# Slums in US Cities.



## herodotus (Sep 11, 2002)

Since some of you seem to be unaware of the problem of slums in US cities, here's a few pictures for you.



Baltimore



































































































































Cleveland



























































































Cincinnati



























































































































New York



























Philadelphia



























































































Richmond



























Saint Louis


























































































I could easily have taken much worse photos than these in all of these cities, as well as in some cities not shown here, but I usually prefer to photograph the good stuff.


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## nedolessej197 (Oct 24, 2006)

niiice


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## algonquin (Sep 24, 2004)

wow... I don't know what to say.

Thanks for the photos though.... these places do make for fascinating photography.


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## koolkid (Apr 17, 2006)

So these are slums now? A couple of abandoned buildings in New York that were most likely up for renovation are slums now. Awesome...


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## Exrexnotex (Sep 23, 2005)

Its funny how you forgot to post the Pittsburgh's slums.


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## ZimasterX (Aug 19, 2005)

These arent exactly slums, most are basically abandoned buildings where the only people who might be living are homeless squatters. Slums are usually where alot of people are living in crowded conditions and without the basic necessities like running water and electricity.


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## Karakuri (Dec 5, 2006)

Wow I love these pics! Are ther really people living in these neighborhoods?
I'd like to show these pics to our suburb kids, in France, who are always complaining about how bad there neighborhoods are!


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## Lusitania (Jul 14, 2007)

Karakuri said:


> Wow I love these pics! Are ther really people living in these neighborhoods?
> I'd like to show these pics to our suburb kids, in France, who are always complaining about how bad there neighborhoods are!


Well most of these buildings are abandoned, hence the boarded up windows


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## LAsam (Mar 12, 2007)

A) You're pretty brave to snap photos in all these areas

B) You should come and photograph South LA! Though I dare say it doesn't look quite as rough around the edges as some of these areas.


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## dattebayo (Mar 21, 2007)

you consider those slums?! oh c'mon, now that's what I call bragging


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

A lot of these aren't really slums. They're just . . . abandoned.


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

*The view from above*

From Windows Live Local's bird's eye views, a few more.

These don't include any public housing projects.

South Bronx









Brooklyn (Bedford-Stuyvesant)









Cleveland









Detroit. Detroit doesn't really seem to have many "slums," it's just . . . abandoned.









Newark









St Louis


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

And here are some bird's eyes of the "slums" of Miami.

The blue things on some of the roofs are plastic tarpolins from a recent hurricane, in case you're wondering.

Allapattah









Glenwood Heights









Liberty City









Little Haiti


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

*Las Vegas*

Here's what passes for slums in Las Vegas. Basically just small, dumpy old houses . . . with lots of abandoned cars and other junk in the backyards. 




























Public housing projects in Vegas . . . not really "slums" but some people consider them to be so.


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

*Phoenix, Arizona*

Similarly, here's what passes for a slum in Phoenix.


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## pwright1 (Jun 1, 2003)

The Newark homes look nice. Looks like the street I use to live on when I was a kid in Newark.


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## icracked (Feb 15, 2007)

Those buildings are abandon...not slums. If you want to see what slums really are, go to a 3rd world country and take a look.


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## herodotus (Sep 11, 2002)

Exrexnotex said:


> Its funny how you forgot to post the Pittsburgh's slums.


I just did whole threads of both Pittsburgh and Detroit slums. Please tell me what would be the point of reposting them here?



As for NYC, let's not get too arrogant here. The city has done a great job cleaning up, but they've had a head start on everybody. The South Bronx of the late 70's and early 80's were the worst slums America ever produced. Let's see if the other cities can follow in NY's footsteps.


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## Phthalm (Jun 27, 2007)

From Wikipedia:

The United Nations agency UN-HABITAT defines a _slum_ as a heavily populated urban area characterised by substandard housing and squalor. The term traditionally referred to housing areas that were once respectable but which deteriorated as the original dwellers moved on to newer and better parts of the city, but has come to include the vast informal settlements found in cities in the developing world.[2] The word comes from "back slum," meaning back room and later "back alley." [2]

Although their characteristics vary between geographic regions, they are usually inhabited by the very poor or socially disadvantaged. Slum buildings vary from simple shacks to permanent and well-maintained structures. Most slums lack clean water, electricity, sanitation and other basic services [3]

Slums may be distinguished from ghettos in that ghetto refers to a neighborhood based on shared ethnicity. Other terms which are sometimes used interchangeably with slum include favela and shanty town.


