Thoughts on Urban Survival

Mistwalker Mistwalker This is an OLD thread that I felt like bringing back to life. I have really enjoyed reading back through this thread. It is still relevant with the talk of urban survival, urban craft, woods craft and so forth of late. Many do not search back to the old threads and read (like me). This old thread serves as background to perhaps a newer discussion.

Brian, how much have things changed in Chattanooga from your perspective? You moved to Michigan and moved back. The police have been "attacking" the gang situation here. I think it has gotten a little better in the sense that things are less visible. But gangs are really a problem here in general. There have been drive by shootings over the last couple of years. It is shocking to me that it happens in Chattanooga and I'm sure it is happening in a lot of smaller cities. Drugs are still a problem. The drugs change, but the overall problem remains. Homelessness seems to be fairly static in the sense that you see folks but the numbers here are not significant or merit much attention like some of the West Coast cities.

Things should be better with the unemployment rate below 4% now. With the unemployment rate so low, if you see people who obviously don't work and are young, they deserve paying attention to.

Since this thread started, all knives have been legalized in TN. It is generally legal to carry guns (discreetly) in parks as far as I know.
 
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Mistwalker Mistwalker This is an OLD thread that I felt like bringing back to life. I have really enjoyed reading back through this thread. It is still relevant with the talk of urban survival, urban craft, woods craft and so forth of late. Many do not search back to the old threads and read (like me). This old thread serves as background to perhaps a newer discussion.

Brian, how much have things changed in Chattanooga from your perspective? You moved to Michigan and moved back. The police have been "attacking" the gang situation here. I think it has gotten a little better in the sense that things are less visible. But gangs are really a problem here in general. There have been drive by shootings over the last couple of years. It is shocking to me that it happens in Chattanooga and I'm sure it is happening in a lot of smaller cities. Drugs are still a problem. The drugs change, but the overall problem remains. Homelessness seems to be fairly static in the sense that you see folks but the numbers here are not significant or merit much attention like some of the West Coast cities.

Things should be better with the unemployment rate below 4% now. With the unemployment rate so low, if you see people who obviously don't work and are young, they deserve paying attention to.

Since this thread started, all knives have been legalized in TN. It is generally legal to carry guns (discreetly) in parks as far as I know.
Funny how much we think alike sometimes. I was just thinking about Reviving it to show the differences , so now that it has then Resurrected I will do a 10 years later response sometime in the next couple of days. We haven't had any problems with the gang since then, thank goodness and that has been something I celebrate. But a few weeks ago I found a rather disturbing sight in the park and had to help get rid of that, but I'll discuss that more when I make the next post
 
I almost never go down town. I seldom visit any urban parks. Haven't done River Bend in the last 5 years. Occasionally wander around near Chickamauga Dam and the trail there but not around down town. When there is a shooting, the newspaper shows the location and on the same link you can see symbols showing most of the shootings. There are far more than one would expect for a small city which I attribute to minorities and gangs.
 
I almost never go down town. I seldom visit any urban parks. Haven't done River Bend in the last 5 years. Occasionally wander around near Chickamauga Dam and the trail there but not around down town. When there is a shooting, the newspaper shows the location and on the same link you can see symbols showing most of the shootings. There are far more than one would expect for a small city which I attribute to minorities and gangs.

Though as with any city there are still street people and panhandlers walking the sidewalks and asking for change, the mass transit gets interesting at night, and the area of the amphitheater under Riverside Drive on the south shore gets a bit sketchy and worrisome at night, things are a lot better around the north shore area than it was when I started writing this thread ten years ago. The intermittent presence of police cruisers and the onsite armed security has kept the gangs from reestablishing any presence once they were pushed out of the parks and back into their own neighborhoods. And that's up to the people of those neighborhoods to take on, I don't like even going through a lot of them, and I try to avoid them. The majority of the shootings in Chattanooga have historically been in the area bordered by East 3rd st., Holtzclaw, Chamberlain, and Glass St., and i think they still are. East lake and east Chattanooga have also always been problem areas that still are. But at least the vast majority of the area between Riverfront Parkway and Main St and Carter over to about Central Ave are much better than they were back in the 70s. There is a lot of revitalization going on down town.

