An urban explorer stands near the outfall of a muffin shaped brick and concrete storm drain, under Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Urban exploration (often shortened as urbex or UE) is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of human civilization. Urban exploration is also commonly referred to as infiltration, although some people consider infiltration to be more closely associated with the exploration of active or inhabited sites. In the USA, it may also be referred to as "draining" (when exploring drains) "urban spelunking", and "urban caving", "vadding", "building hacking", "Reality hacking" or "roof and tunnel hacking". An urban explorer stands near the outfall of a muffin shaped brick and concrete storm drain, under Saint Paul, Minnesota. ... An urban explorer stands near the outfall of a muffin shaped brick and concrete storm drain, under Saint Paul, Minnesota. ... A storm drain, storm sewer, or stormwater drain (in Australia) system is designed to drain excess rain and ground water from an area. ... Location in Ramsey County and the state of Minnesota. ... Vadding is a verb which has become synonymous with urban exploration. ... A mural by Roof & Tunnel Hackers at MIT. Roof and Tunnel Hacking is the unauthorized (generally prohibited and often outright illegal) entry into and exploration of roof and utility tunnel spaces. ...

Targets of exploration

Urban explorers often attempt some or all of these subsets of urban exploration.

Abandonments

Abandoned Foundry building in Providence, RI.

Ventures into abandoned structures are perhaps the most common example of urban exploration. Abandoned sites are generally entered first by locals, and often sport large amounts of graffiti and acts of vandalism. Explorers face various risks in abandoned structures including collapsing roofs and floors, broken glass, guard dogs, the presence of chemicals, other harmful substances, most notably asbestos, hostile squatters and sometimes motion detectors. Some explorers wear respirators to protect their airways. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1200x1600, 332 KB)[edit] Summary Abandoned foundry building in Providence, RI which dates back to the Blackstone Valley American Industrial Revolution. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1200x1600, 332 KB)[edit] Summary Abandoned foundry building in Providence, RI which dates back to the Blackstone Valley American Industrial Revolution. ... Providence may mean: Divine Providence Providence College in Rhode Island, USA Providence, television series Providence, a 1977 film Providence, a 1991 film starring Keanu Reeves Providence, 1970s-era Providence may also refer to: Providence, Rhode Island (in Providence County) Providence, Alabama Providence, Kentucky Providence, New York It is also the... Official language(s) None Capital Providence Largest city Providence Area  Ranked 50th  - Total 1,214* sq mi (3,144* km²)  - Width 37 miles (60 km)  - Length 48 miles (77 km)  - % water 32. ... Graffiti (strictly, as singular, graffito, from the Italian — graffiti being the plural) is graphics applied without authorization to publicly viewable surfaces. ... Fibrous asbestos on muscovite Asbestos Asbestos Asbestos (a misapplication of Latin: asbestos quicklime from Greek : a, not and sbestos, extinguishable) describes any of a group of minerals that can be fibrous, many of which are metamorphic and are hydrous magnesium silicates. ... To squat is to occupy an unoccupied or abandoned space or building that the individual does not own, rent, or otherwise have permission to use. ...

Exploration targets vary from one country to another, but some of the more popular or high-profile abandonments include grain elevators, missile silos, hospitals, asylums, and sanatoriums. Grain elevators are buildings or complexes of buildings for storage and shipment of grain. ... A missile silo is a underground vertical cylindrical container for the storage and launching of ICBMs. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... A psychiatric hospital (also called at various places and times, mental hospital, mental ward, asylum, state hospital, or sanitarium) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... Sanatório Heliantia A sanatorium refers to a medical facility for long-term illness, typically cholera or tuberculosis. ...

Most, if not all explorers of abandonments find the decay of uninhabited spaces to be beautiful; many of these explorers are also photographers. Some abandonments are heavily guarded with motion sensors and active security. Others are more easily accessible and carry less risk of discovery. Abandonments are also popular among history buffs, 'urban archaeologists,' 'ghosthunters' and fans of graffiti art. A ghostly woman coming down the stairs. ... Graffiti (strictly, as singular, graffito, from the Italian — graffiti being the plural) is graphics applied without authorization to publicly viewable surfaces. ...

