I would say except for Hank's, but apparently they closed down that bar a few years ago. Probly cuz of all the profits lost after my brother graduated law school.

The Susquehahna Bank Center is nice. The aquarium is nice. Rutgers Camden looks okay too. Past that, yeah go ahead and take the buildings down.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

Probably everything except the waterfront, which (surprisingly) is the nice part of town.

Fight the power!

Why don't they just get rid of all the

Came for the orbital nuking. Leaving satisfied.

Don't demolish the statue!

It's interesting reading about these shrinking rust belt cities. I live in Riverside, CA, which has a nice high unemployment rate and one heck of a housing collapse-but basically no abandoned buildings, mainly because it's grown constantly since I was born in 1974 (except possibly the last couple years, post-recession, and even then I'm not sure if the population has actually gone down). I just can't relate to a city where property values have shrunk so far that there are blocks and blocks of completely worthless, falling down houses. I thought it would happen here after the housing collapse (which had one of the more dramatic run up and collapses of prices anywhere in the nation), but people bought houses that cost $250k during the boom for $50k, spent $50k fixing them up, and sold them for $150k.

Ashrams: Fight the power!
[danielkgardner.files.wordpress.com image 500x375]

That's pic is about as awesome as you can get.

Clark: Excuse me, could you please tell me how to get back on the expressway?
Pimp: Fark yo mama!
Clark: Thank you very much.

Camden is one sad motherfarking place.

Geotpf: It's interesting reading about these shrinking rust belt cities. I live in Riverside, CA, which has a nice high unemployment rate and one heck of a housing collapse-but basically no abandoned buildings, mainly because it's grown constantly since I was born in 1974 (except possibly the last couple years, post-recession, and even then I'm not sure if the population has actually gone down). I just can't relate to a city where property values have shrunk so far that there are blocks and blocks of completely worthless, falling down houses. I thought it would happen here after the housing collapse (which had one of the more dramatic run up and collapses of prices anywhere in the nation), but people bought houses that cost $250k during the boom for $50k, spent $50k fixing them up, and sold them for $150k.

I can't understand it either. It seems like houses would eventually get down to the price that would make them desirable, again.

Smoky Dragon Dish: Back in the 1980s, I new a group of guys from Newark who decided to buy a house in Camden. They were going to fix it up and flip it. (Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense, but they're from Newark.)

One day they were out fixing up the house, and about 10 guys showed-up. Without saying a word, they kicked the living shiat out of the 5 guys who were working on the house. And then just left. Again, not saying a word.

That's a hell of a Welcome Wagon. They didn't leave any decorative soaps either, I bet.

Arkanaut: Probably everything except the waterfront, which (surprisingly) is the nice part of town.

How is that surprising? That's the part of town that gets tourist traffic from Philadelphia, isn't it? Everything that Unicron74 mentioned is pretty much right there. Well, Rutgers Camden doesn't seem to be right on the waterfront, but the Susquehanna Bank Center and the aquarium most certainly are.

What else does Camden have to offer? I've only been there once. For a concert at the Bank Center. And I crossed the river from Philly to get there.

This reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Bart buys an abandoned building and has adventures in it until it collapses.

Mm, mm, good.

Canton: Arkanaut: Probably everything except the waterfront, which (surprisingly) is the nice part of town.

How is that surprising? That's the part of town that gets tourist traffic from Philadelphia, isn't it? Everything that Unicron74 mentioned is pretty much right there. Well, Rutgers Camden doesn't seem to be right on the waterfront, but the Susquehanna Bank Center and the aquarium most certainly are.

What else does Camden have to offer? I've only been there once. For a concert at the Bank Center. And I crossed the river from Philly to get there.

I just mean, traditionally, the "waterfront" of a given city (not necessarily Camden) is the seedy area where mafiosi and union thugs do their dirty business. That old trope probably doesn't hold much water (no pun intended) these days in the US, but it's probably still true in much of the developing world.

A little strip mining would go a long way.

Jake Havechek: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

You've never been to Cleveland, have you?

leave the buildings. destroy the people.

Jake Havechek: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

My friend here don't like you

Camden sure has slid down hill since it lost the status of being the murder capital of America

LemSkroob: leave the buildings. destroy the people.

