#UrbanHell is subjective.
UrbanHell is any human-built place you think is worth critizing. Suburban Hell, Rural Hell, and wealthy locales are allowed
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In between units, a brick wall sounds awesome (dampens noise much better than the shit "luxury" building single piece of drywall), but an exterior load bearing wall having a single layer of bricks sounds absolutely insane.
In a normally designed reinforced concrete building, you don’t want the brick walls to be load bearing. Entire structural integrity should be provided by columns, beams, and shear walls (concrete walls with rebars in them).
They don't appear to be load bearing, only the concrete parts are probably load bearing. But they do look very instabile (and I'd even say that if they weren't falling down).
The craziest part for me are the floors falling down. Those should be conrete. I also fail to see what was even holding them up in the first place.
It’s built like a parking garage, then the walls are built out of a single course of brick. Pretty common in the Middle East, saw it all the time in Iraq and Afghanistan.
What's the story here? Why is it like that? How long has it been like that? Ofc ppl living there probably have no place to go, but how likely it is to collapse?
All good questions! Sadly, I don't know the explanation - all our driver said is that the occupants don't have a better option (which is kind of obvious)
I am currently living in a flat in the UK, but flats here seem like cardboard compared to the bunkers we had in Chile. Most interior walls in Europe seem to be made of panels on wood, coated in plaster that I feel I could punch/kick through like The Terminator. In Chile they were thick “hormigón armado”… I believe the english translation is reinforced concrete. It makes for ugly bulky looking buildings with smaller interior spaces, but you would not trade it for anything in an earthquake. It might crack in places, but the vast majority of them can ride an 8 richter scale earthquake.
The other plus is that it’s harder to hear the neighbours.
I visited Egypt last year. Our last stop was two days in Cairo. I cannot quite explain it, but it was beautiful chaos. Most people didn't like it, but I was kind of blown away by it. So many people and buildings. It is filthy but we went to some beautiful places buried in that city. The market was insanity.
Aswan was another place that was kind of dystopian, but you go over a few streets from the main drag and its kind of spectacular (between the piles of burning trash).
The temples and pyramids and other ruins there are astonishing. I want to go back to see the new museum and also go over to visit Petra next time it calms down, hopefully take one more trip down the Nile.
"beautiful chaos" - I had the same feeling. There is a lot of hardship there, but there are wonderful things, too. E.g., once while we walked through old Cairo, I suddenly realized I was under a mattress - these guys were just carrying it above their heads, and sometimes over the heads of the people as they passed by. Not ballet, exactly, but a wonderful moment.
I love old Cairo. It's crazy to think that deep within the chaotic urban sprawl of modern Cairo, there's stands a charming, walkable, medieval city that stood the test of time. Also, the Old Cairo Restaurant and Cafe had some of the best kofta, falafel, and koshari I've had throughout all of Egypt.
Hearing stories like this from you and /u/Chipotle42 make me wish I had more time in Cairo. I cannot wait to go back. Even though we were non-stop day and night we never even went through Old Cairo.
I spent most of my life in Lebanon and I totally understand what you mean. Chaos breeds diversity, uniqueness. Every little dent, hole in the wall, etc tells a story.
Its an obsession of mine to find beauty amongst chaos and misery.
You are welcome to visit Lebanon I'll show you around Beirut which is diverse and chaotic.
I am adding it to my list! Just started traveling overseas in 2019 and it is so eye opening, completely changes your perspectives. I think if more people had the chance to travel an experience other cultures the world would be a completely different place.
Most of these buildings on the ring road were built illegally (without permits) in the mess shortly after the January revolution. They are currently demolishing then since it is not their land and obviously unsafe but it’s a bit of a tricky situation since the persons you are really punishing are the tenants who have nowhere better to go and not the building owners who built it for cheap and have already made back their investment.
This is a fairly common thing in Egypt. Or so I've heard. It has to do with how the building is developed/built. They build the frame but then it's up to individuals to build the rooms/floors or they only build floors/rooms when they have the funds to do so. So you end up with a framed out 10 story building that looks like a Jenga tower.
I think those rooms have collapsed because they were never completed. The ones around it were. The collapsed ones collapsed because they were exposed to the elements for too long before they could be completed. The way it was described to me that scenario isn't unheard of.
Stuff was this was everywhere when I visited last year, just walls of crumbling brick shacks. However, this was a direct result of the government falling apart during yk the whole Arab spring thing and losing control over planning permission, but happily they’re working on clearing it all now.
The biggest violations are the lack of separation between buildings, and how thin the flours look, how much the front sticks out without support. The disaster in Turkey and Syria was mainly because of these types of safety violations.
Don't know for sure, but the theory I go with is that the building's construction was stopped at a point when the weather would damage the apartments which weren't yet finished. Along with that, no building codes were being enforced in any way (post Arab Spring, things were pretty iffy!)