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## Karakuri (Dec 5, 2006)

Abandoned? So why are there so many cars parked in front of these houses? Of course some are empty, but it looks like some people do live in these "slums".


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## nygirl (Jul 14, 2003)

Bed-Stuy is no slum. That aerial area Bond posted looks like it overlooks Halsey and those are well to do middle class black families. If black constitutes a slum to you, then I think you'd better rethink your definition.


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## herodotus (Sep 11, 2002)

nygirl said:


> Bed-Stuy is no slum. That aerial area Bond posted looks like it overlooks Halsey and those are well to do middle class black families. If black constitutes a slum to you, then I think you'd better rethink your definition.


Bed-Stuy has made tremendous strides over the last decade or so. The brownstone blocks are among the best in NYC. There are still some areas away from the brownstone blocks, that are still not to good, and the area still has a thug problem, but there is no denying how far the area has come form the old "Manhattan makes it, Brooklyn takes it" days of the 80's, when this was a much worse area.


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## erbse (Nov 8, 2006)

Well, I guess some countries would be proud to have 'slums' like this...

Aren't there some real fukked-up looking commieblock-like towers, where shitloads of nutty wannabe-gangstas use to live? I'd rather consider such areas as 'slums' - abandoned mansions aren't something I associate therewith.


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## Delirium (Oct 8, 2005)

algonquin said:


> Is this a 'chicken before the egg' comment?



well, *now* that you've said that i think it is, :lol:


but no.


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## koolkid (Apr 17, 2006)

Narcisse said:


> For poverty levels this is true, in particular for Haiti. For infant mortality rates and things like this, yes also. But I can say other social ills like violence they are not too different. I don't know haiti but for example, in a dangerous slum area in Sao Paulo city like Grajaú or Parelheiros, you will have in some years sampled a homicide rate of about 100-120 for every 100,000 residents. (In contrast to maybe 5 from 100,000 in a wealthy district). But in the in the US there are entire cities that have a homicide rate of 40 or 50 or more for every 100,000 residents. So in "slum" sections it is higher, on the level of developing country slum. I have read for sections in *Southern Bronx area of New York, during the worst times*, *they averaged homicide rate of 200 for every 100,000*. Or one year a small city in California called East Palo Alto of only 25,000 people had 42 homicide. So this is not candyland but among worst in the world, even comparing to South Africa or Jamaica. *What is more remarkable is that this happens in the most powerful and wealthy country in the world*.


Like you have said, "during the worst times". The South Bronx has come a long way, it's worst times have come and gone. This doesn't mean it's a paradise, but compared to what it was it might as well be. ..


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## nygirl (Jul 14, 2003)

herodotus said:


> Bed-Stuy has made tremendous strides over the last decade or so. The brownstone blocks are among the best in NYC. There are still some areas away from the brownstone blocks, that are still not to good, and the area still has a thug problem, but there is no denying how far the area has come form the old "Manhattan makes it, Brooklyn takes it" days of the 80's, when this was a much worse area.



Dude, yer in Pittsburgh. I was just down in Bed Stuy last weekend, I can go there today and better inform these people on Bed Stuy and I am days away from posting my tour over there. 
The area's "away" from the Brownstones? Bedstuy is practically ( almost) all Brownstone-Rowhouse. Those area's yer speaking of are called Weeksville, Ocean Hill, and Wingate ( Rochester, Utica, Tory, Buffalo Avenue's). The whole 'thug' thing exists but nowhere near as bad as portrayed in the past.


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## DanteXavier (Jan 6, 2007)

Those pics are nothing. Maybe relative to US standards of living, those are slums. If we're going by world standards, those areas aren't even in the league of "slums".


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

nygirl said:


> Bed-Stuy is no slum. That aerial area Bond posted looks like it overlooks Halsey and those are well to do middle class black families. If black constitutes a slum to you, then I think you'd better rethink your definition.


Well, Bed-Stuy _used_ to be a pretty bad slum, so that's why I included it. If it's not considered to be one anymore, then apologies.


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## chris_maiden (Dec 3, 2006)

Haha

Man, Those places aren't exactly slums.

In the photos It seems a beautiful place. I Think It can be more beautiful after a renovation.


