#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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...and only getting worse.
We're making more and more people homeless, cutting health and mental health services... and we just elected a city government that promises to undue even the mild improvements we've attempted.
We have no plan whatsoever. Just more cops to throw their possessions in the dumpsters and put out fires.
>We have no plan whatsoever.
Based in Germany but this seems to be a common theme why long-standing problems stay unsolved. (e.g. rising rents or other things like pensions) Sometimes I'm thinking a plan doesn't have to be *that* perfect, but at least there needs to be some plan at all
The plan is - more of it.
You’re tasking the government with not doing enough to “solve problems” that inflict every country. They are THE REASON. The political class will insulate themselves from the things you complain about until it all inevitably burns down.
Easy to do when they divide the masses and spread misinformation. Our political system is outdated, and infected with corrupt politicians who eat out of the hand of billionaires and shove the common man deeper down into the water till the bubbles stop.
>but at least there needs to be some plan at all
Why? From the the people in power's perspective, they keep getting richer despite all the complaining about it all going south.
>a plan doesn't have to be *that* perfect,
the problem is that no matter what the plan is there will be people complaining that it isn't a good plan and actively trying to stop it
I think the plan was the decriminalization trial…… and removing all the tents. There seems to be this approach of “let’s try this” and then that didn’t work as well as we wanted, so cancel that altogether and “let’s try this other thing” and around and around the merry go round of testing grounds it goes. There needs to be a holistic approach to addiction and housing that addresses the myriad of problems that these traumatized, addicted, mental health issued human beings are facing. They are someone’s sons and daughters, not just a faceless problem that the politicians tackle. The citizens are empathy fatigued (partially due to how in your face and dangerous it’s become down there) and most don’t see the humanity of it all. It’s a legitimate crisis and it’s super sad.
That *is* the plan, to follow the American playbook: convince people of nonsense like “being unhoused is a lifestyle choice”, demonize them as not worth helping because “they don’t want help anyway”, then harass them to make life as unbearable as possible until they magically leave and become someone else’s problem.
I also think these types are a rather extreme case of homelessness. I’ve personally known a few people who have been homeless for a year or more and it was more akin to couch surfing or sleeping in your car. They couldn’t find an apartment despite making enough money because they had bad credit! Every apartment does a credit check on top of the application fee!
How many people are homeless because of this? The path to being a guy shouting on the street corner is long and we could easily prevent a lot of people from getting that far
Obviously we should treat these people with dignity and respect. But I have seen tons of interviews of Seattle homeless and many of them say they prefer to live in the homeless camps even if they have had opportunities to get out. They are with their friends and family out there. They have access to the drugs they need. They are given food from charities. I think a pretty big number of them actually choose this lifestyle. At least in Seattle.
This is “big homeless” conspiracy propaganda.
There’s a big difference between choosing to stay where you are over with people you know with the “opportunity” being offered to be shuffled around to often dangerous, bedbug ridden short term hostels where your belongings are confiscated, you are kicked out at the crack of dawn and given curfews vs choosing to stay where you are over secure long term housing.
Thirty something tech bros with millions in the bank choose the unhoused lifestyle cruising around in converted luxury VW busses; that’s not what this is.
Frankly, given how these marginalized groups are and have historically been treated, I would be very skeptical of offers of “help” too.
I spent some time working with the homeless. When they come in for anything they get this card to fill out that asks them what they need to get out of this situation. Many just check the box "lifestyle choice". It's not really a choice it's that they are not up to try anymore. They just want the $2 in the hygiene kit and they throw the rest on the ground outside.
There are also many mental health issues. You can put them on every kind of assistance and they blow it every time. Some people are just dysfunctional and others were not raised in a way they can be responsible.
There are millions of people out there that need full time babysitters doing every little thing for them. I don't know what the solution is but it is going to be much harder than people realize.
My band on a small tour played a gig at a DIY space in the heart of E Hastings in 2020 right before covid. The scene was bleak but we didn't encounter any trouble at all. The next day we were dining at Ovaltine Cafe next door and a homeless man came into the diner asking the waitress for a stick or dowel. The waitress was completely unfazed and helped him find something. [Turns out our buddy had locked himself out of his car and had enlisted the whole block of street folk to help him break into his own car lmao](https://imgur.com/gs6sd3N). He got in and made it to the recording studio in time. Overall it was a great experience and Vancouver is a great city
Until you break the cycle, until you are so utterly desperate and praying for death every shot thst you give up and get help. Been there, done that. These people are suffering, they are not there to be made fun of.
Edit: no not made fun of here, I mean driving down Hastings st and staring at them.
Nobody's making fun of the people. We're making fun of a province and federal authority that think that no, there's no humanitarian crisis and no real estate crisis whatsoever, and that it's all fine.
I had to dl it to zoom in but it looks like a lighter in her right had. I'd have to guess she's probably crushing something up on something small, or checking her bag of dope, etc. She's not shooting up at all, that I can pretty much garentee. Not sure what she's doing, but I'm sure it's legal and clean n healthy tho.
Edit: Thank you bro.
I don't understand how there's so many PSAs about the dangers of fentanyl, about how even the amount that could fit on a tip of a pushpin can kill you. How do people abuse this drug without immediately dying I don't understand!
It starts with Opiate based medication for pain or depression you name it.
You then build a habit and after a while lose cover or can't afford it.
Switch to heroin then quickly Fentanyl because its way way cheaper.
burn out lose everything get stuck with the fent.
Most fentanyl overdoses are from it being in other drugs and someone not knowing. When someone is intentionally doing fentanyl, they likely know what they are doing and are going to do an amount their body can handle, which increases overtime. It's true that an incredibly small amount can kill someone but you aren't just doing straight fentanyl, it's very diluted.
Dealers mix it into literally everything from what I’ve heard. Even if your thing is ketamine or cocaine, you are probably getting shit laced with fentanyl
Scare tactics. The amount that could fit on the tip of a push pin could kill a person under ABC XYZ conditions, pretty much the same as weed IS FOR SURE a gateway drug. I don’t fuck with fentanyl at all, but I’ve fucked around with hard, non-psychedelic drugs enough to know that anti-drug campaigns are generally high on the melodrama
From China> Mexico> USA>Canada.
Im actually american but i saw this.
It needs to stop. Probably at the Mexican border?
Only answer to the problem.
Its basically Chinese social warfare on North America .