We did have an issue with someone that some of us learned was a pedophile, with a long history of doing bad things, setting up a camp in a local park. But he was pretty obvious and drew attention to himself and was soon arrested and taken away. Him putting a little girl's dress on what seemed to be an odd sort of prominent display amid all the random chaos, of what to me looked more like a cul de sac sort of ambush site than a homeless camp at the end was what finally set off the biggest red flags. Before that the main complaint was him being trashy.











 
Yes a topic that should be considered, discussed. My personal answer is to live someplace where I am not as worried about 'what if.' So I do not stress out. I'm now, due to health reasons as a senior, more in civilization. My small community of Nenana Alaska has 300 people.... but depends on one road for supplies with a bridge across a river. We get earthquakes, floods, and power outages. Supply lines fail. Power could potentially go out for weeks to months. We are not so far away from a top secret strategically important military base that could potentially be a target in a war. I like that the community is aware, and as a community discuss various plans. Such as the highest ground is the school, so if there is a flood head for the school to stay, drop off supplies, help others etc. We discuss food stashes and such in case of supply lines cut off. We teach some simple survival, how to put up food, stay warm, ways to live without electric and such. I like the idea of 'just 300 people.' I am more likely in an emergency to know them, know who to trust, who is capable, who to partner up with etc. We are a subsistence village so a lot of knowledge of wilderness survival, homestead, remote life , use of sled dogs, gardening, making your own power, and such topics. A big issue in a more civilized place as you discuss is defense. Riots, looting, bad people surviving off 'you,' who is known ot have stockpiled gear 'they,' want. I just see in the news what happens when the power goes off for a few hours. It seems harder to have the mentality of wanting to hurt people to survive when you know everyone. I like to think, more likely to be willing to work together. As seems proven by being concerned by the potential, and having a community plan. My view as well is... a disaster may not be immediate! But is already upon us! "Now!" Money tight not everyone can afford the minimal survival stuff- food costs rent getting beyond more peoples means to take care of themselves. Pollution on the rise, inability to get medical help, all adding to the stress of everyone, road rage, random senseless no survival behavior we all are effected by. We all have a plan for wherever we are in defense of a lifestyle we believe in and trust and or are good at.
Much can not be planned on! I was a homesteader 100 miles in the wilds with a lifetime of supplies! Food, tools, guns, a way to take care of everything required to support life. Whatever the rest of the world did was not my business, I had my own battle plan. Till a forest fire wiped it all out. It was civilization that saved my bacon. Others I knew had health issues and so their fortress in the wilds had to be walked away from. Time changes all things. We cannot foresee the future for certainty, so my thought is to remain adaptable. Have the ability to change, accept it adopt, prosper. under a variety of conditions. Develop a variety of skills. For example I became among other things aq knife maker, keeping in mind no matter where you are, you need a knife. A very tradable skill useful in every environment. Trade knives for transportation, food etc etc. I look around, we are not talking some potential future disaster. We have already arrived. We are already in ending times. The Lemming are going off the cliff. Not a stampede yet.... but unexplainable weirdness. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE6rGYHPMIY0mjRI1K0-D6M6RNS7BDD7c I have some Utube of interest, on topic.
 
Urban survival in a pandemic..... that is a tough one. We're there. Isolated villages and towns may not be immune as all it takes is one mistake by one person.

During the H1N1 pandemic in 2009-2010, they estimate that 60.8 million people were infected. About 12,469 people died in the US which is about normal flu mortality rates. Covid-19 mortality rates may be as high as 5% versus 0.1% with the normal flu.

Homeless people such as in the photo above are in a tough spot. They are very exposed to potential infection. I have no answer for them other than to take the same precautions I do.

I keep a fairly good supply of food on hand, mostly canned stuff that I eat anyway. I am not prepared to carry a bunch of stuff on my back and head to the woods. Frankly I have no intention of doing that and will stay home. But if I had to leave, my answer is to pack up a lot of stuff and drive to the woods in a reliable vehicle and perhaps pulling a trailer with even more stuff.