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## madjackmcmad (Jul 14, 2007)

Yeah these in no way can be classified slums, they're just run down areas that look a bit grim


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## sk (Dec 6, 2005)

i dont think these are slums,i would rather call them very low income neighboroughts.
arent slums characterized by very high density?


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## herodotus (Sep 11, 2002)

sk said:


> i dont think these are slums,i would rather call them very low income neighboroughts.
> arent slums characterized by very high density?



Again, these are considered slums by American standards, not by the standards of the rest of the world.


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## OMH (Aug 21, 2007)

this just shows what the americans are doing with their own country....looks awful but doesn't surprise me,in america anything can happen...yes,america is following the soviet Union because it only sees the capitalist way,which leads them to decay and die in the end...this isn't bashing but the reality!


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## DarkLite (Dec 31, 2004)

OMH said:


> this just shows what the americans are doing with their own country....looks awful but doesn't surprise me,in america anything can happen...yes,america is following the soviet Union because it only sees the capitalist way,which leads them to decay and die in the end...this isn't bashing but the reality!


*you never contribute directly to any thread. you are starting to look like a troll ...vomiting out irrelevant details to hijack a thread the same stuff too. its getting annoying. I don't know how many times I've seen your posts on this thread...perhaps 5 times. Saying the same stuff. Get creative, bud and maybe if it don't hurt you can back it up with some raw data and sources?*


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## OMH (Aug 21, 2007)

joaquin said:


> *you never contribute directly to any thread. you are starting to look like a troll ...vomiting out irrelevant details to hijack a thread the same stuff too. its getting annoying. I don't know how many times I've seen your posts on this thread...perhaps 5 times. Saying the same stuff. Get creative, bud and maybe if it don't hurt you can back it up with some raw data and sources?*


sorry,but thats my point of view..i can say my opinion,no??i'm not insulting anybody personally,so i guess its ok to say my opinion sometimes,or not!?and yes,there are facts too...


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## DarkLite (Dec 31, 2004)

OMH said:


> sorry,but thats my point of view..i can say my opinion,no??i'm not insulting anybody personally,so i guess its ok to say my opinion sometimes,or not!?and yes,there are facts too...


*well the way you state your opinions, not many will take them seriously. i don't see any facts being presented either just opinions like you said*


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## monkeyronin (May 18, 2006)

herodotus said:


> Again, these are considered slums by American standards, not by the standards of the rest of the world.


But these areas are mostly uninhabited, no?

I would think something like this...


...would be more representative of an American "slum" (as it would be in most of the developed world too)


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## krull (Oct 8, 2005)

^LOL, those are not slums, they are public housing projects. Is public housing projects = slums? Well that is news to me. 

Some people living in those public housing projects call it living in the Ghetto, when they talk about social economic divisions. But I never hear people said they live in the slums.

Slums to me tend to looks like this... (When I google)


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## Shukie (Mar 29, 2007)

herodotus said:


> Again, these are considered slums by American standards, not by the standards of the rest of the world.


What standards are those? Because going by the UN definition there are no slums in the western world.


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## monkeyronin (May 18, 2006)

krull said:


> ^LOL, those are not slums, they are public housing projects. Is public housing projects = slums? Well that is news to me.


Well I'd say its the closest thing we have to slums in developed countries...crowded, poor areas, often in crappy buildings. Nothing like a real slum, but more slum-like than urban prairies in eastern Detroit if you ask me.


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## Darryl (Jan 14, 2007)

These slum threads do so well cuz the non-Americans love viewing and commenting on negative sides of the world's superpower. Perfect places for America haters like OMH to spew their anti-americanism. I've seen posts of his in all kinds of different threads and over 90% of his posts (that I've seen) bash America. Seems to be an obsession of his.


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## koolkid (Apr 17, 2006)

Darryl said:


> These slum threads do so well cuz the non-Americans love viewing and commenting on negative sides of the world's superpower. Perfect places for America haters like OMH to spew their anti-americanism. I've seen posts of his in all kinds of different threads and over 90% of his posts (that I've seen) bash America. Seems to be an obsession of his.


That's what I've been saying. He's always bashing us and only us with all these negative comments. He even generalizes in all of his posts with all this "All Americans this.. that" and what not. The moron doesn't think he's offending anyone, though...


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## VIRUS (Dec 29, 2004)

juniorzzi said:


> May I post one of the biggest slums in the world???
> Rocinha - Rio de Janeiro Pop.: between 60,000 and 150,000


That just need painting, yellow,green and red would be perfect..

or White whit red,....

