Books on Urban Exploration

Urban Exploration or known by the portmanteau of Urbex is one of the most popular but hidden genres of alternative culture. The subjects are oblique and are blasted across social media platforms, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest and especially the number of YouTube channels , blogs and websites as some of the photographers and film-makers create some magnificent imagery of abandoned buildings, tunnels. Even new structures are explored as for example, when skyscrapers are in the stages of being built, you will always have a daring group of individuals who will sneak in and record their exploits.It also invites the question ‘what is the inspiration?’ It could be the sort of eerie fascination that could be related to paranormal investigation? .Some of the derelict buildings such as abandoned churches, hospitals and weird looking industrial structures have an enigmatic effect.Another aspect given here by a photographer “It is an exhilarating experience when exploring abandoned buildings, and at the same time, very sobering. As a photographer seeing nature reclaiming the land is always very powerful. Modern civilisation has been built by beating nature down, by building towering cities and concrete jungles”.

When did it start?

The origins of UE began around 1977 in the San Francisco region by a counter culture group known as ‘The Suicide Club’. One of their activities was to explore abandoned industrial buildings, derelict hospitals and sewers. Urban exploration began to peak in the 1990s, especially when high quality digital cameras became less expensive and more portable, moreover since the 2010’s smartphone
camera lenses improved exponentially, even some  medium range phones have Zeiss standard lenses. Due to vandalism by some explorers, decided to set standards by have a DO NOT list,
a code of conduct was applied discouraging others not to break down doors or dismantle artifacts
as other urban explorers, would suggest ‘Be more creative’ when accessing a site.

What are the Risks? 

Part of the thrill is the potential danger as shown on the video clips as some explorers have been shot at and imprisoned for trespassing on disused military bases outlined in this report from the Manchester Evening News: 16 December 2018. A British man accused of breaking into a Swedish naval base will appear in court in Sweden later this month. The 33-year-old was arrested alongside a Belgian national on an island 25 miles south of Stockholm. Both defendants are being held on charges of 'unauthorised access to protected infrastructure'. It has been alleged that the pair were caught snooping around Muskö Naval Base, one of the world's largest underground naval bunkers, at around 1am on December 2, 2018. These two guys were shot at by the military police.
In general, old buildings are prone to collapsing, rotten floorboards, staircases, loose asbestos especially in cellars, discarded needles from drug addicts, and rats.  One tragic example in 2018
Rebecca Bunting, a 30-year-old Philadelphia based urbexer known also known as, the ‘Queen of the Bandos’ was drowned  when a flash flood from Pennyback Creek while exploring a storm drain near Roosevelt Boulevard , Philadelphia .  I knew one guy who entered a tunnel and was bitten by two rats; he had to go to A&E for injections. I heard of one example , when a group of New York based urbexers  had  to run  out of one building as they encountered a bunch of what they described as ‘gangsters’, the urbexers sensed something odd, but did not hang around to find out. A stray dog attacked one Manchester film-maker when he filmed the sandstone tunnels near the Castlefield district of Manchester, UK.

Books on Urban Exploration

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