For some people, living in the city is an absolute necessity, even a privilege in some cases. Of course, urban environments offer a lot of comforts compared to more isolated areas, far from offices, services, and shops, but they are certainly not always the best in terms of habitability and quality of life.
This is well known to all those who, sooner or later, find themselves “lost” in the urban jungle, constrained by a feeling of oppression which can be conveyed by tall buildings, congested traffic, and far from pleasant atmospheres. We’re obviously not saying all cities are like this, but judging by the photos we’ll show you, shared by users of the Reddit group UrbanHell, there are plenty of urban realities around the world that seem to come out of dystopian scenarios and not at all reassuring. Ready to take a trip through the worst places to live?
#1. We are in Hyderabad, India
image credit: hafeezahmed2839/reddit
If you’ve also felt a sense of oppression while looking at this photo, know that you are not the only one. However, think about the people who live there …
#2. An aerial view of Hong Kong
image credit: moyno85/reddit
It’s a very densely populated area, and looking at it from that angle immediately immerses us in a storyline that feels like it came out of a sci-fi movie.
#3. It almost seems “alive”.
image credit: Imgur
We are in Macau, and this ultra-modern skyscraper contrasts incredibly with the old houses below!
#4. A before / after that changes everything.
image credit: ownPro/reddit
The image was taken in Arizona, and is a grim before and after of what happened to this desert.
#5. Copy and paste!
image credit: reddit
An entire neighborhood here in the United Arab Emirates seems to have been created this way.
#6. Apocalyptic Scenarios of Human Neglect
image credit: Imgur
“The monsoon returns to Mumbai what man threw into the ocean,” writes the surfer who shared the photo.
#7. Daily Apocalypse
image credit: DrFetusRN/reddit
We are in Hong Kong again and, more than apartments, these look like beehives …
#8. Misery and wealth
image credit: reddit
A photo that says more than a thousand words, taken in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There are no words to express the contrast between the densely populated areas of extreme poverty and the wealthy neighboring dwellings.
#9. When even architecture becomes hostile
image credit: reddit
All of this was created to keep the homeless out.
#10. A never-ending series!
image credit: QAFY/reddit
#11. We are in Petare, Venezuela
image credit: reddit
It almost looks like these houses are part of a circle of hell …
#12. Cairo, in all its density
image credit: biwook/reddit
Could you live there every day?
#13. Urban jungle …
image credit: robotekia/reddit
Whoever designed this neighborhood might have been able to do something more so that the area had green spaces, other than concrete on concrete.
#14. There is not much to add here.
image credit: lovebravebrowser/reddit
Thirty years and a scenario that will never be the same as before.
#15. It was a lovely hotel …
image credit: reddit
“It was” because today it has literally been absorbed into modernization. It is located in Lodz, Poland.
#16. Urban oppression at its best.
image credit: biwook/reddit
An image that would be perfect for a dystopian tale: a silo full of cars and apartments all around. We are in Chongqing, China.
#17. It’s not a pretty scene to watch
image credit: reddit
Electric cables, water pipes and a great feeling of unease, isn’t it? The photo was taken in a Brazilian favela.
#18. Private villas on the roof of a shopping mall, surrounded by a concrete landscape.
image credit: reddit
It is located in Zhuzhou, China.
#19. And is it supposed to be a playground?
image credit: Dr_Zol_Epstein_III/reddit
One thing is for sure: there is nothing fun here!
#20. Original, certainly, but disturbing.
image credit: reddit
We’re in Chongqing, China, and this monorail goes inside a building.
#21. Endless expanses of asphalt and cars: this photo is a kind of hymn to modernity.
image credit: reddit
Tar, roads, flats close together, urban destruction, oppressive and dismal scenarios: these photos are sadly real, have you ever been in such places?