About Urban Exploration
"I AM AN URBAN EXPLORER, NOT A TERRORIST"
Urban Exploration (or Urbex as it's also known) means different things to different people, Neil's view is that it's about exploring all the things within the urban landscape that the public-at-large have either forgotten or choose to forget, be it the drains under the streets, towering cranes, derelict buildings, underground bunkers, disused hospitals, subterranean tunnels, abandoned factories and other such forgotten structures or pieces of land. So from a certain point of view, it's an open-ended title.
Urban Exploration is also about learning about your surroundings, seeing beauty and form in the buildings and structures around you that many people will either miss or choose not to see. And it's also about discovering access so that the explorer can then document, photograph, film or just simply explore these amazing time and historical portals.
Photographs can be important from an historical point of view. It could happen that you might be one of the last people to enter/photograph a particular building that is demolished for re-development meaning that no other person will ever be able to have that same opportunity
As with all things, there are certain, some would say, "unspoken rules" about urban exploration. What is an absolute is that it is NOT about breaking into anywhere and smashing everything up, covering walls and surfaces with graffiti or starting fires. That is vandalism, not exploration.
Of course there is a need to be aware of certain "legal" aspects. Urban exploration can be trespass, what is important to know is that whilst most people believe that you can be arrested for this, it isn't actually the case. Trespass is more a civil matter as opposed to criminal which in turn means that the police won't really be able to do much. They have powers though if you're actually caught breaking in, vandalising, spraying graffiti or setting fire to things. Do that, you're in trouble. It's worth pointing out, as indicated on a number of websites, that even though trespass isn't criminal, it won't stop security guards calling the police. To sum up this part, quoting from the Derelicte website:
There is one basic ethos of Urban Exploring, and that is "take photos, only leave footprints". That means leaving everything how you found it - no stealing, smashing or anything.
As an addendum to this, should you be in the unfortunate situation of being confronted either by the landowner or the police, the number one rule is co-operation. Having experienced a number of encounters with the police, every effort is always made to co-operate, to explain and to apologise. Ensure you have I.D. with you which you are then able to offer, thereby saving wasting valuable police time through the need for them to take you to a station for I.D. verification. Be truthful, be co-operative and be sensible. All my encounters with the police have been calm, balanced and without tension because that was the approach taken in the first place - at the end of the day, you should not be on the property, civil trespass or otherwise.
It isn't rocket science to work out that exploring old and abandoned buildings can be dangerous. Keep in mind that when you do this sort of thing, you do it at your own risk, no matter what. Safety is paramount and risks sometimes are not worth taking, particularly if it is a location that would be difficult for emergency services to gain access to. And always let someone know where you are - it could potentially save your life.
