WAIT, THIS REALLY EXISTED?

Since everybody is already talking about Hong Kong's role in the Snowden matter, let's head over to China for a fascinating example of live-in urban decay. Originally built as a walled-in military barracks, Kowloon Walled City exploded with unsupervised vertical construction in the 1970s. It topped out at 14 stories and housed about 50,000 squatters during its peak in the late-1980s before being torn down by the Chinese government.

The regulations within Kowloon Walled City were similar to the lawlessness of international waters, with government officials adopting a "hands off" policy towards its development and upkeep. Run by Triads, the city was constructed of roughly 500 interconnected buildings that almost completely blocked out the sun from within. These buildings were constructed without the help of engineers or architects, so there's no way in hell they met safety or sanitation standards. 

Trash rotted away on the rooftops, gambling and prostitution ran rampant, and the drug trade boomed within its confines (particularly heroin). But despite its dangerous shortcomings, residents seemed generally positive and managed to open small schools and fabrication shops. Despite the tight squeeze (about 40 square feet per person), residents even had electricity and running water.

The fellas over at 99% Invisible summed up the living space pretty well:

"Think about living in a 1,200 square foot home. Then imagine yourself living with nine other people. Then imagine that your building is only one unit of a 12-story building, and every other unit is as full as yours. Then imagine hundreds of those buildings crammed together in a space the size of four football fields."

Nope. Not for me. 

For photos of the interior, check out Greg Girard's gallery that includes everything from drug use and unlicensed dentistry to fish balls and plunger manufacturing. It's incredible that it never suffered a major fire with so much refuse lying about. 

And click here for a cool infographic, courtesy South China Morning Post. 

THIS IS KENSINGTON

"Kensington is a place where troubled people go to try to find answers. Oftentimes, they end up losing their lives here."​

Independent filmmakers James Sindaco, Sarah Fry, and Brad Larrison are the minds behind a series of ​short documentary projects called This is Kensington, which examines the brutal realities of this long-struggling Philadelphia neighborhood.

Riddled with violent crime, drugs, and broken dreams, Kensington is one of many blighted Philadelphia neighborhoods trying to make a comeback. Developers have recently begun to turn around the nearby Fishtown and Northern Liberties neighborhoods, but the same just can't be said for Kensington.​

This project recently made headlines when videographers were caught in the middle of a shootout that left one man dead and another injured in broad daylight as children screamed and adults panicked at the sight of a bloodied victim hunched over his steering wheel.

Take a look at the full project at thisiskensington.com and ​check out the video below that begs the question, "What is Kensington?" 

THREE THEORIES ON URBAN DECLINE

live just a few minutes away from Camden, one of the nation's most dangerous urban disaster zones. The more I learn about it, the less I'm convinced it'll pull through. A major portion of the city's police force was recently laid off while three former mayors either have served or are currently serving prison sentences for corruption. With the exception of the waterfront, large sections of the city resemble the aftermath of nuclear fallout; bricks from crumbling structures falling into the streets and graffiti-laden plywood hanging from broken out windows. 

Camden wasn't always like this. The city once teemed with industrial prosperity in the early twentieth century, back when it was home to RCA Victor / General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Campbell's Soup Company, and the New York Shipbuilding Corporation (which was once the largest shipyard in the world). 

So what the hell happened?

Cities like Camden, Detroit, nd Baltimore that were once the backbone of the nation's industrial-based economy have transformed into havens for drug violence, murder, rape, and robbery. These cities fell victim to the post-World War II economic shift, and manufacturing jobs simply disappeared, leaving thousands without work. These issues don't seme to be getting better -- they're getting much worse. And worse yet is the fact that very little is being done to address these problems.

So how are the wheels of dramatic urban decline first put into motion? Thomas J. Sugrue, author of The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit, outlines three theories.

The "underclass"​ debate has moved in three - sometimes overlapping - directions. The first, and most influential, focuses on the behavior and values of the poor, and the role of federal social programs in fostering a culture of joblessness and dependency in inner cities. A variant, going back to the work of Daniel Patrick Moynihan and E. Franklin Frazier, emphasizes the role of family structure and unwed pregnancy in perpetuating inequality. A second offers structural explanations for inequality and urban poverty. Proponents of structural explanations tend to divide among those who point to the effects of economic restructuring (following William Julius Wilson) and those who emphasize the continuing significance of racial discrimination (following Gary Orfield and Douglas Massey). A third explanation focuses on politics, emphasizing the marginalization of cities in American social policy, particularly in the aftermath of the urban unrest and racial conflict of the 1960s. The "excesses" of Black Power and the rise of affirmative action fueled white suburbanization and justified a newfound white backlash against the urban poor. Implicit in this analysis is a contrast between the booming postwar years and troubled post-1960s years, urban heyday versus urban crisis.

So we're essentially looking at some pretty diverse issues:

1. The government's social assistance programs (unemployment benefits, welfare) do not effectively foster value judgment of the citizens who depend on the services.
2. Economic restructuring (the shift from manufacturing to ​service-based economy) has created a forgotten workforce that lacks a defined set of skills, and in turn leaves very few prospects for employment.
3. Two generations removed, effects of racial tension in the 1960s are still felt today, ​leading to continued segregation between races who live in cities versus suburbs.

Flawed government assistance programs, a flatlining economy, poor education, and racial tension.​ Check back in over the next few weeks as I look at each of these issues individually. For now, what do you think are some small steps that can be taken?​

Recommended reading:​
     • What's the Matter with Camden? [NBCNews]
     • Camden, City of Ruins [DailyMail]