careinke wrote:You people certainly have a different idea what Happy Talk is than I do.
I like riding my velomobiles. It's good exercise, and they're an efficient form of transportation that in some respects is comparable to a car, but without the ecological impact of a car. The conversation sort of diverted when I posted images from my rides.
I do like to explore urban areas. It's a bit of a hobby. If I ever had the money, I'd love to make some low-budget sci fi films. These areas are perfect for it.
AdamB wrote:Well, that doesn't constitute much of the USA.
Major cities I've been through, haven't thoroughly explored, and still seen plenty of decay which registers as similar/comparable to that in my area:
Chicago, IL
Kansas City, MO
Tulsa, OK
Oklahoma City, OK
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
New Orleans, LA
Baton Rogue, LA
Dayton, OH
Cleveland, OH
Akron, OH
Lexington, KY
Raleigh, NC
Durham, NC
Atlanta, GA
Jackson, MS
Birmingham, AL
Those are not all the US cities I've seen, just the ones I've personally been in with very noticeable post-apocalyptic scenery as soon as you stray off the main interstates and avenues a few blocks.
One of the best cities I've been to thus far is Austin, TX. Their worst neighborhood appeared to be nicer than any of the neighborhoods I've lived in. It's also little wonder why their homeless population is rapidly growing considering the cost of rent there.
I've thoroughly explored St. Louis, MO, which will be further mentioned when I answer a question you had.
I've spent time in Wentzville and Belleville, overnighters as a matter of fact, and the blight you speak of certainly could have been there, and as you say, might require some work to find. No different than Appalachia. But it doesn't jump out at you during any puttering tour through and around town.
Hence my use of the term Potemkin.
In order for collapse/THE END/Doom to be even noticed, the usual run down areas that are common in probably many areas around America (the world is something else altogether), those places should be the norm, easily visible, Hoovervilles sitting out in the city park across from the courthouse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upV5oAdaO88https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzzvVFpO8Bohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qod4ZXtmHwohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlTRe4yWl3sCamps have even migrated to the suburbs in my city:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbx9CbW3bBEThe camps tend not to stay in the same place for more than 2-3 weeks. They're ALWAYS relocating. The ones who stay in a location for months at a time tend to get media attention and then forced evacuation. I've talked to a number of homeless people, and most of them had jobs and were trying to maintain them(which is very difficult to do while homeless), and were priced out of rent. Of the major cities, mine has some of the cheapest rent in the whole U.S., and even that is too expensive for many working people. A one-room craphole in the hood with a shared kitchen and toilet can run $700/mo to start, and goes up from there. Rents in the neighborhood I posted earlier in this topic are beginning to approach $1,000/mo in the cheapest units. All of the "quality of life" rules that force one to have utility hookups and limit occupant numbers in a single dwelling have played a part in making the cost of a basic existence too high in relation to the prevailing wages.
Spotted from the Beltway (something possible in both Detroit and Denver I might add, Detroit being far worse). What is your opinion on Bozeman Montana? Eureka California? Del Rio Texas? And my all time favorite, Traverse City Michigan? None of them are big towns really, all different flavors and environments, and last time I was through them, nothing obvious in terms of overall degradation, although as in all towns, it just wasn't obvious.
Of those you listed, I've only been to Del Rio, TX. I didn't see much in the way of decay there. I saw a grand total of one homeless encampment, with 3 tents and a bunch of trash visible. This was 10 years ago. Del Rio didn't look bad, but I saw less than 20% of it.
Your pictures of the bad areas of Saint Louis are quite revealing. Would you venture a guess as to the overall percentage of area in and around St Louis that consists of these dilapidated areas, versus non-dilapidated? 5% 15%?
Closer to 30%, if you're going by area, including within that the entire metropolitan area(including rural sections) and not just the city proper. Homeless camps are mostly sporadically located in areas hidden from easy observation, but if you go looking for them over the course of days exploring, you will run into a lot of them. Especially if you do urban exploration of abandoned buildings(I've run into five homeless camps inside buildings). The camps in the youtube videos I posted above were in more obvious locations.
Oh, and if you can provide me a location designated by the intersection of two streets near any of these St Louis areas, I'd love to stop by and check it out myself next time through the city. I pass through regularly and I'm fascinated by the size and extent of this kind of decay near a major and vibrant city. My recent adventures in north St. Louis have me curious.
Carry a weapon. Make sure your vehicle doesn't break down. I live in such an area, spent much of my youth in such an area, and have seen/heard all kinds of things. While I'm used to it and don't feel as if I'm in any danger, I would be lying to say I was safe here.
But here's some interesting spots(assuming you are interested in places that look like they came out of some low-budget science fiction dystopia):
-N 11th St and DeSoto Ave; St. Louis, MO
-intersection of Wilmore St and Jones St; Kinloch, MO
-intersection of Carr St and N 15th St; St. Louis, MO
-67th/68th/69th St; Hillsdale, MO
-intersection of Vandeventer and St. Louis, Ave; St. Louis, MO
-intersection of St. Louis Ave and Hamilton Ave; Wells-Goodfellow, MO
-most of St. Louis Ave, for that matter
-most of Martin Luther King Blvd as well
-most of Jefferson Ave
-intersection of Hamilton and Cote Brillante; Wells-Goodfellow, MO
I could go on listing hundreds of areas. These weren't the worst areas that immediately came to mind, but they were the first I thought of. The map below should give you a really good indicator of where to find blight:
https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-st-louis-mo-metro/I live in a red area. Hearing random gunshots is a "multiple times a month" event. I've personally witnessed portions of two police chases in progress just in my neighborhood. A formerly homeless friend of mine got into a cheap home in Berkeley, MO, also a "red" area that doesn't look decayed, and within the first week he moved in he got 6 new gunshots in his wall. The last time I was there to help him re-assemble his 3D printer, he showed them to me. He doesn't know who did it or why. Just the fact that he's white may have been the impetus. Living in the hood is the only way he could ever escape homelessness and afford a roof over his head. He has two college degrees, including a Masters, both in STEM fields, and has patents to his name. He diligently tried to find work in his field after getting out of college and still ended up homeless. Notice on the above linked crime map that many of the "orange" areas are still indicative of high crime, yet they are in sparsely populated rural and semi-rural mostly-white locations. There are lots of abandoned buildings in those areas to accompany the crime rate as well, again, mostly located away from main thoroughfares.
The unnecessary felling of a tree, perhaps the old growth of centuries, seems to me a crime little short of murder. ~Thomas Jefferson