Active buildings

Another aspect of urban exploration is the practice of exploring active or in use buildings. This includes seeing secured or "member-only" areas, mechanical rooms, roofs, elevator rooms, and other normally unseen parts of such buildings. The term 'infiltration' is often associated with the exploration of active structures.

Catacombs

Catacombs such as those found in Paris, Rome and Naples have been investigated by urban explorers. The catacombs under Paris, for instance, have been considered the "Holy Grail" by some due to their extensive nature and history. Catacombs Paris Catacombs Rome - entrance Catacombs Rome - entrance (detail) The original catacombs are a network of underground burial galleries near San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... The Bay of Naples Naples (Italian: , Neapolitan: Nàpule, from Greek Νεάπολη < Νέα Πόλις Néa Pólis New City) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of the Campania region and the Province of Naples. ... For historical artifacts associated with the cup of the Last Supper, see Holy Chalice. ...

Sewers and storm drains

Entry into storm drains, or draining, is another common form of UE. Groups devoted to the task have arisen, such as the Cave Clan in Australia. Draining has a specialized set of guidelines, the foremost of which is "When it rains, no drains." A storm drain, storm sewer, or stormwater drain (in Australia) system is designed to drain excess rain and ground water from an area. ... Cave Clan is a primarily Australian group dedicated to urban exploration. ...

A small subset of explorers enter sanitary sewers. Sometimes they are the only connection to caves or other subterranean feature. Sewers are among the most dangerous locations to explore.

Transit tunnels

The subset of urban exploration deals with exploring active and abandoned subway and underground railway tunnels and bores. Since these are in major cities, they carry stiff penalties if one should be caught while trespassing in these, especially after the September 11, 2001 attacks. As a result, this type of exploration is rarely publicised. Although they exist worldwide, those who partake in this often reside near New York City, Toronto, London, Sydney and Moscow, along with many other major cities throughout the world. A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC, City That Never Sleeps, The Concrete Jungle, The City So Nice They Named It Twice Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1676  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   8537. ...

Utility tunnels

A picture of a Utility tunnel taken by an Urban Explorer under a university in Toronto Ontario, Canada

Universities and other large institutions, such as hospitals, often distribute steam for heating buildings from a central heating plant. These steam ducts are generally run through utility tunnels, which are often accessible solely for the purposes of maintenance. Many of these steam tunnels, such as those on college campuses, often also have a tradition of exploration by students. This was once called vadding at MIT, though students there now refer to it as roof and tunnel hacking. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (4032x3024, 1706 KB) A view of of a Utility tunnel in Toronto, Canada. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (4032x3024, 1706 KB) A view of of a Utility tunnel in Toronto, Canada. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... Vadding is a verb which has become synonymous with urban exploration. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private, coeducational research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... A mural by Roof & Tunnel Hackers at MIT. Roof and Tunnel Hacking is the unauthorized (generally prohibited and often outright illegal) entry into and exploration of roof and utility tunnel spaces. ...

Steam tunnels in general have been getting more secure in recent years, due to their use for carrying network backbones and perceived risk of their use in terrorist activities, safety and liability.

Some steam tunnels have dirt floors, no lighting and can have temperatures upwards of 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46° C). Others have concrete floors, bright light, and can even be quite nice and feature a cool temperature. Most steam tunnels have large intake fans to bring in fresh air, and push all of the hot air out the back.

Ethics

Most urban explorers understand the risks that they face if caught while trespassing or breaking and entering. The crime is generally seen as a means to an end, however, rather than being the focal point of the hobby. There are some urban explorers that tend to stick to a basic set of "ethical practices" out of respect for the locations that they visit, as well as for any other explorers who may want to visit later. The hobby, however, is still ultimately an unstructured one, and there are rarely two explorers who share the same views on ethics. As such, there are many exceptions to these "practices". A sign warning against trespassing // In law, trespass can be: the criminal act of going into somebody elses land or property without permission of the owner or lessee; it is also a civil law tort that may be a valid cause of action to seek judicial relief and possibly... Burglars attempted to break into an apartment by pulling away the lock. ...