And the streets ... stoned-streets....:cheers:


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## NovaWolverine (Dec 28, 2004)

These are American slums, they're different than in other countries, but they're typical for the US. If your slums are bigger and badder, congratulations!


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## Ian (Nov 26, 2006)

NovaWolverine said:


> These are American slums, they're different than in other countries, but they're typical for the US. If your slums are bigger and badder, congratulations!


:lol:... The problem is.... if North americans consider these kind of places to be "slums", then most of your nation is very close to be a big endless slum...

I mean what is the very big difference between *this photo ("slum" by North Americans standards)*












*and this one ("medium class" by North American standards)*












:cheers:


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

^
The ones in the first picture are older and getting a bit rundown - trust me, if you've been though neighborhoods like that you'd know what I mean. The ones in the 2nd picture are brand new.


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## NovaWolverine (Dec 28, 2004)

Why don't you take a closer look and see the place from the street level and see what it's like? You have to see the kind of people and what kind of activity goes on in the neighborhoods to differentiate. Most of the ones that Bond posted, I don't agree with w/ the exception of the East LA and Compton ones. No one really does slums like the older dense cities. They're not packed to the gills with people, that's not how US slums are.


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

NovaWolverine said:


> Why don't you take a closer look and see the place from the street level and see what it's like? You have to see the kind of people and what kind of activity goes on in the neighborhoods to differentiate. Most of the ones that Bond posted, I don't agree with w/ the exception of the East LA and Compton ones. No one really does slums like the older dense cities. They're not packed to the gills with people, that's not how US slums are.


Well that was my point, actually. "Slum" is a relative term. There's nothing like the burnt-out slums that herodotus posted in cities like Tacoma, Phoenix, Minneapolis, etc. Those are largely confined to the Northeast and Midwest.

. . . but . . .

In cities like Phoenix you'll find many houses which look like this . . . which, by American standards, are borderline "slums." The aerials I showed in Phoenix look like this when you see them from the ground.





































From the air again. Same kind of house.


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

Here's a few of the same theme . . . except in Kansas City. These are older than the ones in Phoenix. But by American standards, once again some people would consider them to be borderline "slums."

The asking price on this one is only $25,000! 









http://www.prukc.com/xq/ASPX/MLSNum.1417020/qx/HomeSearch/Listing.htm

The asking price for this is only $14,900!! 








http://www.prukc.com/xq/ASPX/MLSNum.1421334/qx/HomeSearch/Listing.htm

$12,500 








http://www.prukc.com/xq/ASPX/MLSNum.1399230/qx/HomeSearch/Listing.htm

$19,000 








http://www.prukc.com/xq/ASPX/MLSNum.1417864/qx/HomeSearch/Listing.htm

Anything that cheap in a big city like Kansas City is going to be considered a "slum."


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## NovaWolverine (Dec 28, 2004)

Yeah, I mean, it is borderline. It's hard for me to look at them as slums considering cities like Camden, Chester, etc.


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## TheMann2000 (Feb 1, 2007)

I have seen many of the nasty slums of the US from closeup, but when I went through Hillbrow in Johannesburg, South Africa, that changed my perspective. Big time. Nothing in North America (aside from Mexico City, which comes close) has anything on Hillbrow, Soweto or Alexandria in Johannesburg. Africa's tallest residential building, Ponte City, was (and still is) one of the most dangerous residential buildings on the planet.

Much of the mess in America's inner cities is due to White Flight, which in most western cities isn't much of an issue, but in the rest belt (and Los Angeles) is nothing short of tragic. Detroit's population is a third of what it was 40 years ago, and the smart move in Detroit, along with a bunch of other US cities, would be to tear down square miles of buildings.


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

Brisbaner21 said:


> ^^That was the 60s and 70s though. What does that area look like today? Most cities like Detroit probaly didn't look or be in the same conditions they are today. That was right before the steel and auto collapse in the U.S.


1960's 1970's









Now it is one of most active business district in Europe


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Who was living in those Paris slums back in the 60s, Gypsys or Moroccan immigrants?

How about some of the Texas border towns, I remember seeing some temporary looking housing in Presidio.










Most of the photos on this thread are abandoned/derelict areas rather than true slums, we have similar areas in UK cities.


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## NovaWolverine (Dec 28, 2004)

No one ever said the US had the worst slums, that's what it seems like people think for some reason. Those texas border towns are bad, some of those Appalachian towns are bad too.