You ever hear of the neutron bomb? Destroys people - leaves buildings standing. Fits in a suitcase. It's so small, no one knows it's there until - BLAMMO. Eyes melt, skin explodes, everybody dead. So immoral, working on the thing can drive you mad. That's what happened to this friend of mine. So he had a lobotomy. Now he's well again.

Canton: Arkanaut: Probably everything except the waterfront, which (surprisingly) is the nice part of town.

How is that surprising? That's the part of town that gets tourist traffic from Philadelphia, isn't it? Everything that Unicron74 mentioned is pretty much right there. Well, Rutgers Camden doesn't seem to be right on the waterfront, but the Susquehanna Bank Center and the aquarium most certainly are.

What else does Camden have to offer? I've only been there once. For a concert at the Bank Center. And I crossed the river from Philly to get there.

It's not literally on the waterfront, but it's about a block away, and cut off from the rest of the city by the Ben Franklin Bridge leadup and I-676.

Hack Patooey: 1) Go to city and obtain map and demolition permit for said addresses.

2) Lease a couple of nice Cat D-10Ns

3) Charge people (operating cost+tidy profit) per hour to run the dozer, and let them go.

4) Profit!

5) Get sued into the Stone Age because a 6" section of 1x2 fell on someones arm.
6) Get sued by an environmental group for releasing asbestos into the air
7) Get sued by the local historical society
8) Get sued by various advocacy groups for demolishing potential poverty housing
9) Jail for manslaughter for missing the one homeless guy who was hiding in the closet of the house you just knocked down

Ta daa!

Geotpf: It's interesting reading about these shrinking rust belt cities. I live in Riverside, CA, which has a nice high unemployment rate and one heck of a housing collapse-but basically no abandoned buildings, mainly because it's grown constantly since I was born in 1974 (except possibly the last couple years, post-recession, and even then I'm not sure if the population has actually gone down). I just can't relate to a city where property values have shrunk so far that there are blocks and blocks of completely worthless, falling down houses. I thought it would happen here after the housing collapse (which had one of the more dramatic run up and collapses of prices anywhere in the nation), but people bought houses that cost $250k during the boom for $50k, spent $50k fixing them up, and sold them for $150k.

Are you familiar with Camden? It was basically unaffected by the real estate crash. Because it was a farking hell hole back when the economy was good. So there was no farther down to go. Srsly. It's bad.

Raze the whole city and call it good.

Smoky Dragon Dish: mithras_angel: Jake Havechek: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

You've never been to Cleveland, have you?

You have never been to Camden, have you?

I worked there for a couple of months in '09. Jake is right. I was hit up for change twice inside of the little Dunkin' Donuts next to their commuter rail station. And I don't remember ever seeing so many amputees or otherwise disabled people in one place. That was one depressing city.

FreakinB: Obligatory and too big to hotlink (new window).

/worse than Detroit

Where are the Oompa-Loompas?

namegoeshere: Geotpf: It's interesting reading about these shrinking rust belt cities. I live in Riverside, CA, which has a nice high unemployment rate and one heck of a housing collapse-but basically no abandoned buildings, mainly because it's grown constantly since I was born in 1974 (except possibly the last couple years, post-recession, and even then I'm not sure if the population has actually gone down). I just can't relate to a city where property values have shrunk so far that there are blocks and blocks of completely worthless, falling down houses. I thought it would happen here after the housing collapse (which had one of the more dramatic run up and collapses of prices anywhere in the nation), but people bought houses that cost $250k during the boom for $50k, spent $50k fixing them up, and sold them for $150k.

Are you familiar with Camden? It was basically unaffected by the real estate crash. Because it was a farking hell hole back when the economy was good. So there was no farther down to go. Srsly. It's bad.

Raze the whole city and call it good.

This. Camden was unaffected by the real estate crash because it'd been obliterated by every other conceivable type of crash for the last 50 years.

/lives in southwest Philly and still thinks that Camden is a hellhole

FreakinB: Obligatory and too big to hotlink (new window).

/worse than Detroit

"Now, now, lay off Detroit. Them people is living in 'Mad Max' times."

darwinpolice: namegoeshere: Geotpf: It's interesting reading about these shrinking rust belt cities. I live in Riverside, CA, which has a nice high unemployment rate and one heck of a housing collapse-but basically no abandoned buildings, mainly because it's grown constantly since I was born in 1974 (except possibly the last couple years, post-recession, and even then I'm not sure if the population has actually gone down). I just can't relate to a city where property values have shrunk so far that there are blocks and blocks of completely worthless, falling down houses. I thought it would happen here after the housing collapse (which had one of the more dramatic run up and collapses of prices anywhere in the nation), but people bought houses that cost $250k during the boom for $50k, spent $50k fixing them up, and sold them for $150k.