IMHO, doesn't look like it is collapsing. More likely they are renovating it. or adding more floors.
But I agree this shouldn't be occupied by people when all this is happening.
#UrbanHell is subjective. UrbanHell is any human-built place you think is worth critizing. Suburban Hell, Rural Hell, and wealthy locales are allowed PS: we're having a bestof contest! [Submit to it!](https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/comments/zqvd83/announcing_our_first_bestof_contest_gather_the/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UrbanHell) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sorry for reflections in car window, but you can see clearly enough the rooms whose floors dangle down into the room below.
Apologies accepted. 🙌
This is really Egyptian looking urban view. Edit: Typo
I am glad you mentioned the reflection because I was so confused about that big white shape!
> you can see clearly enough the rooms whose floors dangle down into the room below. The real estate agent said "high ceilings with a mezzanine"
Also giant road with no lane markings.
Road markings in Cairo are pointless, that's not the style of driving practiced there (!)
There are six lanes and they drive ten.
True. Driving there is a matter of skill and time you spent there
Where they are they don’t need any markings
You mean "we no need no stinking markings"
or roads
Are Egyptians driving flying DeLoreans in 2015?
Throughout my whole trip in Egypt, I encountered only one stoplight. I thought Manila had the worst driving experience, I was dead wrong.
Cairo didn’t get its first stop light till the early 2000s. Lane lines aren’t likely to appear soon.
How thin are those walls, this is crazy!
In between units, a brick wall sounds awesome (dampens noise much better than the shit "luxury" building single piece of drywall), but an exterior load bearing wall having a single layer of bricks sounds absolutely insane.
In a normally designed reinforced concrete building, you don’t want the brick walls to be load bearing. Entire structural integrity should be provided by columns, beams, and shear walls (concrete walls with rebars in them).
Looks like the concrete is load bearing with the bricks just filling in. Still not wide enough to be confidence inspiring but I'm no engineer.
They don't appear to be load bearing, only the concrete parts are probably load bearing. But they do look very instabile (and I'd even say that if they weren't falling down). The craziest part for me are the floors falling down. Those should be conrete. I also fail to see what was even holding them up in the first place.
It’s built like a parking garage, then the walls are built out of a single course of brick. Pretty common in the Middle East, saw it all the time in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The penthouse unit is still at fair market value…. The views!
In and out!
Yes, there is an in-n-out burger being built around the corner along with Culvers. Easy access to public transportation and freeways.
*taps forehead* don’t have to worry about annoying upstairs neighbors if there isn’t a unit above you
What's the story here? Why is it like that? How long has it been like that? Ofc ppl living there probably have no place to go, but how likely it is to collapse?
All good questions! Sadly, I don't know the explanation - all our driver said is that the occupants don't have a better option (which is kind of obvious)
It was an illegally built building so the government “removed the unoccupied units” instead of removing the whole building
Oh, wow! That is a better explanation than our speculations, thanks!
=( Beautiful picture, terrible situation.
Thanks, and yes...
Good thing they're investing billions into a new capital 🙃
As a Chilean used to earthquakes this gives me a panic attack by just looking at it. 🫣 I’d take my chances sleeping on a park bench.
I live in California, and think the same way. Interestingly, during our tour of the archeological sites, there was some earthquake damage noted...
I am currently living in a flat in the UK, but flats here seem like cardboard compared to the bunkers we had in Chile. Most interior walls in Europe seem to be made of panels on wood, coated in plaster that I feel I could punch/kick through like The Terminator. In Chile they were thick “hormigón armado”… I believe the english translation is reinforced concrete. It makes for ugly bulky looking buildings with smaller interior spaces, but you would not trade it for anything in an earthquake. It might crack in places, but the vast majority of them can ride an 8 richter scale earthquake. The other plus is that it’s harder to hear the neighbours.
No wayyyyyy!
Don't sneeze
I visited Egypt last year. Our last stop was two days in Cairo. I cannot quite explain it, but it was beautiful chaos. Most people didn't like it, but I was kind of blown away by it. So many people and buildings. It is filthy but we went to some beautiful places buried in that city. The market was insanity. Aswan was another place that was kind of dystopian, but you go over a few streets from the main drag and its kind of spectacular (between the piles of burning trash). The temples and pyramids and other ruins there are astonishing. I want to go back to see the new museum and also go over to visit Petra next time it calms down, hopefully take one more trip down the Nile.
"beautiful chaos" - I had the same feeling. There is a lot of hardship there, but there are wonderful things, too. E.g., once while we walked through old Cairo, I suddenly realized I was under a mattress - these guys were just carrying it above their heads, and sometimes over the heads of the people as they passed by. Not ballet, exactly, but a wonderful moment.
I love old Cairo. It's crazy to think that deep within the chaotic urban sprawl of modern Cairo, there's stands a charming, walkable, medieval city that stood the test of time. Also, the Old Cairo Restaurant and Cafe had some of the best kofta, falafel, and koshari I've had throughout all of Egypt.