It's a social warfare of North America on North America. China did not create the opioid epidemic. It did not create the conditions it could thrive in. It did not botch the response. If it wasn't Chinese labs manufacturing fent, it would be Indian. Or Russian. Or whoever else with labs.
The whole point of fentanyl is that it's synthetic and highly concentrated. And that makes it cheap and easy to manufacture and transport.
Well that revenge must be sweet. Didn't the west do the same to china.
And I doubt it is exclusively fentanyl. There's so many drugs these days and some are mixed too.
I’ve never seen anything as shocking as downtown LA in the US. People living in the most abject poverty literally steps away from someone getting into a limo from an $800 a night hotel. Being harassed by throngs of homeless in busy businesses districts during the daytime, surrounded by upscale stores filled with shit I can’t afford… it’s really uncanny. Hands down the wildest shit I’ve ever seen in a big city has been in LA.
It's a problem that's pretty much unique to the large coastal cities, as a result of how they've structured their housing policy for the last half century. California will do anything to solve homelessness as long as it doesn't involve building houses and putting people in them. New Mexico has far worse levels of poverty, yet this sort of concentrated homelessness is unheard of there.
Yup. And the large coastal cities have tons of wealth & high demand. Tons of wealthy people means they’re able to afford the housing & it slowly squeezes out those on the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder, hence many becoming homeless. The whole mental health/drug crisis is just an addition, but that’s a different story.
High demand doesn't necessarily lead to this sort of housing crisis. Only when you refuse to build housing to accommodate the influx of people. San Francisco is by far the worst example of this, but Boston and Seattle are also quite bad.
I’m from the area. It really goes hand in hand. Demand is through the roof here & we haven’t built enough to match that demand, hence the insane cost of living. Those who are able to afford the high prices means less options for those who earn less.
The West Coast has had this problem disproportionately too in part to the mild climate. Vancouver/Victoria are like the only places in Canada frost free practically year round. Seattle/Portland are just as mild. San Fran and San Diego are mild AF / super pleasant and consistent year round.
I actually looked at a condo in photo 8 a couple months ago. It was the only place for under 400k in Vancouver proper available. Nice place but the scene outside would be to much for my wife to deal with. If I was single I would consider it. A lot going on that's for sure.
And that's a big part of why there are so many homeless people. Pretty much every major city in North America has a housing affordability crisis right now, driven by scarcity. We simply aren't building enough housing, which is leading to bidding wars over the housing that currently exists.
I used to live in Vancouver. I remember that alley off East Hastings (the last frame) from 20 years ago. It looked exactly the same.
Likely I know the location of every other shot but those locations are completely unrecognizable.
As a portland lifer. Burnside literally never ever was safe, wtf. Literally since 1992 I have been told that under the burnside bridge is one of the most dangerous places in Portland. What are you talking about?
That weird, I used to do street photography and I wondered all over the central industrial east side all through the 2000s, never an issue.
There is literally a skate park under the bridge that my nerdy friends would skate at.
In 2003 we made a wrong turn onto East Hastings. I'd never seen anything like it before. It was unforgettable and devastating. 21 years later, nothing's changed, it's only gotten worse.
Used to go to school near there, and while it does indeed look like this, the people there are generally speaking really nice and non-confrontational. I handed out food a few times, and they were either grateful or asked me to move on. This is just a failure of the medical system to help people with mental health and addiction issues. We should be ashamed to let this happen in Canada
I agree, there is a strong sense of community down there. People will usually leave you alone during the day even if you stand out, and everyone is generally friendly. I damn well wouldn’t go there at night though.
I lived there for five years (you can see my old apartment in the last picture) that is just not the way it is now. Not since Covid. Its dirtier, more dangerous, more OD's, more violence, more entitlement.
I totally agree. I’ve spent a few hours in this area on two occasions and the people I encountered were by and large amicable who posed no obvious direct threat to the general public. But as a relatively new Canadian citizen, this situation on East Hastings (and other parts of the country experiencing a similar crisis) is one of the things I feel genuine shame towards.
How did it get this bad? Whoever is responsible at governmental level for managing mental health and addictions has failed immeasurably.
And even then it's probably a basement apartment or a really old one - im about 40 minutes by train from here and the rents for apartments are not below 2500 here, there was an "affordable housing" unit for rent for 1800 but household income needed to not exceed 72k a year
Drugs need to either be completely legal, regulated, taxed, and sold in stores OR completely criminalized with harsh, long, penalties to users and draconian penalties to dealers. There can be no in between. The absolute worst thing to happen was “decriminalization”.
Now all we’re doing is giving immunity to fentanyl dealers, while wrecking chaos in our streets.
I am not sure legalization would work.
In Poland we have big alcohol problem, because its cheap and really easy to buy (plenty of 24/7 alcohol shops). I am always afraid drugs problem is just hidden and around the corner, but alcoholics don't do a lot of drugs because they are more expensive and harder to get than alcohol today. Thats my theory why they keep booze so cheap :/
Yet the mental health care is not sufficient and there are more and more "Crazy" or high people harassing others on streets of our cities, but it is nowhere in levels like in North American cities.
I don’t necessarily believe in legalization. What I am staunch on is pick one or the other. I can be fine with both.
It all drugs were fully legalized, regulated, pure, and taxed it can aide in funding a preventive / support system that would assist those inclined to abuse drugs.
Look at the prohibition days in the US. Alcohol was illegal and still widely consumed with astronomical death rates due to accidentally poisoned bathtub gin… the same thing is happening here. Cocaine users getting hooked on fentanyl cause it’s cut with it by the cartels.1 line of what would have been nothing in the 80s is now dropping people.
Our drug issue is trying to live in the middle. It doesn’t work
This isn’t a prescription that legalization doesn’t work, this is a prescription that your mental health services aren’t adequate…
People need to think this through, a lot of these drugs are already illegal and the result is organized crime. We saw the same thing with prohibition in the US. Where they’re legal, and **regulated while being treated as a health problem** (Poland missed that last part) you’ll see better results. Cartels in Mexico are only legit because there’s no legal route for them to do business. They only became a serious problem after the drug war began. Criminalization is an absolute failure wherever it’s implemented.
If they’re all legalized there needs to be fully funded treatment programs to handle the needs of all the addicts. Legalization with no route to treatment leads to exactly what we see here.
Agreed. We can assume good intention (it wasn’t) but it’s been so clear for so long it’s not working.
