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Greta Jaruševičiūtė

100 Pictures Of ‘Urban Hell’ Showing Everything That’s Wrong With Our Society (New Pics)

Comfort, better education, and jobs, among other things, draw people to cities. The pull is so strong that more than half of the world’s population already lives in urban environments. But the comforts and conveniences of the cities don’t come without a price. Pollution, biodiversity loss, rising crime rates, and living costs are just a few things that are changing our planet for the worse.  Urbanization has become a man-made hell that we now have to live in, and to prove it even further, we compiled a list of pictures from the Urban Hell subreddit that expose the price of modern life. To find them, all you have to do is scroll down.

#1 Reflection Of Inequalities

Image credits: Soma_Or

#2 Malé, Capital Of The Maldives

Image credits: ddsukituoft

#3 Cages In Chongqing, China

Image credits: biwook

#4 Nad Al Sheba Neighborhood In Dubai, UAE

Image credits: RealGoatzy

#5 Western World's E-Waste In Ghana

Image credits: Few_Simple9049

#6 Haiti - 10 Years After Earthquake. Photo By Paolo Woods

Image credits: Soma_Or

#7 Dubai Partition Room For Rent $1,000 Month

Image credits: Royp212

#8 North Korean Government-Built Countryside Homes

Rows upon endless rows of identical bland and monotonous, perfectly symmetrical houses in a newly opened countryside residential complex in North Korea.

Image credits: KodoSky

#9 China's 50 Lane Traffic, G4 Expressway

Image credits: Upstairs_Drive_5602

#10 Really .. What Were They Thinking?

Image credits: azimx

#11 A Stunning Example Of Cable Management Spotted In Bangladesh

Image credits: Soma_Or

#12 Amsterdam, Nl 🇳🇱

Image credits: BoyOf_War

#13 Rich vs. Poor In Buenos Aires, Argentina

Image credits: tousie

#14 New Delhi Cows

Image credits: ActivityBackground68

#15 Egypt’s New Administrative Capital – A $58 Billion Ghost City

Planned as a solution to Cairo’s congestion, the NAC aims to house government buildings, embassies, and millions of residents. The trip itself was an experience—an hour-long Uber ride from Cairo, passing through three security checkpoints before entering. Security presence was unmistakable: police, military patrols, and constant surveillance. Yet, aside from them and a few gardeners, the city felt almost deserted.

However, despite its scale, the NAC raises concerns about affordability, social impact, and whether it will truly alleviate Cairo’s urban pressures or remain a prestige project benefiting a select few.

Urbanist and architect Yasser Elsheshtawy captures this sentiment well.

Image credits: Blafa_

#16 World’s Biggest Tire Graveyard In Kuwait

Image credits: Few_Simple9049

#17 South Korea's Capital Looks Like It Has No Seoul

Image credits: Antique_Let_2992

#18 Mole People In The Philippines

Makati is the financial district of the Philippines. Recently someone saw a person coming out of a very narrow ditch. Another person chimed in with their own sightings.

We don't know yet why people are there, how many people are there, and where this narrow canal leads to. According to the post, it's possible that the narrow canal leads to wider canals.

Now, authorities are patching the openings and closing the ditch entrances.

I knew of documentaries of people living in waterways but this ditch is very narrow.

Image credits: Safe_Professional832

#19 Hong Kong In 1964 And Now

Image credits: biswajit388

#20 Modernizing City Blocks In Austria (2019 And 2023)

Image credits: Puzzleheaded_Film521

#21 Urban Hell Reversal

Beijing’s Liangma River went from a dry, cracked canal in the late ’90s to a green, thriving part of the city by 2025. Clean water, tree-lined walkways, and modern buildings from city planning.

Image credits: Bull1753361

#22 Cleaning Up A Canal In Dhaka, Bangladesh

Ramchandra canal in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, which has been cleaned up and restored in 72 hours as part of ongoing efforts to clean up revitalise Bangladeshi canals. Led by NGOs with sponsorship from a bank and support from the government and the city corporation. Hopefully we can keep it this way!