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## princeofseoul (Jun 8, 2004)

from these pics I'd say people are better off being poor in a rich country than middle-class in a poor country .. Crazy the difference there is amongst countries. Hope this changes.


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## OMH (Aug 21, 2007)

airsound said:


> :lol:... The problem is.... if North americans consider these kind of places to be "slums", then most of your nation is very close to be a big endless slum...
> 
> I mean what is the very big difference between *this photo ("slum" by North Americans standards)*
> 
> ...


i think the 2nd is ugly as hell!uke:


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## OMH (Aug 21, 2007)

koolkid said:


> That's what I've been saying. He's always bashing us and only us with all these negative comments. He even generalizes in all of his posts with all this "All Americans this.. that" and what not. The moron doesn't think he's offending anyone, though...


i didn't ever say all americans!!and i think you're offending somebody if you call him a moron!!


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## aliendroid (Jul 8, 2007)

Don't worry this OMH **** is always in here trying to trash talk america, just ignore him.

I've seen some run down places in germany also.


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## Lusitania (Jul 14, 2007)

OMH said:


> man,you should calm down! it's not just my opinion!ever heard of Morris Berman?(I've heard of 5 points,yes).He wrote a book called "dark ages America",where he also talks about American cities and compares them to European ones..he argues that American cities are a bi-product of the capitalistic,automobile-oriented and individualistic society..this is the reason why i consider American cities to be less "urban" than European onesT is under financed/and/or nonexistent in some cities,streets re only considered to be arteries and not part of the city...so I'm saying that's no wonder that many US cities decay or decayed because of this-maybe its getting better now,but IMO its too late for American cities because they made the wrong choices!


I know much about the infrastructure that Berman speaks of, but the argument is by no means exclusive to all or most American cities. Being that the United States is solely a free-market economy there are always obviously going to be "ghettos" of some sort; unfortunately that is a given. Despite that, American cities cannot be grouped into one category as you and (by your explanation) Berman do, there are period cities that boomed solely as Industrial cities such as Pittsburgh or Detroit and were flooded by immigrants and minorities of lesser means. Consequently, the uprooting of the industry within these cities no longer brought much to be desired for the people who either flocked to those cities, or lived there as working class for generations. Thus you see the massive abandonment after the industries were uprooted or the poorer areas during the periods of industry. The United States has been more based on industry than many other countries, and that is why one sees much more of the effects of industry in America than in Europe. Among that, it has been within the bi-century American pull for freedom that ensures "ghettos," and each to his own interest.

Another thing you absolutely MUST take into account is how much Americans move; the average American moves much more frequently than in Europe where some families have lived in the same town for centuries (literally). That being accounted, it would explain some of the abandonment that you have seen in many of these picture threads. Take in account the towns that grew during the Gold and Silver rushes in the 19th century; after the resources were depleted, no one saw fit to stay within the said cities and many were entirely abandoned; it has been within the American "way of life," or nature, so to speak, to move around and leave their former life behind in search of something new.

Lastly, I must challenge you on your claim that American cities are less "urban" than European cities. I fail to see the correlation between them being a "bi-product" of capitalism and the auto-industry and how that reflects the "urbaness" of the society. I further challenge you in your claim that it is "too late" for American cities (as if they are some sort of wasteland), and as to what are these many "wrong choices" these cities have made.

Edit: please do not take offense as I did slightly edit your post's grammar, I meant no harm by it; I admire individuals who can compile acceptable paragraphs in different languages.


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## hedlunch (Feb 11, 2006)

The worst slums in the US that I've seen are public housing projects. The areas around them sometimes are abandoned like the areas photographed at the begining of this thread. The projects themselves aren't usually very photogenic. The worst of the projects have many abandoned units inhabited by squaters, so you have very a high population density of very very poor people. Many are bad enough that saying another slum somewhere else is worse is really pointless. Here's a description of the Robert Taylor homes in the 90s:

"In one weekend, more than 300 separate shooting incidents were reported in the vicinity of the Robert Taylor Homes. Twenty-eight people were killed during the same weekend, with 26 of the 28 incidents believed to be gang-related."

This is in a population of around 10,000. And Taylor was only one of the worst projects in Chicago. ABLA, Rockwell, Horner were all as bad if not as big. 










