;
- Concentrated energy use. It leads to greater air pollution with a significant impact on human health;
- Automobile exhaust produces elevated lead levels in urban air;
- Large volumes of uncollected waste create multiple health hazards;
- Urban development can magnify the risk of environmental hazards such as flash flooding;
- Pollution and physical barriers to root growth promote loss of urban tree cover;
- Animal populations are inhibited by toxic substances, vehicles, and the loss of habitat and food sources.
Uae Nad Al Sheba III Neighborhood
It's Baffling How Fast It Changes
Mumbai, India
Solutions might include:
- Combat poverty by promoting economic development and job creation;
- Involve local community in local government;
- Reduce air pollution by upgrading energy use and alternative transport systems;
- Create private-public partnerships to provide services such as waste disposal and housing;
- Plant trees and incorporate the care of city green spaces as a key element in urban planning.
Ultimately, cities can bring us obstacles and opportunities as well as freedom and captivity, and it's up to us to get the most out of them.
People Offering Prayers At River Yamuna, India, Which Is Frothing From Industrial Waste
And none of these fools has the sense to even consider that bathing in industrial waste speeds up your reincarnation process.
Hotel In Łodz, Poland
Its not a nuclear cooling tower. It is for a heating, electric and hotwater generating plant ( TETS in Russian) most are coal or gas powered and that is for releasing steam.
An Interesting Perspective I've Stumbled Upon In Macau A Year Ago
The difference between the have's and the have not's, in one photo.
Petare, Venezuela
Before And After A Desert Is Turned Into A Soulless Suburb Of A Desert. Jk, Its A Single Photo Of Arizona
The water waste hurts. Why do you want lawns in a desert? If you want green lawns, move to England (no offense, England. You have the rainfall, is all.)
Not A Very Romantic Scene
Blame your government’s. This is their fault . They buy rubbish from countries and do not dispose of it correctly.
Naples, Italy
People Living Next To A Helicoidal Street In Chongqing
Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Comparison Of 1964 - 2016.
Electrical Wiring And Water Pipes In A Brazilian Favela
Johannesburg, South Africa
Literally, Just Thanksgiving Traffic In La
Private Houses On The Roof Of An Eight-Story Mall In Zhūzhōu, China
Cairo, Egypt
Downtown Seattle, In The Heart Of The Retail District
I don't understand how the US can have money to make bombers but not to help citizens who need help.
Progressive Insurance's Call Center
Hyderabad, India
Ghost City In China, Made To Be A Replica Of Paris - Tianducheng
All Residents Of Whittier, Alaska Live Inside One Building
Manila, Philippines
One More Lane Will Fix It
In my country the biggest highway is 3 lanes. No city has more than 3 lanes. And we consider it an achievement. I am amazed at this picture honestly!
Somewhere In Brazil In The 90's
@WilvanderHeidjen They absolutely are homeless. They are squatting in a utilities access cabinet.
Baghdad Between Then And Now!
Billionnaire Vijay Mallya's Mansion Atop A Skyscraper In Bangalore, India
The Capital Of California
Dubai, The Hollow City Of Artificiality
Chongqing, China
Mirny In Siberia, Russia
All of those houses and infrastructure was built die to that mine . It’s still a working mine right now . Giving ppl jobs homes lives
Ah, Good Old Car Culture...
This is not an urban nightmare (whichever you're reffering to). Also, it's like comparing a clouds and grapes
Block 23, New Belgrade, Serbia
At least they have friendly neighbours. My neighbor wouldn’t take my washing in . 😆
16-Lane Highway Built Through The Downtown Where A Market Square Used To Be In Moscow, Russia
Again context is great. This was done to facilitate troop movements quickly in and out of the capital which proved vital in WWII as the soldiers from Siberia crossed Red Square in the May Day parades and went straight to the front lines to repel the Nazis. The French similarly built huge boulevards in Paris to facilitate troop movements and to keep people from being able to build barricades, which is a French national tradition.
Nobody: Southwest Us Developers:
Out of curiosity, for what it is, why is it not more square, why all the bends?
