 |
WELCOME TO EXPLORE SHARPSBURG
THIS IS A SITE MADE FOR URBAN EXPLORERS THAT LIVE IN SHARPSBURG PA.Urban exploration, urbex or UE, is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of human civilisation. 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 refered to as reality hacking, "urban spelunking", and "urban caving."
Contents [hide]
1 Targets of exploration
1.1 Abandonments
1.2 Tunnels
1.2.1 Utility tunnels
1.2.2 Sewers
1.2.3 Transit tunnels
1.3 Active buildings
2 Ethics
3 See also
4 External links
[edit]
Targets of exploration
UE can further be separated into subcategories. Urban explorers do any or all of these things, but often specialize on one or two.
[edit]
Abandonments
Ventures into abandoned structures are perhaps the most common example of UE. Abandoned sites are generally entered first by locals, and often sport large amounts of graffiti and other vandalism. Explorers often focus on the natural decay, as nature grows trees on the roof and weeds in the carpet, and unnatural decay of the structure as scrappers, looters, squatters, and vandals demolish the building from the inside out. Exploration targets vary from one country to another, however some of the more common abandoned structures to explore include:
Factories
Shopping malls
Brickworks
Grain elevators
Houses
Railway stations
Hotels
Missile silos
Military Bases
Amusement Parks
Schools
Tunnels such as mines, headraces, tailraces, and rail tunnels
Bridges, usually used by rail systems
Hospitals, lunatic asylums, and sanatoriums
Auditoriums
Office Buildings
[edit]
Tunnels
Active tunnels include steam (such as those found under large building complexes with a central boiler), electricity, telephone, water, and other utility tunnels; subway or Underground Railway and other transit tunnels; and stormwater or sanitary sewers.
[edit]
Utility tunnels
Universities and other large institutions, such as Hospitals often distribute steam for heating buildings from a central heating plant (Boiler House). These steam ducts are generally run through tunnels, which are often accessible to humans for the purposes of maintenance. North American Universities that have steam tunnels often also have a tradition of steam tunnel exploration by students. This was once called vadding at MIT, though students there now refer to it as Roof and tunnel hacking.
Steam tunnels in general have been getting more secure in recent years, due to their use for carrying network backbones and worries over issues of potential terrorism, safety and liability.
[edit]
Sewers
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 small subset of explorers enters sanitary sewers. Sometimes they are the only connection to caves or other subterranean feature. Sewers are among the most dangerous locations to explore, and those who explore them are often on the fringe of a group that's already on the fringe of society.
[edit]
Transit tunnels
The penalties for getting caught in subway/underground railway tunnels are some of the strictest involved in this hobby. As a result, subway exploration is usually the least publicised type of exploration. New York City probably has the largest number of subway explorers, although others exist in most major european cities, including London and Moscow.
[edit]
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.
[edit]
Ethics
Most urban explorers understand the risks of trespassing, and what they face if caught. However, the crime is generally seen as a means to an end, rather than the focal point of the hobby. Urban explorers tend to use a few ethical practices, out of respect for the location they're visiting, as well as for the sake of other explorers who may want to visit later. Keep in mind that the hobby of urban exploration is loose and unstructured, and there are rarely two explorers with the same views on ethics.
The idea behind these ethical pratices is to leave buildings in the exact same state 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." The common code of ethics frowns heavily upon theft, vandalism, tagging, graffitti, and any other crime except for trespassing.
Exceptions to the rule exist. Graffitti in drains is sometimes condoned or encouraged in some circles, 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. Some explorers remove items from abandoned sites, to preserve them or to have a souvenir.
Many locations contain a small area reserved for leaving tags, known as a guest book. These consist of anything from actual books to chalkboards to pieces of scrap metal or wood, or even the dust on an old piece of machinery. Many explorers choose to leave their mark non-permanently, although permanant (paint) guestbooks are equally as common. Rarely, employee guestbooks will be found, made before the business in question closed.
[edit]
See also
Caving
Catacombs of Paris
Reality hacker
Cave Clan
Tunnel Rats
[edit]
External links
http://www.infiltration.org - The zine Infiltration, blog Usufruct, and more
http://www.uer.ca - Forum and database about urban exploration
http://www.darkplaces.co.uk - The most active and popular UK urban exploration forum based site.
http://www.urbex.co.uk - The other main UK UE forum based site.
http://www.urbanexplorers.net - Information and the mailing list Underground
http://e.webring.com/hub?ring=draining - The urban exploration web ring
http://www.tunnelrats.org.au - Australian urban exploration site, forum, photos, comprehensive FAQ and a link repository of Urbex sites
THE BEST SITE EVER
cool site
Send E-Mail to: dylanhare@myway.com
Copyright © 2005 dylan hare. All Rights Reserved