This is what a US slum looks like IMO. The more photogenic, blighted areas near-by can also be bad. But if you want to find malnourished children, living without basic services, being shot at by drug dealers(often also children) in over-crowded conditions with nothing but grinding poverty all around.... you can find all that in the richest country in the world in our public housing projects.


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## Third of a kind (Jun 20, 2004)

If anything people worldwide, always seem to have a fascination with either the poorest of people or the wealthiest. You can talk about good areas and bad areas all day, Philadweller made a good point, crime and homicide isn't limited to slums. In my opinion I find these pics the same as sitting in a car and driving through a neighborhood. You don't really experience the threads, feeling or character of a place until you've experienced these places with your own two feet.


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## illmatic774 (Jul 20, 2005)

Too many people here look and determine if the places in these pictures are "slums" by just looking. You can't do that.

Non-Americans have no idea when it comes to the true social conditions of these places until you're actually in one of these slums. Time and time again it has been stated that no one is comparing these to the favelas and shantytowns of Brazil and Africa. 

Take a look at, for instance, the Robert Taylor Homes and the Cabrini Green Projects of Chicago. They were built to offer decent affordable housing; not to be built as a slum. However, White Flight commenced, living conditions deteriorated, funding decreased, and crime became rampant in these parts. Some of the VERY WORST places in the United States in their time. Cabrini Green and Robert Taylor homes have pretty much been completely demolished.

Many of the American slums weren't built as slum, but they just deteriorated over time. Like Highland Park, Michigan, which was built as a Ford town. Then the plant closed down, and living conditions plummeted. 38.3% of the 16,746 people today are living below the poverty line. 

Here are examples of some of the houses in Highland Park, Michigan. Sure, it, looks all good and peaceful from looking at the pictures, but these pictures do not necessarily reflect the true living conditions of the area. (from modedmedia.com and wikipedia)





























And Compton/South Central LA might be one of the "nicest" slums in the USA. Nicely manicured lawns, palm trees, cute houses, typical suburbia when you are on the outside looking in. You actually have to experience these places before making judgment.


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## Evergrey (Mar 12, 2005)

bump


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## hudkina (Oct 28, 2003)

More pictures of Highland Park, MI:


























































Median Home Price: $25,000
Median Household Income: $20,686
Unemployment Rate: 17.1%
Crime is high, the schools are below average, and the population is over 95% black.

Statistically Highland Park is a "ghetto". But considering it was originally built as an upper middle-class suburb for auto workers I would hardly call it a slum.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

hudkina said:


> More pictures of Highland Park, MI:
> 
> Median Home Price: $25,000


mg:

I might buy a holiday home there, at those prices, I can't lose!!


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## hudkina (Oct 28, 2003)

A lot of the houses in the city are owned by suburbanites and rented to poor minority families. Over half the population lives in rental units, despite the fact that the majority of the housing is single-family homes.


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

Wow, interesting. Highland Park must be the nicest ghetto in the whole world!


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## bobbycuzin (May 30, 2007)

there are actually many rio-style favella "slums" in the US along the mexican border, my urban studies professor in texas gave a lecture on them which included his own pictures...much of this situation is still unknown to most of the US, so pictures are very rare

some of their characteristics:

-the slums are located roughly 30 miles away on the outskirts of main cities, and another 5 miles from highways/roads to remain hidden from the public (the population is almost all illegal immigrants)
-the cheap land is previously bought out by businesses and other landowners who offer the illegal immigrants affordable "home/land ownership" in return for labor to pay the expenses, basically a very low-income version of the "american dream"
-many of the businesses give aid to keep their workforce alive, whether it's in the form of water, food, scraps for shelter, etc...the workers all work in the city and come home to these isolated slums
-the houses are made from scraps and there is no running water, trucks have to carry huge tubs of water from the city to the slums on a daily basis
-although crime is very low, diseases run rampant from the poor and isolated living conditions
-families stay in these areas long-term (they basically own their plot of land now), as they are able to accumulate more money, they improve and increase the size of their homes with new parts

ah there's a lot more to them that i don't remember off the top of my head but i'd rather not dig through my notes i took a year ago, anyone else that can chip in? wish i could get those pictures


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## hudkina (Oct 28, 2003)

Bond James Bond said:


> Wow, interesting. Highland Park must be the nicest ghetto in the whole world!