To some, the idea behind these "ethical practices" is to leave buildings in the same state that they were in before they were visited. The common, but not always entirely accurate catchphrase for this ethical standpoint is the Sierra Club's motto: "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." Some try and adhere to this motto which frowns heavily upon theft, vandalism, tagging, graffiti, and any other crime except for trespassing. The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization founded on May 28, 1892 in San Francisco, California by the well-known conservationist John Muir, who became its first president. ... Everyday instance of theft: the bike which fits on this wheel has disappeared. ... A caricature of Gustave Courbet taking down a Morris column, published by Le Père Duchêne illustré magazine Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement destruction of a structure or symbol against the will of the owner/governing body. ... Tagging is a term used in a number of contexts for different purposes, mostly referring to adding a tag of some form. ... Graffiti (strictly, as singular, graffito, from the Italian — graffiti being the plural) is graphics applied without authorization to publicly viewable surfaces. ... A sign warning against trespassing // In law, trespass can be: the criminal act of going into somebody elses land or property without permission of the owner or lessee; it is also a civil law tort that may be a valid cause of action to seek judicial relief and possibly...

Some explorers, though, remove items from abandoned sites to preserve them or to keep as souvenirs. More often than not, these explorers save these items from further decay or destruction when a location has become a target of vandalism or is being demolished. Look up souvenir in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A caricature of Gustave Courbet taking down a Morris column, published by Le Père Duchêne illustré magazine Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement destruction of a structure or symbol against the will of the owner/governing body. ...

Another counterpoint to the "leave no trace" ethic is tagging. Graffiti in drains is sometimes condoned or encouraged as long as speleothems and other features aren't damaged. Drainers may use it to indicate how far down the drain a given explorer has been. Similarly, tags may be left in very inaccessible places such as inside false ceilings, at the tops of elevator shafts, and so on. A speleothem (from the Greek for cave deposit) is a formal term for what is also known as a cave formation, or amongst cavers, collectively known as pretties. ...

Some locations contain a small area reserved for leaving tags, known as a guest book. These vary from actual books to blackboards to pieces of scrap metal or wood, or even the dust on an old piece of machinery. Rarely, employee guestbooks will be found, made before the business in question closed. Tags, especially those left in guest books, are sometimes referred to as "sign-ins", and the process of leaving them is "signing in". In marked contrast to the values of mainstream U.S. urban graffiti, tags are generally made to be unobtrusive, being written in conventional or slightly enlarged handwriting with pens or markers rather than larger markings made with paint.

As with many other cases of ethical principles, it is primarily up to the individual to make their own decisions based on their viewpoints and their current situation.

Popularity

West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia. It offers tours to the public.

The rise in the popularity of urban exploration can be attributed to its increased media attention. Recent television shows, such as "Urban Explorers" on the Discovery Channel, MTV's Fear, and the ghost hunting exploits of The Atlantic Paranormal Society have packaged the hobby for a popular audience; interviews, such as on "New Morning" on the Hallmark Channel, look more closely at the everyday aspects of the activity ^[1]. Talks and exhibits on urban exploration have appeared at the 5th and 6th Hackers on Planet Earth Conference, complementing numerous newspaper articles and interviews. With the advent rise in the relative popularity of the hobby due to this increased focus, there has been increasing discussion on whether the extra attention has been beneficial to urban exploration as a whole ^{[2] [3]}. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (426x627, 99 KB) West Virginia State Penitentiary File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (426x627, 99 KB) West Virginia State Penitentiary File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The West Virginia State Penitentiary is a retired, Gothic style prison located in Moundsville, West Virginia. ... Moundsville is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. ... Discovery Channel is a property of Discovery Communications primarily packaged as a network entertainment brand distributed in virtually every pay-television market in the world. ... MTVs Fear was an MTV reality show in 2000, that placed a group of 5 or more contestants in a reputedly haunted location and led them on a series of dares over two nights to explore whether or not the place was haunted. ... Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations said to be haunted. ... The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) is an organization based in Warwick, Rhode Island, USA that investigates paranormal activity. ... The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts in over 100 countries. ... Hackers of Planet Earth or HOPE is a conference series sponsored by the hacker magazine 2600 The Hacker Quarterly. ...

