When we look at towering skyscrapers, we usually enjoy how majestic they make the skyline look. But every structure casts a shadow.
The subreddit ‘Urban Hell‘ is a place where modern concrete jungles are called out for all the chaos and disarray that they entail.
Created back in 2013, this online community now has 1.2 million members, who are regularly sharing pictures of buildings and cities that suggest we’re already living in a dystopia.
Whether it’s the dirty slums against the shiny downtown in the background, abandoned stadiums, or packed streets under neon lights, is this really the best we humans can do?
#1 Light Pollution From Train Line Over Old Houses In China
Image credits: DrinkinDoughnuts
#2 Gurugram, India
Image credits: geiselweisel
#3 Hong Kong, Enough Said
Image credits: public-buttcrack
#4 The Other-Side Of Rio De Janeiro
Image credits: Dr_Zol_Epstein_III
#5 Merry Christmas Sign On A Blast Furnace At Brazil
Image credits: reddit.com
#6 Caribbean Coast Estate, Hong Kong
Image credits: volossaveroniki
#7 Istanbul Traffic
Image credits: MopCoveredInBleach
#8 Kindergarten In One Of The Settlements Near Vorkuta
Image credits: By-place
#9 Tokyo From Skytree (450)
Image credits: Nomad00110
#10 Egyptian Times Square, Cairo, Egypt
Image credits: Y_KhIRQ
#11 Balcony Facade Of A Famous Hotel In Thailand
Image credits: 915297mail
#12 Detroit, Michigan
Image credits: FuzzyBlankets777
#13 Once Upon A Time, These Houses Have A Sea View, Now They Have This View
Image credits: -FaZe-
#14 Naples, Italy
Image credits: aringtingting
#15 Satellite View Of New Delhi (A City Of Some 20 Million People)
Image credits: TodayWeRemember
#16 A Normal Day In Kowloon 20 Years Ago
Image credits: KingBlana
#17 Contrasts
Image credits: genrube
#18 Tokyo, Japan
Image credits: RickyMSG
#19 Gary, Indiana
Image credits: tj51484
#20 Neon District In The Lahore Walled City
Image credits: longwaytotokyo
#21 Brazil
Image credits: scarfacedogolpe1533
#22 Phnom Penh New Gated Community
Image credits: demetri47
#23 Imagine Using This Picture To Advertise Your City
Image credits: mraza9
#24 View From My Hotel In Downtown Naples, Italy
Image credits: Shkotz
#25 Mansion Under Bay Bridge In San Fransisco, Ca
Image credits: 5pointz
#26 La, Office Tower
Image credits: Mysjkin7
#27 Real Estate Boom In Newtown, India
Image credits: RockyMahato
#28 Sigh… Parking Lots
Image credits: sikeig
#29 Metro Manila, Philippines
Image credits: Diemmedi
#30 Burlington Beach, Ontario
Image credits: legacyhmusic
#31 Can Anyone Confirm If This Is As Bad As It Seems?
Image credits: KaferAhmd
#32 State University Of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Image credits: Etlot
#33 Mumbai Water Pipes With Garbage And Slums, Those Pipes Supply Water To Localities With Apartment Rates Exceeding A Million Dollar For 3bhk In Bandra, Santacruz
Image credits: ahivarn
#34 Small City In China
Image credits: happyn6s1
#35 Slums In Jakarta, Indonesia
Image credits: biwook
#36 Hong Kong Apartments
Image credits: crubiom
#37 Early Powerline Setups – When Thousands Of Cables Filled The Sky
Image credits: Lamballama
#38 Man On Pedestrian Bridge Overlooking Traffic In Lagos, Nigeria. (Photo: Akintunde Akinleye)
Image credits: Dr_Zol_Epstein_III
#39 Tacoma, Washington. Beautifully Ugly?