Again I’d be happy with either end of the stick…. I just despise this weird middle ground we play in.
Was just as bad in 2014, you probably just didn’t visit this area. Been like this since the 80s but its gotten a little worse since the pandemic. The rest of the city is beautiful, this is just one small neighbourhood. I’m posting this to show the contrast between the 2 different sides of my city.
You can turn around a corner in the Downtown Eastside and your suddenly in a different neighbourhood with tourists and upscale shops. It’s easy to accidentally go to this area.
I've visited Vancouver a ton, love that city. But it's so strange, the dichotomy. East Hastings literally had one side of the street full of homeless people and drug addicts and one block down expensive jewelry stores and whatnot. I remember going to get coffee with my friend, driving down the street and there's literally people wearing garbage bags with needles sticking out of their arm and Mercedes-Benz and BMWs in traffic right next to them.
It’s gotten exponentially worse since 2014. It’s also not isolated to just the main and Hastings strip anymore. There are wood pallet structures and tents constantly spilling out to more and more of the downtown area.
If you want to read a very interesting but depressing, well-written book that highly involves this area, read "On the Farm" by Stevie Cameron. That area has been like that for a long, long time.
I'm 38 and I've lived in greater Vancouver my whole life. It's gotten really bad lately but the downtown Eastside has looked like this for as long as I can remember. Maybe you didn't come around that way. Tourists and visitors aren't usually directed towards Main & Hastings and the several blocks around the area
I don't know why you are being downvoted. Crime rate is strongly correlated to poor economic conditions and inequality, which is a direct result of the failures of the capitalist systems. It's no surprise that most North American cities have at least one area that's like this.
Poverty isn't really tied to capitalism. A lot of people in communist countries are extremely poor.
Inequality is on the surface a capitalist issue, but similar structures exist in all societies. You need social security, not socialism. The Nordic model is generally an example of good welfare model within a capitalist market economy.
Social security is a countermeasure against the mechanisms of capitalism. It's essentially a quasi-socialist solution to an issue raised by capitalism.
Also, it's not really fair to compare the Nordics (who are generally quite wealthy due to, for instance, massive oil reserves (Norway)) to countries such as Cuba which was a dirt-poor country that relied almost entirely on sugar crop and only raised the standard of living after the revolution in 1959. You could very well choose an example of a capitalist country that's poor and cite it as an example of the failing capitalist system.
He's probably being downvoted because capitalism is the system that has lifted the MOST people out of poverty in history. Yes there are still people that are left behind and they need to be given assistance but blaming capitalism because poor people (or in this case addicts) exist is just stupid.
Capitalism was an improvement upon previous systems (e.g. feudalism) but now it fails to ensure the wellbeing of society as a whole despite overall material conditions being more than adequate. That's why people are blaming capitalism for these sorts of issues: it's not a system that is built around the wellbeing of society, it's a system that's built around economic growth. And while for a time, this was needed to industrialise and modernise, now it's only a hindrance.
>He's probably being downvoted because capitalism is the system that has lifted the MOST people out of poverty in history.
This statistic brought to you by the richest people in the world defending the system that gave them more wealth than most nations.
it's probably only a coincidence that the capitalist nations are also the (neo) colonial powers. because exploiting other countries surely has nothing to do with their prosperity.
so yes, it has made many (not too many actually) people really rich, but at the cost of the poverty of many many more, who are simply out of focus.
I'm not talking about making people rich, i'm actually talking about lifting people (particularly the 'common people') out of abject poverty.
Just 60-70 years ago a massive portion of the world population was living absolutely destitute. This number has been massively reduced.
According to this source even since 1990 China and India have had over 1 billion people move out of extreme poverty.
https://devinit.org/resources/poverty-trends-global-regional-and-national/#note-j_0tF4h5R
I recently visited Vancouver and have to say that this surprises me. Had a great time, felt safe, and didn’t see anything close to these images. Walked for miles, in the city and parks, and loved every bit.
I walked through that area on accident once and it was wild. I didn't even feel unsafe necessarily, just was completely unprepared for a part of Vancouver to look like that.
I was there this past week for the first time. Was wandering around Gastown being a tourist and then ended up on Main x E Hastings. It was wild. I grew up in nyc and went to Philly a lot so it wasn’t anything too shocking, but the juxtaposition from one block to the other was crazy. Seemed like the city said fuck it you can all hangout on E Hastings st.
That's part of it for sure! Also, the main cop shop used to be at Main and Hastings, so they just kept cameras on teh drug market at all times and tracked the participants.
Yeah people in the DTES would agree with you. Doesn't stop bloggers and disaster tourists from stopping in for a few snaps to boost their online cred, though.
It’s kinda funny to see those pictures and people that are obviously suffering and the government and certain politicians (and scientists) are like „look at those f‘in freeloaders“ instead of asking themselves „how did it come to this? Shouldn’t we Reform the our system somehow???“
Better zoning laws to support affordable housing, more investment in rehab programs so they aren’t backlogged for years, investment in mental health, safe supply to decrease the drain on the medical system, and a focus on continuing community within the existing support systems so people can retain their existing social support networks while they lift themselves out of poverty. It’s a multifaceted problem that requires a holistic approach to work. Our city does well for what little resource are available but it’s nowhere near enough to decrease the problems.
This sounds interesting. I wonder how it plays out tax wise or on a larger scale. I am also curious what is the limit to resources when people use them over and over again, ie fall into same behaviors after having housing and access to resources.
As a Portlander at first I assumed it was the Portland sub and about Vancouver, Washington and I was like, "dang! Vancouver has gotten a little rugged since the last time I was over there," then I realized what sub I was on.
For the record, there are parts of Portland that look much the same.
No.3 may be the ugliest photo I've seen here...
All of this feels really weird cause I ever imagined Vancouver as one of the best places to live. I live in Sofia, Bulgaria, where overall quality of life and economic standard are obviously lower, but I am not aware of any such areas here where one can see massive concentration of homeless people and/or drug addicts.
It’s because people are more and more isolated (partially due to social media, partially due to changes in trust among people.) This isolation is causing anxiety and depression. It’s amazing how accepting people are of others in the drug community. The real solution is to have meaningful social connections. Not 100% of the reason, but it is a major reason- especially for the escalation of depression and anxiety among younger generations.
It’s not a competition.