The city's population peaked in the 1930's with nearly 60,000 people but today the population is barely more than 15,000. There are areas of the city that have been devastated by abandonment and many of the older commercial retail strips are nearly entirely vacant, but a good portion of the housing in the city looks like the pictures above. (Granted some of the occupied housing isn't in the nicest conditions) Also, I would bet that the pictures I posted above are of owner-occupied housing as opposed to the rental units. It's easier to tell the difference between the two based on landscaping and general upkeep.


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

hudkina said:


> The city's population peaked in the 1930's with nearly 60,000 people but today the population is barely more than 15,000. There are areas of the city that have been devastated by abandonment and many of the older commercial retail strips are nearly entirely vacant, but a good portion of the housing in the city looks like the pictures above. (Granted some of the occupied housing isn't in the nicest conditions) Also, I would bet that the pictures I posted above are of owner-occupied housing as opposed to the rental units. It's easier to tell the difference between the two based on landscaping and general upkeep.


Yeah I was wondering about that. Some of those pics looked a bit too nice to be ghetto rentals.


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## hudkina (Oct 28, 2003)

Here is an example of the vacant commercial strips I was talking about:








© pinehurst19475

Here is an example of a vacant housing unit:








© pinehurst19475

Occupied rental units:








© pinehurst19475

Abandoned rental units:








© pinehurst19475

It's actually kind of sad that Highland Park was abandoned by the middle-class because it is definately one of Detroit's most beautiful suburbs from an architectual standpoint.


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

Damn, how sad.


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## hudkina (Oct 28, 2003)

The good thing about Highland Park is that it would be so easy to turn it around if someone tried to reinvest in the city. The bad thing is that nobody cares to do so.


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## AcesHigh (Feb 20, 2003)

gosh, when some people talk bad about american slums, americans come here to bash them as anti-americans, etc.


then when other people post pictures of bigger slums in other countries to make americans feel better, americans are ironic and congratulate them.

and when people say these pics are not real slums, americans do the maximum to prove they ARE slums.


it just seems that americans dont want ANY foreigner commenting on this thread, because any comment will be answered with hostility.


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## Pegasusbsb27 (Sep 5, 2005)

slums?...where, what?...Have you seen Brazilian slums?...


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## diz (Nov 1, 2005)

If only third world country people built slums like that.... Less work for the poor government. :lol:


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## AcesHigh (Feb 20, 2003)

hudkina said:


> Here is an example of a vacant housing unit:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



this is the most brazilian-like house I have ever seen in US. It even seems to be all made in masonry.


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## TalB (Jun 8, 2005)

A slum is not necessarily a poor, blighted area, and the looks don't always make it true.


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## jeffyl00b (Jan 31, 2008)

illmatic774 said:


> Too many people here look and determine if the places in these pictures are "slums" by just looking. You can't do that.
> (edit)
> Many of the American slums weren't built as slum, but they just deteriorated over time. Like Highland Park, Michigan, which was built as a Ford town. Then the plant closed down, and living conditions plummeted. 38.3% of the 16,746 people today are living below the poverty line.


Exactly. I'm looking at the photos on this page, the sky pics of the first page, and you have to know what you are looking at.

Most of the slums in the older cities started out not as slums. Usually they were the upperclass neighborhoods, or victorian mansions, and now today they have been converted to murder capitals. 
If you have a bad neighborhood in this country, with houses over 50 years old or so, they were probably built as middle-class blue collar, or they were the ritzy part of town. Especially if you can find out that they were built as "streetcar suburbs".
It shows neglect and deterioration and migration patterns.

You guys are missing some good ones, and should be from ground level. Sorry I don't have any pics.


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## TexasBoi (Jan 7, 2004)

AcesHigh said:


> gosh, when some people talk bad about american slums, americans come here to bash them as anti-americans, etc.
> 
> 
> then when other people post pictures of bigger slums in other countries to make americans feel better, americans are ironic and congratulate them.
> ...


Actually, no. When we post the pictures, you need to understand that just because they look nice does not mean they are actually nice. If you think you are going to be able to walk in these "nice" neighborhoods that Americans know that have a reputation for being crime ridden so freely, you best be on your guard. We are not saying anyone is anti-americans or trying to prove they are indeed slums. Just trying to tell you that if you visit this country and you're in an area that looks nice, be careful.

I know another city in the Chicago area that's just like the Highland Park area of Detroit and that city is Maywood. Looks nice. Pretty dense and tall trees. But they don't call it the extension of the westside for nothing. They don't call it spraywood for nothing. There's probably more not only around cities, but in cities.


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