Algorithms Riven
You Just Passed Me By
Youngstown, Ohio, USA.
I've passed by Youngstown many times on I-76, and during the bottom of the Great Recession I read about its problems with population loss. I once visited for an hour to take pictures of urban decay. Driving in on I-680, a highway that seemed overbuilt in need of repaving, I already felt like I was entering a ghost city.
I spent most of my time in a residential neighborhood southwest of the central business district, an area that had looked promising on Google Maps for its profuse vacant lots and aging housing stock. The phrase "post-apocalyptic" comes to mind. The grid of streets was comically overwrought for the few remaining homes and businesses. Traffic lights continued to operate at intersections that may have been busy once, but it was impossible to tell by looking at them. One of the buildings I had planned to take pictures of was a shopping center that looked vacant on Street View, but when I got there it was just a long row of rubble.
I took several pictures of abandoned houses, but I realized while taking them that I wouldn't want to post them. The destruction was too recent and, in a way, too graphic. Household goods still lay in piles next to some homes, and in them I saw discarded toys, televisions, and computers. Instead of a picture of a house, here's an old Hi Speed service station I found. It's seen better times.
You Just Passed Me By
Youngstown, Ohio, USA.
I've passed by Youngstown many times on I-76, and during the bottom of the Great Recession I read about its problems with population loss. I once visited for an hour to take pictures of urban decay. Driving in on I-680, a highway that seemed overbuilt in need of repaving, I already felt like I was entering a ghost city.
I spent most of my time in a residential neighborhood southwest of the central business district, an area that had looked promising on Google Maps for its profuse vacant lots and aging housing stock. The phrase "post-apocalyptic" comes to mind. The grid of streets was comically overwrought for the few remaining homes and businesses. Traffic lights continued to operate at intersections that may have been busy once, but it was impossible to tell by looking at them. One of the buildings I had planned to take pictures of was a shopping center that looked vacant on Street View, but when I got there it was just a long row of rubble.
I took several pictures of abandoned houses, but I realized while taking them that I wouldn't want to post them. The destruction was too recent and, in a way, too graphic. Household goods still lay in piles next to some homes, and in them I saw discarded toys, televisions, and computers. Instead of a picture of a house, here's an old Hi Speed service station I found. It's seen better times.