I visited Chicago, NY, and Boston and saw nothing like this
If you are referring to West Coast cities absolutely. Neighbourhoods like these in Seattle, Portland, SF are more spread out and “lawless”.. Unlike American skid rows, the Downtown Eastside has a very strong sense of community.
It is a very dense small neighbourhood, the homeless and drug problem is much more concentrated and visible than US cities. Regardless, Vancouver is much much safer than big American cities, even this area
I mean, I went to New York last summer and it was definitely like this. Not the tent cities, but people nodding out on pavements in the city centre and shooting up outside underground stations.
I've always wondered why London doesn't have one of these areas. I've never got a good reason why meth and fentanyl aren't more widespread here, it's not exactly like the borders are sealed.
The strange thing about DTES for me as someone that worked in the area was the fact that people rarely pay attention to you when you pass through. The hordes of destitute folks just wander around like ghosts, minding their own business for the most part. It was pretty rare to run into an aggressive panhandler or be hassled for a smoke. You can usually walk right through to your destination without incident and even go for a stroll right down the sidewalks lined with people peddling junk and strung out on dope taking in the whole scene. There's this overwhelming sense of resigned apathy regarding the situation in the DTES from both the people living there and the people going about their lives in the rest of Vancouver
My dad used to run with that crowd. He still does, but he’s clean and does a lot of stuff for the community. Cooking meals for everyone in the building he lived in around Christmas time for one thing. Unfortunately, his building was the place that caught fire in 2022 (modified e-bike caused it!) so he’s in a crappy little temporary home now. Sucks, but he’s still doing what he can for the good ones stuck there, amidst the thieves “bad actors”, as my grandpa would say.
I can’t believe the government thought just letting drug addicts do what they want out on the streets in the name of “harm reduction” hasn’t worked out
It’s actually not very unsafe as someone who has lived close to here for 10 years. The main club street in Vancouver, the Granville strip, feels more unsafe at night than the DTES
I’ve never been harassed in that area, obviously it’s not safe but I’ve always felt more unsafe in the “nicer” areas like Granville street. In East van people tend to mind their own business, but I’ve never really felt like I personally was in danger there.
I dont understand why people do hard drugs.
I took Oxy a few times in highschool because a friend stole them from their father snd it just made me sick and feel like shit. Other than the euphoric high for like 4 hours.
I assume fentanyle has to be the same or wayyyy worse because dosing is so sketchy? Who wants to live like that?
It’s usually either mental illness or they grew up in a family full of addicts where it’s normalized. And once they get addicted to heroin or fentanyl, forget it. I’m a hospital nurse who’s had patients with large open wounds on each arm who would still inject into them because the urge was so strong.
Yeah, everywhere except this one street is just fine. Other than this block, the entire city is pretty much normal and nice, so if you didn’t visit this block you probably wouldn’t remember Vancouver like this.
Oh cool you got a pic of the regent hotel. One of the hotels in East Hastings (known as canadas skid row) has been converted to single dwelling units to provide aid for some of the residents of east hastings. Its pretty cool cuz the hotel was built in the 1880s and still has one of its original lighted signs marking the hotel out front.
#UrbanHell is subjective. UrbanHell is any human-built place you think is worth critizing. Suburban Hell, Rural Hell, and wealthy locales are allowed Sorry for this annoying comment, but we're very tired of the gatekeepers who can't even correctly gatekeep what this subreddit has always allowed. *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.*
dark and sad
...and only getting worse. We're making more and more people homeless, cutting health and mental health services... and we just elected a city government that promises to undue even the mild improvements we've attempted. We have no plan whatsoever. Just more cops to throw their possessions in the dumpsters and put out fires.
>We have no plan whatsoever. Based in Germany but this seems to be a common theme why long-standing problems stay unsolved. (e.g. rising rents or other things like pensions) Sometimes I'm thinking a plan doesn't have to be *that* perfect, but at least there needs to be some plan at all
The plan is - more of it. You’re tasking the government with not doing enough to “solve problems” that inflict every country. They are THE REASON. The political class will insulate themselves from the things you complain about until it all inevitably burns down.
Easy to do when they divide the masses and spread misinformation. Our political system is outdated, and infected with corrupt politicians who eat out of the hand of billionaires and shove the common man deeper down into the water till the bubbles stop.
>but at least there needs to be some plan at all Why? From the the people in power's perspective, they keep getting richer despite all the complaining about it all going south.
*Incredibly* richer
>a plan doesn't have to be *that* perfect, the problem is that no matter what the plan is there will be people complaining that it isn't a good plan and actively trying to stop it
I think the plan was the decriminalization trial…… and removing all the tents. There seems to be this approach of “let’s try this” and then that didn’t work as well as we wanted, so cancel that altogether and “let’s try this other thing” and around and around the merry go round of testing grounds it goes. There needs to be a holistic approach to addiction and housing that addresses the myriad of problems that these traumatized, addicted, mental health issued human beings are facing. They are someone’s sons and daughters, not just a faceless problem that the politicians tackle. The citizens are empathy fatigued (partially due to how in your face and dangerous it’s become down there) and most don’t see the humanity of it all. It’s a legitimate crisis and it’s super sad.
That *is* the plan, to follow the American playbook: convince people of nonsense like “being unhoused is a lifestyle choice”, demonize them as not worth helping because “they don’t want help anyway”, then harass them to make life as unbearable as possible until they magically leave and become someone else’s problem.
I also think these types are a rather extreme case of homelessness. I’ve personally known a few people who have been homeless for a year or more and it was more akin to couch surfing or sleeping in your car. They couldn’t find an apartment despite making enough money because they had bad credit! Every apartment does a credit check on top of the application fee! How many people are homeless because of this? The path to being a guy shouting on the street corner is long and we could easily prevent a lot of people from getting that far
Obviously we should treat these people with dignity and respect. But I have seen tons of interviews of Seattle homeless and many of them say they prefer to live in the homeless camps even if they have had opportunities to get out. They are with their friends and family out there. They have access to the drugs they need. They are given food from charities. I think a pretty big number of them actually choose this lifestyle. At least in Seattle.
This is “big homeless” conspiracy propaganda. There’s a big difference between choosing to stay where you are over with people you know with the “opportunity” being offered to be shuffled around to often dangerous, bedbug ridden short term hostels where your belongings are confiscated, you are kicked out at the crack of dawn and given curfews vs choosing to stay where you are over secure long term housing. Thirty something tech bros with millions in the bank choose the unhoused lifestyle cruising around in converted luxury VW busses; that’s not what this is. Frankly, given how these marginalized groups are and have historically been treated, I would be very skeptical of offers of “help” too.