Image credits: Juggathon1
#40 The Ship-Breakers, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Image credits: midianightx
#41 Mina The City Of Tents, Near The City Of Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Image credits: cesarth15
#42 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Image credits: reddit.com
#43 Houses Combined With The Wall Next To A Freeway. So Depressing
Image credits: huzailhassan
#44 An Old Church Was Demolished To Make Way For A Real Estate Development Of Apartment Buildings In Shanxi, China
Image credits: OregonMyHeaven
#45 Cape Coral, Fl
Image credits: GenericBlackGuy
#46 Mumbai, India In All It’s Glory
Image credits: everyfatguyever
#47 The End Of Post War Dreams. Newcastle, UK
Image credits: Josquius
#48 Tarlabaşı, One Of The Poorest Neighborhoods In Istanbul
Image credits: SchijtBank
#49 Marseille Banlieue – The Outskirts Of French Cities Are Known For Colossal Housing Structures
Image credits: jokasi58
#50 Dystopian Thessaloniki
Image credits: Temporary-Seat9921
#51 Miari Texas, One Of Few Remaining Red Light Districts Of Seoul, South Korea
Image credits: Saltedline
#52 Government Housing. São Paulo ??
Image credits: reddit.com
#53 Dubai
Image credits: milktanksadmirer
#54 Chişinau
Image credits: longwaytotokyo
#55 Residential Area Near Cheonggyecheon Before Its Redevelopment In 2005, Seoul, South Korea
Image credits: Saltedline
#56 November
Image credits: Gorynich613
#57 Looks Very Welcoming, Who Wouldn’t Want To Shop Here
Image credits: Pure-Lie5297
#58 A Depressing Bus Stop At Jakarta
Image credits: Mallow_Malo
#59 Lagos, Nigeria
Image credits: scnr83
#60 Oslo’s (Norway) Fanciest Business Looks Like An Industrial Plant In The Middle Of The City
Image credits: reddit.com
#61 Tel Aviv City Centre (Allenby Street). Each Apartment In This Building Cost Around 1.5m$ Btw (Really)
Image credits: tamir70s
#62 Bike Lane In Street Of Sao Paulo
Image credits: juniorgallina
#63 An Apartment In Hangzhou, China
Image credits: OregonMyHeaven
#64 Armando De Salles Oliveira Stadium, São Paulo
Image credits: wantstefani
#65 Mumbai Roads Are The Perfect Poster Child For Urban Hell. The Existing Small Stretch Of Metro Is The Only Way To Reach Your Destination On Time. The Suburban Trains Are Already Super Crowded And The Passengers Are Forced To Travel In Sub Human Conditions
Image credits: milktanksadmirer
#66 The View From Your 1 Bed/1bath, 800sq Foot, $850k Condo In Oakland, California
Image credits: decker12
#67 What Happens When We Build For Cars Instead Of People
Image credits: Spanishparlante
#68 Part Of Downtown Edmonton
Image credits: Rubitee
#69 Mumbai , India Population 21million
Image credits: MarionberryRight8261
#70 Mumbai’s Water Filtration Plant Not Cleaned Or Upgraded For Last 42 Years. Finally It Got Cleaned Yesterday
Image credits: ahivarn
#71 When You Want To Look Whimsical, But Hate The Homeless
Image credits: garamond89
#72 Shantytowns Of Seoul, South Korea In 1960s
Image credits: Saltedline
#73 Baltimore
Image credits: inkDaKid
#74 Partially Collapsed Building, Still Occupied (Cairo Area, Egypt)
Image credits: Chipotle42
#75 Bat Yam, Israel
Image credits: holyroach
#76 Lagos, Nigeria
Image credits: AkaGurGor
#77 Building In Fort Worth, Texas
Image credits: woahhchan
#78 People Live In The Tiny Gap Between Commercial Buildings And The Official Residence Of Thailand’s Prime Minister
Image credits: KaMeLRo
#79 At&t Long Lines NYC Building (Windowless) I Dig It Most People Despise It
Image credits: reddit.com
#80 This Old Prison Can Be Yours. Jail On Sale
Image credits: dark_moods
#81 Sao Paolo
Image credits: QuesoGrande33
#82 Photos I Took In NYC Yesterday
Image credits: SneakerHead69420666
#83 Strange And Ugly House In Slayton, Minnesota
Image credits: Annual-Load-8355
#84 Sao Paulo Suburbs In 1985
Image credits: usermatts
#85 Concrete Mess In New England
Image credits: wiredentropy
#86 Brownsville, Pennsylvania 2023. Vibes Of Deindustrialization
Image credits: Juggathon1
#87 Deindustrialized Post Soviet Town
Image credits: Dapper_Possible_1578
#88 Seoul Birds
Image credits: underwater_handshake
#89 In Cairo City Planners Passed The Level Of Adding More Lanes, Now They Add More Bridges. To The Resident’s Surprise, Building Height Limit Codes Don’t Apply To Bridges
Image credits: persononsteroid