Two Cities
Smog In Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
The Apartment I Used To Live In. Dhaka, Bangladesh
An Apocalyptic Landscape With Balloons At The Ghaziabad Industrial Area, India
The Most Depressing City In Russia - Norilsk
Corviale, Rome, One Of The Longest Single Residential Building In The World (1 Kilometer In Length, Housing 8000 Persons)
Until now I never really considered the effect on the landscape. You can have this monstrosity or you can lose the fields so each house can have it's own 20ft piece of land. We've seen both examples in this thread.
My Country Doesn't Make It Often To This Sub, But Here's One: House Under A Highway Bridge, Zürich, Switzerland
Mecca, This Cityscape Is Deeply Unsettling
Anti-Homeless Architecture - Porto Alegre, Brasil, 2021
Endless Parking Lots, Highways, Strip Malls With The Same Franchises All Accessible Only By Car. Topped Off With A Nice Smoggy Atmosphere And A 15 Minute Drive To Anywhere. Takers ?
Am I the only one that literally feels happier when I get to walk (instead of commute)?!
San Francisco, USA
Jaywick, Essex, UK
Shinjuku, Tokyo
A Graveyard In Hong Kong
L.a.'s Concrete River
Alexandria, Egypt
My practical side totally understands the convenience of building the bridge across to make traffic flow easier and avoid congestion. But my romantic side hates the thought of breaking up the gorgeous natural ocean view with a man-made concrete bridge and traffic! Takes the breathtaking and makes it concrete jungle
Salty Hker Here. This Is Far Worse Than Skyscrapers And Apartment Buildings Imo
Bucharest In 1999
ARGH! At first look that man on the right appeared to have no head!! (I'm looking at this on a small screen admittedly.)
How People Commute In L.a. (And Most Of America)
Water Pipelines In Our Locality. Kalimpong, India
country of contradiction, where the poorest live with the richest, only vastly diff areas
Waiting For A Bus At -54°c In Yakutsk, Russia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
These Unfinished Monorail Lines All Across São Paulo Were Supposed To Be Ready For The 2014 World Cup...
Salem, Or, USA. This Picture Was Taken At 5 Pm Today
That was last September when much of the state was on fire. I remember that day and have a similar photo of the sky.
Yesterday When It Rained In My City (Luanda - Angola)
Seoul In Winter 1956
Welcome To The Bay Area
Minneapolis, USA
To Avoid Homeless People The City Is Installing Stones Under This Bridge - São Paulo, Brazil
House Of Atomic Engineers, Moscow (400m Long)
It is a wonderful building and what is missing from this context is Soviet built Moscow has a lot of green space as buffers between buildings, which the current government is developing. Additionally they are seizing the Khrushchev era buildings, displacing families to the suburbs and developing the land into expensive condos. This was a house for workers, which they got for free ( tied to their jobs)
"Can We Go To Paris?" -"No, We Got Paris At Home." Paris At Home:
El Helicoide, Venezuela’s Drive Through Shopping Mall Turned Prison
A Cemetery Next To A Factory In Poland
Suburb In The Middle Of The Desert, Arizona, USA
The British Seaside: Where Dreams Go To Die
We urgently need to take better care of our planet.... Birth control and a ban on plastic sound like a good start
May the gods in all their wisdom give you no children but many attempts at making them :,-)
Load More Replies...Some posts are tragic and a lot are just "I've lived this great life so I can decide anything not idyllyc is hell." Which is just like kicking the terrible photos in the teeth. Urban living has metropolis solutions, which is hardly a hell in most of these photos.
wow ... if you find these few photos "downright terrifying" you need to avoid ANY walkabouts in the USA for the next 50yrs, because that is bound to give you an out-right stroke instantaniously
Load More Replies...We urgently need to take better care of our planet.... Birth control and a ban on plastic sound like a good start
May the gods in all their wisdom give you no children but many attempts at making them :,-)
Load More Replies...Some posts are tragic and a lot are just "I've lived this great life so I can decide anything not idyllyc is hell." Which is just like kicking the terrible photos in the teeth. Urban living has metropolis solutions, which is hardly a hell in most of these photos.
wow ... if you find these few photos "downright terrifying" you need to avoid ANY walkabouts in the USA for the next 50yrs, because that is bound to give you an out-right stroke instantaniously
Load More Replies...