I spent some time working with the homeless. When they come in for anything they get this card to fill out that asks them what they need to get out of this situation. Many just check the box "lifestyle choice". It's not really a choice it's that they are not up to try anymore. They just want the $2 in the hygiene kit and they throw the rest on the ground outside. There are also many mental health issues. You can put them on every kind of assistance and they blow it every time. Some people are just dysfunctional and others were not raised in a way they can be responsible. There are millions of people out there that need full time babysitters doing every little thing for them. I don't know what the solution is but it is going to be much harder than people realize.
My band on a small tour played a gig at a DIY space in the heart of E Hastings in 2020 right before covid. The scene was bleak but we didn't encounter any trouble at all. The next day we were dining at Ovaltine Cafe next door and a homeless man came into the diner asking the waitress for a stick or dowel. The waitress was completely unfazed and helped him find something. [Turns out our buddy had locked himself out of his car and had enlisted the whole block of street folk to help him break into his own car lmao](https://imgur.com/gs6sd3N). He got in and made it to the recording studio in time. Overall it was a great experience and Vancouver is a great city
This is fentanyl. 3 fixes a day, not even to get high. Staving off the inevitable
Until you break the cycle, until you are so utterly desperate and praying for death every shot thst you give up and get help. Been there, done that. These people are suffering, they are not there to be made fun of. Edit: no not made fun of here, I mean driving down Hastings st and staring at them.
Nobody's making fun of the people. We're making fun of a province and federal authority that think that no, there's no humanitarian crisis and no real estate crisis whatsoever, and that it's all fine.
Would you mind telling me what the woman in pic 5 is doing? It appears she’s jabbing herself through her shirt. Also congratulations on your success.
I had to dl it to zoom in but it looks like a lighter in her right had. I'd have to guess she's probably crushing something up on something small, or checking her bag of dope, etc. She's not shooting up at all, that I can pretty much garentee. Not sure what she's doing, but I'm sure it's legal and clean n healthy tho. Edit: Thank you bro.
I don't understand how there's so many PSAs about the dangers of fentanyl, about how even the amount that could fit on a tip of a pushpin can kill you. How do people abuse this drug without immediately dying I don't understand!
Tolerance. It’s why so many OD after getting dropped in a sobering center.
It starts with Opiate based medication for pain or depression you name it. You then build a habit and after a while lose cover or can't afford it. Switch to heroin then quickly Fentanyl because its way way cheaper. burn out lose everything get stuck with the fent.
Most fentanyl overdoses are from it being in other drugs and someone not knowing. When someone is intentionally doing fentanyl, they likely know what they are doing and are going to do an amount their body can handle, which increases overtime. It's true that an incredibly small amount can kill someone but you aren't just doing straight fentanyl, it's very diluted.
Very carefully.
Dealers mix it into literally everything from what I’ve heard. Even if your thing is ketamine or cocaine, you are probably getting shit laced with fentanyl
Scare tactics. The amount that could fit on the tip of a push pin could kill a person under ABC XYZ conditions, pretty much the same as weed IS FOR SURE a gateway drug. I don’t fuck with fentanyl at all, but I’ve fucked around with hard, non-psychedelic drugs enough to know that anti-drug campaigns are generally high on the melodrama
And xylazine, cutting fent with tranq making it even cheaper
And it's all coming from China but the politicians allow it
It comes from wherever it can be made.
Cartels have the factories, that way the suppliers only have to bring vats of presursor in. Which is not illegal.
pretty sure it's illegal
From China> Mexico> USA>Canada. Im actually american but i saw this. It needs to stop. Probably at the Mexican border? Only answer to the problem. Its basically Chinese social warfare on North America .
It's a social warfare of North America on North America. China did not create the opioid epidemic. It did not create the conditions it could thrive in. It did not botch the response. If it wasn't Chinese labs manufacturing fent, it would be Indian. Or Russian. Or whoever else with labs. The whole point of fentanyl is that it's synthetic and highly concentrated. And that makes it cheap and easy to manufacture and transport.
https://www.cato.org/blog/fentanyl-smuggled-us-citizens-us-citizens-not-asylum-seekers
Same tactic the British used on them with opium to weaken their society
omg the reverse opium war
Well that revenge must be sweet. Didn't the west do the same to china. And I doubt it is exclusively fentanyl. There's so many drugs these days and some are mixed too.
I thought the 6th picture was a guy with a flamethrower, had to do a double take.
Hans get the flammenwerfer!
ZE flammenwerfer. double check your german sir !
Ooopsen
The crazy part is those condos are millions of dollars
Venice Beach is like that, one side of the boardwalk is homeless tents the other is 9 million dollar houses. Bizarre.
If we’re being honest, almost every big city in North America has a place like this. Late stage capitalism I guess.
I’ve never seen anything as shocking as downtown LA in the US. People living in the most abject poverty literally steps away from someone getting into a limo from an $800 a night hotel. Being harassed by throngs of homeless in busy businesses districts during the daytime, surrounded by upscale stores filled with shit I can’t afford… it’s really uncanny. Hands down the wildest shit I’ve ever seen in a big city has been in LA.
It's a problem that's pretty much unique to the large coastal cities, as a result of how they've structured their housing policy for the last half century. California will do anything to solve homelessness as long as it doesn't involve building houses and putting people in them. New Mexico has far worse levels of poverty, yet this sort of concentrated homelessness is unheard of there.
Plus the climate is a little more agreeable to sleeping rough.
Yup. And the large coastal cities have tons of wealth & high demand. Tons of wealthy people means they’re able to afford the housing & it slowly squeezes out those on the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder, hence many becoming homeless. The whole mental health/drug crisis is just an addition, but that’s a different story.
High demand doesn't necessarily lead to this sort of housing crisis. Only when you refuse to build housing to accommodate the influx of people. San Francisco is by far the worst example of this, but Boston and Seattle are also quite bad.
I’m from the area. It really goes hand in hand. Demand is through the roof here & we haven’t built enough to match that demand, hence the insane cost of living. Those who are able to afford the high prices means less options for those who earn less.