Image credits: T4H4_2004

#23 Manaus, Brazil

Image credits: Soma_Or

#24 Anti-Homeless Architecture, USA/UK

Fixing a problem with a problem.

Image credits: Successful_Jury_2519

#25 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Image credits: TribalSoul899

#26 Bridge Built Over A 17th Century Castle Ruins

📍Kajaani, Finland

Image credits: waaf_aaf

#27 Apartment Buildings In Chongqing, China

Image credits: biwook

#28 Alexandria, Egypt

Image credits: Enviro5547

#29 They Replaced A Masterpiece With A Spreadsheet

Image credits: Emergency-Green-2602

#30 My View From My Hotel In Manila, Philippines

Image credits: Accomplished-Toe713

#31 Al Ba'sa Building, Beirut: A 60cm Wide Building Built By A Man To Obstruct His Brother’s Sea View After A Real Estate Dispute

In 1954, a thin wedge-shaped building was erected by architects Salah and Fawzi Itani on a 120 sq m plot in Beirut, Lebanon at the request of a man wanting to spoil the sea view of his brother after they failed to agree to jointly develop their neighboring plots. The street facade appears to be an ordinary apartment building, but is 60 cm at the narrowest and four meters at the widest. It is known as Al Ba'sa (The Middle Finger) and formerly as The Queen Mary due to its resemblance to the cruise ship.

Image credits: biwook

#32 Soviet Experiments In Yerevan, Armenia

Image credits: Fun-Raisin2575

#33 Aerial View Of São Paulo, The Most Populous City In The Americas With 22 Million Inhabitants

Image credits: Soma_Or

#34 Potholes On Railway. Guess The Country (Not Japan)

Image credits: DeividasW

#35 Inequality In Manila

Image credits: Aggravating_Team_137

#36 Tyumen, Russia. It Looks Like A Montage, But It Isn't

Image credits: Soma_Or

#37 Spotted In Barcelona

Image credits: west_manchester

#38 Shenzhen, 1980-2025

Image credits: SexyN8

#39 Kolkata, India

Image credits: TribalSoul899

#40 Kowloon Walled City, True Urban Hell

Image credits: LT_Dude

#41 North Korea

Image credits: TrainerOk5447

#42 Widest Highway In The World Is In Ontario, Canada / Highway 401 /

Image credits: Few_Simple9049

#43 A New Costco Opened This Week. Everything Is Car Parking

Image credits: snivelinglittieturd

#44 Night In The Favela

Image credits: Soma_Or

#45 Chechnya

Image credits: MrTorrecelli

#46 Boston Before And After The Highway Was Moved Underground In 2003

Image credits: biswajit388

#47 Al Dana Villas - A Scar On The Beautiful Eastern Coast Of The UAE

Image credits: Nintentoad123

#48 What's The Point Of This Balcony? (Rimini, Italy)

Image credits: Prophet_Axlax

#49 London, UK

Image credits: DyeCorduroy

#50 Delhi

Image credits: ChardLatter4809

#51 Bnei Brak, Israel. 8th Most Densely Populated City

Image credits: Ok_Doughnut5007

#52 Norilsk (Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia) Is A City With Multiple Faces, Some Of Them Definitely Fit Here

Image credits: Sea-Bat

#53 A Graffiti Piece Across 50 Buildings In Cairo, By El Seed

Image credits: Upstairs_Drive_5602

#54 Egypt Is Demolishing Parts Of Cairo’s 1,200-Year-Old Al-Qarafa Cemetery—one Of The World’s Oldest Continuously Used Necropolises—to Make Way For Roads And Modern Infrastructure

Image credits: QuartzXOX

#55 Cañada Real (Spain), The Biggest Favela In Europe

Image credits: osalcabb

#56 Vancouver, Canada

Image credits: Original-Alfalfa4406

#57 The American Dream

Image credits: c5e3

#58 Kyzyl, Respublic Of Tuva. The Poorest Region Of Russia

Image credits: Fun-Raisin2575

#59 Novi Beograd

Image credits: Fun-Raisin2575

#60 Ivanovo, Russia. Before And After

Image credits: raccoon_on_moon

#61 A Girl Rides The Subway In NYC In 1986

Image credits: -SOFA-KING-VOTE-

#62 Urban Sculpture Disasters Of Turkey

Image credits: -zeki-

#63 Genoa, Italy

Image credits: TribalSoul899

#64 Jakarta Traffic 🇮🇩

Image credits: AdministrativePool93

#65 Kathmandu Is The Most Polluted City In The World Right Now According To AQI

Image credits: satabhatar

#66 Japan (It's Very Hard To Find Trash Cans There)