Are you familiar with Camden? It was basically unaffected by the real estate crash. Because it was a farking hell hole back when the economy was good. So there was no farther down to go. Srsly. It's bad.

Raze the whole city and call it good.

This. Camden was unaffected by the real estate crash because it'd been obliterated by every other conceivable type of crash for the last 50 years.

/lives in southwest Philly and still thinks that Camden is a hellhole

I hear Bel Air is nice. Do you have family there who could perhaps take you in?

Jake Havechek: Smoky Dragon Dish: Back in the 1980s, I new a group of guys from Newark who decided to buy a house in Camden. They were going to fix it up and flip it. (Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense, but they're from Newark.)

One day they were out fixing up the house, and about 10 guys showed-up. Without saying a word, they kicked the living shiat out of the 5 guys who were working on the house. And then just left. Again, not saying a word.

That's a hell of a Welcome Wagon. They didn't leave any decorative soaps either, I bet.

What do you think was in the pillow cases?

namegoeshere: Geotpf: It's interesting reading about these shrinking rust belt cities. I live in Riverside, CA, which has a nice high unemployment rate and one heck of a housing collapse-but basically no abandoned buildings, mainly because it's grown constantly since I was born in 1974 (except possibly the last couple years, post-recession, and even then I'm not sure if the population has actually gone down). I just can't relate to a city where property values have shrunk so far that there are blocks and blocks of completely worthless, falling down houses. I thought it would happen here after the housing collapse (which had one of the more dramatic run up and collapses of prices anywhere in the nation), but people bought houses that cost $250k during the boom for $50k, spent $50k fixing them up, and sold them for $150k.

Are you familiar with Camden? It was basically unaffected by the real estate crash. Because it was a farking hell hole back when the economy was good. So there was no farther down to go. Srsly. It's bad.

Raze the whole city and call it good.

I have never been to Camden or spent much time on the east coast. I can't believe any structures not over a super fund site cannot be rehabilitated. I was able to visit downtown Detroit and fell in love with the old architecture in the downtown area. I would love to see this country shut down our military bases overseas and bring our soldiers home to fix up these old cities.

Destroying buildings in Jersey? Where's Coop and his Megas?

downstairs: Wow, at least they're doing something. It takes like a decade to get a blighted building demolished down here in New Orleans.

If it took a decade to get around to doing something about Camden the buildings would have been knocked down in 1978.

Camden and Newark were gutted in the late '60s. Newark started to knock things down and start over in the 90s. Camden... didn't.

DavidVincent: Geotpf: It's interesting reading about these shrinking rust belt cities. I live in Riverside, CA, which has a nice high unemployment rate and one heck of a housing collapse-but basically no abandoned buildings, mainly because it's grown constantly since I was born in 1974 (except possibly the last couple years, post-recession, and even then I'm not sure if the population has actually gone down). I just can't relate to a city where property values have shrunk so far that there are blocks and blocks of completely worthless, falling down houses. I thought it would happen here after the housing collapse (which had one of the more dramatic run up and collapses of prices anywhere in the nation), but people bought houses that cost $250k during the boom for $50k, spent $50k fixing them up, and sold them for $150k.

I can't understand it either. It seems like houses would eventually get down to the price that would make them desirable, again.

There are a limited number of people capable of buying them at any price now. Credit went from "You get a loan and you get a loan and you get a loan and you get a loan! Everybody gets a loan!" to "No loan for you!" For a couple years there, the only people who could get a loan were people who didn't need them. And the lenders were only lending for prime property. Also, restoring a blighted property requires far more money than the property is worth. You may be able to get the place for $5,000 but you'll need another $50,000 to turn it back into a home. Nobody's going to lend that kind of money to someone who needs the cash and nobody who has the cash is going to spend it revitalizing a single home in a neighborhood that looks like a wasteland.

Of course, areas of urban blight were already in pretty terrible shape for a long time but tight credit is what's pushing them over the cliff now.