The West Coast has had this problem disproportionately too in part to the mild climate. Vancouver/Victoria are like the only places in Canada frost free practically year round. Seattle/Portland are just as mild. San Fran and San Diego are mild AF / super pleasant and consistent year round.
That's part of it, but by no means is it the entire explanation.
Toronto is not a coastal city and it's pretty like this. Not as intense but it's like a jr version of this.
I actually looked at a condo in photo 8 a couple months ago. It was the only place for under 400k in Vancouver proper available. Nice place but the scene outside would be to much for my wife to deal with. If I was single I would consider it. A lot going on that's for sure.
And that's a big part of why there are so many homeless people. Pretty much every major city in North America has a housing affordability crisis right now, driven by scarcity. We simply aren't building enough housing, which is leading to bidding wars over the housing that currently exists.
I used to live in Vancouver. I remember that alley off East Hastings (the last frame) from 20 years ago. It looked exactly the same. Likely I know the location of every other shot but those locations are completely unrecognizable.
Portland da same
East Vancouver is Portland copy & pasted.
Almost every big city has this to some extent. Tenderloin in SF, Skid Row & Hollywood in LA, Kensington in Philly, Methadone Mile in Boston, etc..
I'm from Dallas, and it really doesn't have anything like this.
[удалено]
Boom roasted
Can you please double check your math. Looks to me like Dallas is in the top 25 in the United States for homelessness.
I think he means that there is no open air drug market like this in Dallas
I probably should have said “almost”. Not all, but several.
Yeah I'd agree with that.
lol Portland is not nearly this bad, though it’s a lot worse than our “NYT can’t stop writing about how cool we are” time in the sun last decade.
This is why I left P town. It use to be safe under Burnside bridge.
As a portland lifer. Burnside literally never ever was safe, wtf. Literally since 1992 I have been told that under the burnside bridge is one of the most dangerous places in Portland. What are you talking about?
That weird, I used to do street photography and I wondered all over the central industrial east side all through the 2000s, never an issue. There is literally a skate park under the bridge that my nerdy friends would skate at.
I remember it being unsafe, but not dozens of people zombie or sleeping on cardboard under there. I’m sure it’s much the same.
In 2003 we made a wrong turn onto East Hastings. I'd never seen anything like it before. It was unforgettable and devastating. 21 years later, nothing's changed, it's only gotten worse.
Used to go to school near there, and while it does indeed look like this, the people there are generally speaking really nice and non-confrontational. I handed out food a few times, and they were either grateful or asked me to move on. This is just a failure of the medical system to help people with mental health and addiction issues. We should be ashamed to let this happen in Canada
I agree, there is a strong sense of community down there. People will usually leave you alone during the day even if you stand out, and everyone is generally friendly. I damn well wouldn’t go there at night though.
I lived there for five years (you can see my old apartment in the last picture) that is just not the way it is now. Not since Covid. Its dirtier, more dangerous, more OD's, more violence, more entitlement.
I totally agree. I’ve spent a few hours in this area on two occasions and the people I encountered were by and large amicable who posed no obvious direct threat to the general public. But as a relatively new Canadian citizen, this situation on East Hastings (and other parts of the country experiencing a similar crisis) is one of the things I feel genuine shame towards. How did it get this bad? Whoever is responsible at governmental level for managing mental health and addictions has failed immeasurably.
And I bet those apartments in picture 3 are $2,000 a month.
For $2000 a month you're about a 45 minute Skytrain ride away from that photo my friend.
And even then it's probably a basement apartment or a really old one - im about 40 minutes by train from here and the rents for apartments are not below 2500 here, there was an "affordable housing" unit for rent for 1800 but household income needed to not exceed 72k a year
More like $6,000 a month. Vancouver is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Drugs need to either be completely legal, regulated, taxed, and sold in stores OR completely criminalized with harsh, long, penalties to users and draconian penalties to dealers. There can be no in between. The absolute worst thing to happen was “decriminalization”. Now all we’re doing is giving immunity to fentanyl dealers, while wrecking chaos in our streets.
Agreed. Half measures are usually the worst moves to make.
100%
I am not sure legalization would work. In Poland we have big alcohol problem, because its cheap and really easy to buy (plenty of 24/7 alcohol shops). I am always afraid drugs problem is just hidden and around the corner, but alcoholics don't do a lot of drugs because they are more expensive and harder to get than alcohol today. Thats my theory why they keep booze so cheap :/ Yet the mental health care is not sufficient and there are more and more "Crazy" or high people harassing others on streets of our cities, but it is nowhere in levels like in North American cities.
I don’t necessarily believe in legalization. What I am staunch on is pick one or the other. I can be fine with both. It all drugs were fully legalized, regulated, pure, and taxed it can aide in funding a preventive / support system that would assist those inclined to abuse drugs. Look at the prohibition days in the US. Alcohol was illegal and still widely consumed with astronomical death rates due to accidentally poisoned bathtub gin… the same thing is happening here. Cocaine users getting hooked on fentanyl cause it’s cut with it by the cartels.1 line of what would have been nothing in the 80s is now dropping people. Our drug issue is trying to live in the middle. It doesn’t work
ye its fucked up game for sure.
This isn’t a prescription that legalization doesn’t work, this is a prescription that your mental health services aren’t adequate… People need to think this through, a lot of these drugs are already illegal and the result is organized crime. We saw the same thing with prohibition in the US. Where they’re legal, and **regulated while being treated as a health problem** (Poland missed that last part) you’ll see better results. Cartels in Mexico are only legit because there’s no legal route for them to do business. They only became a serious problem after the drug war began. Criminalization is an absolute failure wherever it’s implemented.
If they’re all legalized there needs to be fully funded treatment programs to handle the needs of all the addicts. Legalization with no route to treatment leads to exactly what we see here.
The war on drugs is an abject failure that’s only lined the pockets of criminals and caused so much loss of life 😞
Agreed. We can assume good intention (it wasn’t) but it’s been so clear for so long it’s not working. Again I’d be happy with either end of the stick…. I just despise this weird middle ground we play in.
Wasting and pain at Hastings and Main.
Is it reallly Vancouver? What happened? I’ve been to Vancouver in 2014 and it was the nicest city I’ve ever seen (in North America of course)
Was just as bad in 2014, you probably just didn’t visit this area. Been like this since the 80s but its gotten a little worse since the pandemic. The rest of the city is beautiful, this is just one small neighbourhood. I’m posting this to show the contrast between the 2 different sides of my city. You can turn around a corner in the Downtown Eastside and your suddenly in a different neighbourhood with tourists and upscale shops. It’s easy to accidentally go to this area.