Image credits: rierrium

#67 German Cities Were Demolished For Open-Cast Mining

Image credits: MirageCaligraph

#68 Leicester England, 1950s

Image credits: Responsible_Top_5279

#69 Cat Ba Town, Vietnam

Image credits: JohanTravel

#70 A Crumbling Shopping Alley In Gifu, Japan

Image credits: biwook

#71 70 Sqm Flat Is Worth 400k USD Here, Asian Side Of Istanbul

Image credits: pasobordo

#72 Slums In Southern Italy

Image credits: beanpoppinfein

#73 More Poverty In Southern Italy

I tried to show poverty without showing Roma/refugee camps, Ik it’s just screenshots, but i lost my phone and lost the old photos i had. I still wanna visit sometime soon, most of its beautiful but let’s not ignore that there is still very real poverty in southern Italy.

Image credits: beanpoppinfein

#74 Las Vegas, Nevada

Image credits: CzechOutSlovakia1993

#75 A Brand New Cemented Road In Bangalore, India

Image credits: TribalSoul899

#76 This University Building In Bangladesh Looks Like A Scene From A Dystopian Sci-Fi Film

The building in question is BRAC university campus located in Dhaka | Photo by arekta_photogram on Instagram.

Image credits: Due-Stuff9151

#77 An Alley In Kabukicho, Tokyo's Largest Red Light District

Image credits: biwook

#78 Moscow

Image credits: Ill_Engineering1522

#79 Traditional Back-To-Back Homes In Beeston. Photo Taken March 19, 2021, In Leeds, UK

Image credits: Upstairs_Drive_5602

#80 Baghdad’s Arab Shore Promenade: From A Green Oasis In 1993 To A Concrete Desert By 2025

Image credits: alfredokurdi

#81 Norilsk, Russia

Image credits: StephenMcGannon

#82 Kyiv, Ukraine. Good Or Bad?

Image credits: Wojewodaruskyj

#83 New York City In The 1970s

During this decade, the city gained notoriety for high rates of crime and social disorders; the city’s subway system was regarded as unsafe and dangerous, and people were warned not to walk the streets after 6 PM. Prostitutes and pimps frequented Times Square, while Central Park became feared as the site of muggings and harassment.

Image credits: Upstairs_Drive_5602

#84 Jinan University Dormitories, China

Image credits: IndividualSociety567

#85 Guangzhou, China 🇨🇳

Image credits: BoyOf_War

#86 Taj Mahal, India

Image credits: Jaded_Cobbler_3134

#87 Lake Victoria, Uganda

Image credits: west_manchester

#88 Karachi,pakistan

Image credits: Alternative_Cut_9280

#89 Alexandria, Egypt

Image credits: opallalla

#90 New Delhi Train Station

Image credits: DryBookkeeper8359

#91 Panelkas With Bridges, Tbilisi, Georgia

Image credits: Fun-Raisin2575

#92 In A Love Hate Relationship With This Building

"White Magnolia", Batumi, Georgia

Image credits: othercoralinejones

#93 Modern Korean Cities Are Pretty Ugly

Image credits: biwook

#94 Tuzla Bank Building, Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Image credits: Next_Payment_1774

#95 Hanoi, Vietnam During Foggy Night

Image credits: khmerkampucheaek

#96 New York Metro

Image credits: Aleksandr_Ulyev

#97 Belgrade, View From My Hotel Room

Image credits: Common_Researcher_66

#98 Turkey Is The Largest Destination For Waste Exported From The EU

Image credits: OverallBaker3572

#99 Wanhua, Taipei. 1965 V.s. 2025

Image credits: Particular-Bed-7846

#100 Taipei, Taiwan

Image credits: SupermanGamin

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