The growing popularity of the activity has resulted not just in increased attention from explorers, but also from vandals and law enforcement. The illicit aspects of urban exploring, which may include trespassing and breaking and entering, have brought along with them critical articles in mainstream newspapers. In one recent article ^[4], web-postings and photographs from the web-site Urban Exploration Resource were cited as evidence that explorers were trespassing in a closed prison in Northern Virginia. Users had posted specific details on entry points and how "easy" it was to gain entry to the disused facility ^[5]. This does not cite its references or sources. ...

In that regard, some explorers have become wary of posting information and photographs on UE-related websites for fear of being prosecuted for trespassing. Two popular web-sites, Urban Exploration Resource and Deggi5, have been locked in argument about the structure of urban exploration web-sites. UER has an open forum and a database of abandonments and active "infiltrations", while Deggi5's forum is open only to those that the moderators know personally. Additionally, arguments focus on whether online listings of explorable structures undermine the "underground" aspect of urban exploration. ^{[6] [7]}

Along with the rise in the popularity of urban exploring, numerous events have been hosted throughout the world. These organized meetings have included campouts, barbeques, day-long explorations, and tours of active and abandoned sites. While most of these are illegal in the sense that they involve trespassing or breaking and entering, a handful of meets, such as a recent event held at the West Virginia State Penitentiary, involve tours or lock-ins. Others include UE-related gatherings, such as a meet held by an urban explorer who calls himself Shiroi in which stunts were performed in an abandoned structure ^[8]. This has received mixed criticism from the urban exploration community^[9]. The West Virginia State Penitentiary is a retired, Gothic style prison located in Moundsville, West Virginia. ...

In the media

Books

Access All Areas book authored by Ninjalicious.

Many urban exploration books are available, including: Image File history File links Ninjalicious_Book_Cover. ... Image File history File links Ninjalicious_Book_Cover. ... Ninjalicious is a famous and much revered Toronto based urban Explorer He was the founder of the famous Infiltration Zine, which he first started in 1996 and the website www. ...

• Ninjalicious (2005). Access All Areas: A user's guide to the art of urban exploration. PO Box 13, Station E, Toronto, ON M6H 4E1 Canada: Infilpress. ISBN 0-9737787-0-9
• Wand, Eku and Arnold, Dietmar (2000). Berlin im Untergrund: Potsdamer Platz. Eku interactive e. K., Berlin, Germany. ISBN 3-935709-02-1
• Deyo, L.B. and Leibowitz, David "Lefty". Invisible Frontier: Exploring the tunnels, ruins & rooftops of hidden New York. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-609-80931-8
• Solis, Julia. New York Underground: The Anatomy of a City. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-95013-9
• The Urban Adventure Handbook. Ten Speed Press.

The following two photography books by Chilean-born, New York–based photographer and documentarian Camilo José Vergara are not explicitly about urban exploration, but Mr. Vergara uses many of the same techniques as urban explorers to gain access to the abandoned buildings which he photographs to document their decay. Ninjalicious is a famous and much revered Toronto based urban Explorer He was the founder of the famous Infiltration Zine, which he first started in 1996 and the website www. ... Julia Solis is a writer and photographer who investigates ruined urban spaces. ... Camilo José Vergara (b. ...

• Camilo José Vergara. "American Ruins". Monacelli. ISBN 1-58093-056-5
• Camilo José Vergara. "The New American Ghetto". Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2331-1

Fiction: Camilo José Vergara (b. ... Camilo José Vergara (b. ...

• Urban explorers (termed "creepers") and their culture are at the core of the thriller Creepers by well-known author David Morrell[10].

This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Magazines

• 5100: A Canadian Urban Exploration magazine focusing mainly on Western Canada.
• The Cave Clan Magazine: Australian draining magazine.
• Jinx: United States urban exploration magazine.

Movies

• Doom Asylum (1987) - A demented coroner inhabits an abandoned mental asylum. When several teenagers trespass on his property, he proceeds to kill them off one by one. Filmed on location at the since-demolished Essex Mountain Sanitorium in New Jersey.
• Pray for Rain's "After...", (2006) a supernatural thriller about three urban explorers who get more than they bargain for when they set out to explore the secret world beneath Moscow. It has just been accepted into AFI Fest.

• Red Scream Films' "Prison of the Psychotic Damned", (2006) the world's first exploitation style UE film.