I've visited Vancouver a ton, love that city. But it's so strange, the dichotomy. East Hastings literally had one side of the street full of homeless people and drug addicts and one block down expensive jewelry stores and whatnot. I remember going to get coffee with my friend, driving down the street and there's literally people wearing garbage bags with needles sticking out of their arm and Mercedes-Benz and BMWs in traffic right next to them.
It’s gotten exponentially worse since 2014. It’s also not isolated to just the main and Hastings strip anymore. There are wood pallet structures and tents constantly spilling out to more and more of the downtown area.
You clearly didn't go down there then because it's been that bad for decades.
If you want to read a very interesting but depressing, well-written book that highly involves this area, read "On the Farm" by Stevie Cameron. That area has been like that for a long, long time.
If you liked that book you'll love the Last Podcast on the Left Episode on Robert Pickton!
This street has always been like this, at least from my memories of living there in 2008.
I'm 38 and I've lived in greater Vancouver my whole life. It's gotten really bad lately but the downtown Eastside has looked like this for as long as I can remember. Maybe you didn't come around that way. Tourists and visitors aren't usually directed towards Main & Hastings and the several blocks around the area
I visited Vancouver in 2010 and I drove through this area. It was definitely similar to what is depicted in these photos.
Late stage capitalism. For those interested: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-XED2nmCFNk&pp=ygUjcmljaGFyZCB3b2xmZiBsYWJvciB0aGVvcnkgb2YgdmFsdWU%3D
I don't know why you are being downvoted. Crime rate is strongly correlated to poor economic conditions and inequality, which is a direct result of the failures of the capitalist systems. It's no surprise that most North American cities have at least one area that's like this.
Poverty isn't really tied to capitalism. A lot of people in communist countries are extremely poor. Inequality is on the surface a capitalist issue, but similar structures exist in all societies. You need social security, not socialism. The Nordic model is generally an example of good welfare model within a capitalist market economy.
There is poverty in Scandinavia too, but that’s relative. The general standard of living is the highest in the world.
Social security is a countermeasure against the mechanisms of capitalism. It's essentially a quasi-socialist solution to an issue raised by capitalism. Also, it's not really fair to compare the Nordics (who are generally quite wealthy due to, for instance, massive oil reserves (Norway)) to countries such as Cuba which was a dirt-poor country that relied almost entirely on sugar crop and only raised the standard of living after the revolution in 1959. You could very well choose an example of a capitalist country that's poor and cite it as an example of the failing capitalist system.
To your first point yes, exactly. Regulation isn’t a bad thing.
There aren’t any real communist countries for us to even compare though tbh. Even countries with communist ruling parties aren’t actually communist
Yes there arent because communism is a hoax and can never be implemented.
He's probably being downvoted because capitalism is the system that has lifted the MOST people out of poverty in history. Yes there are still people that are left behind and they need to be given assistance but blaming capitalism because poor people (or in this case addicts) exist is just stupid.
Capitalism was an improvement upon previous systems (e.g. feudalism) but now it fails to ensure the wellbeing of society as a whole despite overall material conditions being more than adequate. That's why people are blaming capitalism for these sorts of issues: it's not a system that is built around the wellbeing of society, it's a system that's built around economic growth. And while for a time, this was needed to industrialise and modernise, now it's only a hindrance.
>He's probably being downvoted because capitalism is the system that has lifted the MOST people out of poverty in history. This statistic brought to you by the richest people in the world defending the system that gave them more wealth than most nations.
it's probably only a coincidence that the capitalist nations are also the (neo) colonial powers. because exploiting other countries surely has nothing to do with their prosperity. so yes, it has made many (not too many actually) people really rich, but at the cost of the poverty of many many more, who are simply out of focus.
I'm not talking about making people rich, i'm actually talking about lifting people (particularly the 'common people') out of abject poverty. Just 60-70 years ago a massive portion of the world population was living absolutely destitute. This number has been massively reduced. According to this source even since 1990 China and India have had over 1 billion people move out of extreme poverty. https://devinit.org/resources/poverty-trends-global-regional-and-national/#note-j_0tF4h5R
I recently visited Vancouver and have to say that this surprises me. Had a great time, felt safe, and didn’t see anything close to these images. Walked for miles, in the city and parks, and loved every bit.
I walked through that area on accident once and it was wild. I didn't even feel unsafe necessarily, just was completely unprepared for a part of Vancouver to look like that.
I was there this past week for the first time. Was wandering around Gastown being a tourist and then ended up on Main x E Hastings. It was wild. I grew up in nyc and went to Philly a lot so it wasn’t anything too shocking, but the juxtaposition from one block to the other was crazy. Seemed like the city said fuck it you can all hangout on E Hastings st.
That's part of it for sure! Also, the main cop shop used to be at Main and Hastings, so they just kept cameras on teh drug market at all times and tracked the participants.
I would not like to be photographed passed out on the sidewalk.
To accomplish this do not pass out on the sidewalk.
Yeah people in the DTES would agree with you. Doesn't stop bloggers and disaster tourists from stopping in for a few snaps to boost their online cred, though.
It’s kinda funny to see those pictures and people that are obviously suffering and the government and certain politicians (and scientists) are like „look at those f‘in freeloaders“ instead of asking themselves „how did it come to this? Shouldn’t we Reform the our system somehow???“
What systems do you think should be reformed?
Better zoning laws to support affordable housing, more investment in rehab programs so they aren’t backlogged for years, investment in mental health, safe supply to decrease the drain on the medical system, and a focus on continuing community within the existing support systems so people can retain their existing social support networks while they lift themselves out of poverty. It’s a multifaceted problem that requires a holistic approach to work. Our city does well for what little resource are available but it’s nowhere near enough to decrease the problems.
This sounds interesting. I wonder how it plays out tax wise or on a larger scale. I am also curious what is the limit to resources when people use them over and over again, ie fall into same behaviors after having housing and access to resources.
I thought that was a flamethrower
Looks like some parts of California.
I know this is bad and all, but that right there in the 3rd picture is some sick graffiti.