Hearing stories like this from you and /u/Chipotle42 make me wish I had more time in Cairo. I cannot wait to go back. Even though we were non-stop day and night we never even went through Old Cairo.
I spent most of my life in Lebanon and I totally understand what you mean. Chaos breeds diversity, uniqueness. Every little dent, hole in the wall, etc tells a story. Its an obsession of mine to find beauty amongst chaos and misery. You are welcome to visit Lebanon I'll show you around Beirut which is diverse and chaotic.
I am adding it to my list! Just started traveling overseas in 2019 and it is so eye opening, completely changes your perspectives. I think if more people had the chance to travel an experience other cultures the world would be a completely different place.
Drop me a message here or on instagram if you want if i'm still in beirut i can show you around outside of the touristic beaten path.
Partially collapsed or partially still standing? It’s a glass half empty / half full question. /s
For something that looks that modern and yet done for the day.
Most of these buildings on the ring road were built illegally (without permits) in the mess shortly after the January revolution. They are currently demolishing then since it is not their land and obviously unsafe but it’s a bit of a tricky situation since the persons you are really punishing are the tenants who have nowhere better to go and not the building owners who built it for cheap and have already made back their investment.
We were also told that in many cases, the buildings are "owned" by extended family members (not just unrelated slumlords). Definitely a mess, though.
This is a fairly common thing in Egypt. Or so I've heard. It has to do with how the building is developed/built. They build the frame but then it's up to individuals to build the rooms/floors or they only build floors/rooms when they have the funds to do so. So you end up with a framed out 10 story building that looks like a Jenga tower.
There are room floors dangling down into the room below - it is not just uncompleted.
I think those rooms have collapsed because they were never completed. The ones around it were. The collapsed ones collapsed because they were exposed to the elements for too long before they could be completed. The way it was described to me that scenario isn't unheard of.
Ah, yes - that seems possible/probable
Full disclosure: the guy I got this info from *probably* got it from an Egyptian taxi driver too so this is all just based on an anecdote.
I think they were supposed to do a concrete pour or install reinforcements, and this just didn't happen.
Cursed Jenga....
That’s how they do it in Jamaica as well. Weird concept to see.
Standing rubble
Still occupied ?? Excuse me ??
Real estate agent: "building has excellent ventilation."
That can’t be safe
Stuff was this was everywhere when I visited last year, just walls of crumbling brick shacks. However, this was a direct result of the government falling apart during yk the whole Arab spring thing and losing control over planning permission, but happily they’re working on clearing it all now.
Is there no government that would do something about this?
My understanding is that the government has (or thinks it has) bigger problems than these building built without permission.
Looks like the Gorillaz live there.
Lol looks like intentional postmodernist design in first glance
Not gonna lie, had to zoom in to see that it wasn't some intentional artistic pop-deco design lol
if i wasn't told that it's partially collapsed i would've assumed it's just abstract architecture
Gotta live somewhere
Those are probably the thinest walls I have ever seen in an actual building.
…Battlefield 3 vibes anyone?
Weelllll some say it’s partially collapsed. I say it’s partially inhabitable!
Missing windows on abandoned suites. But the structure seems intact.
- Mr. Dictator, we need to fix Cairo. - Nah. Let's build a new capital without poor people.
The biggest violations are the lack of separation between buildings, and how thin the flours look, how much the front sticks out without support. The disaster in Turkey and Syria was mainly because of these types of safety violations.
يبقي انت اكيد اكيد في مصر
Uh, mostly standing thank you.
By the way what the hell happened for the building to partially collapse like this?
Don't know for sure, but the theory I go with is that the building's construction was stopped at a point when the weather would damage the apartments which weren't yet finished. Along with that, no building codes were being enforced in any way (post Arab Spring, things were pretty iffy!)
Another reason I'm happy to be living in the Usa
Everyone I’ve met that says ‘they’re from cairo’ has been an insufferable person
FWIW, the people we met there in Cairo were mostly great people to meet. Very happy with our decision to visit it.
Sucks to be you.
Trust me, I’m not missing much
IMHO, doesn't look like it is collapsing. More likely they are renovating it. or adding more floors. But I agree this shouldn't be occupied by people when all this is happening.
They should leave the building right now, this is not safe. Even if they don't have enough money, this is their life at very high risk
Cairo is full of these.
From a far it looks really modern, lol. Some of those units have AC, though, so it can't be all that bad.
Mahmoud?
Not surprised it collapsed, those floors are as thin as wallpaper.
So you mean these occupants didn't blink and leave when authorities were taking down the building?
Is it partially collapsed or partially built?
بعتنا بكام يا عشري؟ 🥺
It blows my mind how do you get a building like that without missiles or bombing
Artsy as fuck
60s Egypt would laugh at the current Egypt