• Brad Anderson's "Session 9" (2001) is a movie about an asbestos cleaning crew working in an abandoned mental hospital. Tensions rise as the horrific past of the mental institution seems to be coming back.

• Phillip Booth's "Death Tunnel" (2005). Set in Waverly Hills TB Sanitarium in Louisville, Kentucky, five college women were locked in the hospital for an initiation stunt. Deep under the hospital is the infamous 'Death Tunnel' which was once used to remove the dead from the grounds of the hospital.

• Terry Gilliam's "12 Monkeys" (1995) Used a number of abandoned locations for filming its futuristic scenes, including abandoned powerplants in Baltimore and Philadelphia and Philadelphia's Eastern State Penn, an old abandoned prison which is now open to the public for tours.

• The films Subway and Real Genius both contain characters who live in utility spaces of the sort that are the subject of Urban Exploration, and sequences in which other characters discover these spaces.

// May 9 - Actor Tom Cruise marries actress Mimi Rogers. ... For the Bon Jovi album, see New Jersey (album) Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   8537. ... Subway is a 1985 French film directed by Luc Besson. ... Real Genius is a 1985 comedy film starring Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret. ...

Short films and documentaries

• David L. Cunningham's documentary short, which documents a research trip he and screenwriter Kevin Miller made in preparation for writing "After...", a supernatural UE thriller about three urban explorers who get more than what they bargain for when they set out to explore the vast secret world under Moscow.

• Melody Gilbert's "Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness" (2006), a documentary about some of the world's urban explorers.

• Robert Fantinatto's "Echoes of Forgotten Places" (2005), a visual essay on the allure of abandoned buildings and industrial relics.

Television

• A 2004 episode of CSI (Down the Drain) involved a person supposedly killed while 'draining'.
• A 2005 episode of Supernatural entitled Asylum was filmed in an abandoned sanitarium and features two thrill seeking urban explorers.
• A 2006 episode of Law & Order involved urban exploration.
• The Discovery Channel filmed and aired a 5-episode TV series with the title Urban Explorers.^[10] The 5 episodes are Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh. Discovery does not sell these episodes, and does not intend to.
• A 2006 episode of CSI:Miami (Free Fall) involved two urban explorers taking artifacts from an abandoned hotel.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a popular Alliance Atlantis/CBS police procedural television series, running since October 2000, about a team of forensic scientists. ... Down the Drain is the second episode in the fifth series of the popular American crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, set in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... An urban explorer stands near the outfall of a muffin shaped brick and concrete storm drain, under Saint Paul, Minnesota. ... Supernatural is an American paranormal drama television series that debuted on September 13, 2005 on the WB, and is now part of The CWs lineup, where the second season premiered on September 28, 2006. ... Asylum is episode ten of the first season of the television series Supernatural. ... Law & Order is an American television police procedural and legal drama set in New York City. ... Discovery Channel is a property of Discovery Communications primarily packaged as a network entertainment brand distributed in virtually every pay-television market in the world. ... CSI: Miami is a spinoff of the popular CBS network series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. ...

See also

• Caving
• Cave Clan
• Catacombs of Paris
• C.H.U.D.
• Freedom Tunnel
• Parkour
• Psychogeography
• Reality hacker

Caving frequently involves a lot of mud. ... Cave Clan is a primarily Australian group dedicated to urban exploration. ... Crypt of the Sepulchral Lamp in the Catacombs of Paris The Catacombs of Paris is a famous burial place in Paris, France. ... C.H.U.D. an acronym for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller was a 1984 B-movie horror flick produced by Andrew Bonime, and directed by Douglas Cheek with Peter Stein as the director of photography. ... Often, the artwork is centered under the light giving the space the feeling of a chapel or great cathedral. ... A traceur performs a saut de bras. ... Psychogeography is The study of specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals, according to the article Preliminary Problems in Constructing a Situation, in (1958) . // Development Psychogeography was originally developed by the Lettrist International, as a hypergraphics in their system of... A reality hacker is an urban spelunker. ...

References

Further reading

• alt.college.tunnels newsgroup archive (1994)
• Abandoned
• Dark Places
• Forbidden Places
• Infiltration Zine
• Urban Adventure
• Urban exploration & draining web-ring
• Urban Exploration Resource
• Urban Explorers
• Urbex Forum