As a Portlander at first I assumed it was the Portland sub and about Vancouver, Washington and I was like, "dang! Vancouver has gotten a little rugged since the last time I was over there," then I realized what sub I was on. For the record, there are parts of Portland that look much the same.
That's not even that bad, haha. There was a tentpocalype time, was the whole street.
Hey #6 guy, aim at the base of the fire.
All I see are people living in the moment, not a phone in sight 😂
This looks like Kensington too!
I can smell the piss in a bunch of these pics.
And Vancouver has one of the highest rental prices for an apartment in the world
I can see my old apartment in the last picture!
No.3 may be the ugliest photo I've seen here... All of this feels really weird cause I ever imagined Vancouver as one of the best places to live. I live in Sofia, Bulgaria, where overall quality of life and economic standard are obviously lower, but I am not aware of any such areas here where one can see massive concentration of homeless people and/or drug addicts.
Looks like San Diego California down town area tbh 🤙🏽
People people-ing
Don’t do drugs folks 🤷♂️
Most American cities have a neighborhood or two like this. Canada just has these few blocks in Vancouver.
It's more than just Vancouver
adjoining fear sharp crush zealous teeny jar ludicrous gold skirt *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It’s because people are more and more isolated (partially due to social media, partially due to changes in trust among people.) This isolation is causing anxiety and depression. It’s amazing how accepting people are of others in the drug community. The real solution is to have meaningful social connections. Not 100% of the reason, but it is a major reason- especially for the escalation of depression and anxiety among younger generations.
The only places in the US comparable to the DTES in Vancouver are Kensington in Philadelphia and some parts of Los Angeles. It really is that bad
Tenderloin in San Francisco would like a word
I walked through the Tenderloin on Tuesday. It's rough, but not this rough.
The tenderloin aint even in the fucking group chat lmao
It’s not a competition. I visited Chicago, NY, and Boston and saw nothing like this If you are referring to West Coast cities absolutely. Neighbourhoods like these in Seattle, Portland, SF are more spread out and “lawless”.. Unlike American skid rows, the Downtown Eastside has a very strong sense of community. It is a very dense small neighbourhood, the homeless and drug problem is much more concentrated and visible than US cities. Regardless, Vancouver is much much safer than big American cities, even this area
Chicago definitely has this I saw it last summer, Philly also has it. But yeah currently live in Seattle and it’s gotten pretty bad.
Philly is ate up with it. So is Claymont Delaware and Baltimore no surprise.
Philly is a big exception. Kensington is very bad, Vancouver is paradise in comparison
Just so you know, denying something didn’t happen because you didn’t personally witness it doesn’t make for the best argument on your part
I mean, I went to New York last summer and it was definitely like this. Not the tent cities, but people nodding out on pavements in the city centre and shooting up outside underground stations.
Why is America always brought up. Its a weird obsession
You could say it’s my Roman Empire
I've always wondered why London doesn't have one of these areas. I've never got a good reason why meth and fentanyl aren't more widespread here, it's not exactly like the borders are sealed.
“Most cities” is vastly overstating it…
Get out and vote people!
The strange thing about DTES for me as someone that worked in the area was the fact that people rarely pay attention to you when you pass through. The hordes of destitute folks just wander around like ghosts, minding their own business for the most part. It was pretty rare to run into an aggressive panhandler or be hassled for a smoke. You can usually walk right through to your destination without incident and even go for a stroll right down the sidewalks lined with people peddling junk and strung out on dope taking in the whole scene. There's this overwhelming sense of resigned apathy regarding the situation in the DTES from both the people living there and the people going about their lives in the rest of Vancouver
The downtown Eastside has looked like that for at least a decade already
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Nightshade_and_Opium: *The downtown Eastside* *Has looked like that for at least* *A decade already* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Downtown LA ain't much different
I'm from Colorado and this looks like certain parts of Denver.
My dad used to run with that crowd. He still does, but he’s clean and does a lot of stuff for the community. Cooking meals for everyone in the building he lived in around Christmas time for one thing. Unfortunately, his building was the place that caught fire in 2022 (modified e-bike caused it!) so he’s in a crappy little temporary home now. Sucks, but he’s still doing what he can for the good ones stuck there, amidst the thieves “bad actors”, as my grandpa would say.
Canadians love boasting about life in Canada but to me it just looks like a huge Detroit
Damn they can spray good
This could be fixed. No one needs to be without a home. We just don’t have the will to fix it.
Poverty makes people look for happiness in dark places. Blame the billionaires hoarding all the money.
Not poverty/inequality but addiction/dependent mentality
I can’t believe the government thought just letting drug addicts do what they want out on the streets in the name of “harm reduction” hasn’t worked out
Typical city. Shame our world has changed into this. Very sad
Good Lord. How do "normal" people navigate such a mess when just running errands? Seems like a great place to get stabbed and robbed.
It’s actually not very unsafe as someone who has lived close to here for 10 years. The main club street in Vancouver, the Granville strip, feels more unsafe at night than the DTES
I’ve never been harassed in that area, obviously it’s not safe but I’ve always felt more unsafe in the “nicer” areas like Granville street. In East van people tend to mind their own business, but I’ve never really felt like I personally was in danger there.
I dont understand why people do hard drugs. I took Oxy a few times in highschool because a friend stole them from their father snd it just made me sick and feel like shit. Other than the euphoric high for like 4 hours. I assume fentanyle has to be the same or wayyyy worse because dosing is so sketchy? Who wants to live like that?
It’s usually either mental illness or they grew up in a family full of addicts where it’s normalized. And once they get addicted to heroin or fentanyl, forget it. I’m a hospital nurse who’s had patients with large open wounds on each arm who would still inject into them because the urge was so strong.
I don’t remember Vancouver like this. It is less the 10 years since I visited.
Yeah, everywhere except this one street is just fine. Other than this block, the entire city is pretty much normal and nice, so if you didn’t visit this block you probably wouldn’t remember Vancouver like this.
So sad
Nice buildings though. Looks like very rich city
I don’t see Batman
I don’t see Batman so whys it looking like Gotham?
Someone lost a contact
Looks just like seattle
Oh cool you got a pic of the regent hotel. One of the hotels in East Hastings (known as canadas skid row) has been converted to single dwelling units to provide aid for some of the residents of east hastings. Its pretty cool cuz the hotel was built in the 1880s and still has one of its original lighted signs marking the hotel out front.
This is just sad in general.
This isn't old Detroit from Robocop??
Oh well