Smoky Mountains NP has been closed as have other national parks. The Smoky's are closed through April 6th. I can live with that. But I will have to adjust my outdoor photography pursuits to prioritize other places. My main defense is social distance. I read that you should think of it as secondary smoke if you are around a smoker. But the distances that smoke travels in an identifiable way is much greater than what I would consider an issue with a communicable disease that primarily infects by contact or through bioaersols. I can still enjoy the wild places, even parks, and maintain a reasonable social distance.

What happens if the public water supply becomes contaminated? Tough one for most...... well water, but not everyone has access to a drinking water well or abundant quantities of bottled water. I would suggest that a person living in a city consider water sources other than the store.
 
Survival anyplace is mostly about being adaptable. Few plans can be set in concrete as a perfect answer. Some basic knowledge about a lot of subjects I think helps. For example I am stuck, holed in in Tucson after the gem fossil show, can not yet get back to my 'home,' in Alaska were I have remote homesteads, tools, supplies, a years worth of food etc. Years ago all my survival supplies burned in a forest fire and it was civilization that saved my bacon. We may have little control over what rabbits survive the population crash. We all like to think we have a personal in, due to our high Jesus factor, or being smarter than the average bear, more able, better prepared, whatever. Good luck to all of you. I know I will be among the survivors! Hope you are as well! If I am not? "Rats!" I'd like my last words to be "here! Watch this!"
 
Tucson, Denver and Dallas are the big shows as I understand it. There is a fairly big one in NC also. Hope you have the resources to make it in Tucson until you can get back home in AK.
 
Survival anyplace is mostly about being adaptable. Few plans can be set in concrete as a perfect answer. Some basic knowledge about a lot of subjects I think helps. For example I am stuck, holed in in Tucson after the gem fossil show, can not yet get back to my 'home,' in Alaska were I have remote homesteads, tools, supplies, a years worth of food etc. Years ago all my survival supplies burned in a forest fire and it was civilization that saved my bacon. We may have little control over what rabbits survive the population crash. We all like to think we have a personal in, due to our high Jesus factor, or being smarter than the average bear, more able, better prepared, whatever. Good luck to all of you. I know I will be among the survivors! Hope you are as well! If I am not? "Rats!" I'd like my last words to be "here! Watch this!"
This is very true. Knowledge and grit will far outweigh hoarded supplies for exactly the reasons you mention. It's why I've always had an eyebrow lifted at all the gear obsession of 'bug out' fantasies or similar.
 
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Hello 22 rimfire and Pomsbz
So part of survival is being adaptable like being stuck someplace as I am now. Lucky for me I always leave a way out, plan ahead, Keep in mind the possibilities. I know I do the show here every year so have a home here ,car, food, shed to store my goods. I can last here a very long time. As for the various good shows and locations...Yes, maybe. But I chose to do just one big show, the biggest in the world. 70,000 vendors, a million customers. It's 2 week long. I make a years wages. I prefer this over doing half a dozen weekend shows across the country.(In terms of being safe) Something to think about if you make a living selling. No, not a lot of other knife makers. I do not need other knife makers around me to sell knives. Everyone needs a knife.
As for safe places. It is hard to know ahead of time 'safe from what?' Today it is a virus and this could end tomorrow, or never end and this is the big one for mankind. But disaster could be weather, nuclear, disease. A safe place might have to do with what direction the wind comes from! I feel knowing a little bit about a great many subjects is important. How to work with wood, build a home of some sort, simple electrical skills, cement work, leather, and of coarse knives. Something about various weapons, traps security tracking skills, medicine natural herbs but also where to get all kinds of stuff in the city with good connections, even underground connections. Know people in high places. Communications can be important so I am a ham radio operator, but even CB could be important if the grid goes down. Having the knowledge is more important than having the equipment. If you have to be on the run or separated from your stash, with knowledge you can rebuild, regroup, find the goods you need. Keeping in touch with like minded people you trust. Know about food, gardens seeds basic hand tools. I think about writing a short survival city story about a wilderness trapper stuck in the city who lives on pigeons.... I mean I hear about all these starving people in the city, see it on the news and say, "Hey, I see pigeons on the poles in the background! Hey, I see dandelions among the weeds at your feet! There is no need for you to be starving!" Set rat traps out for birds. Know how to dehydrate surplus food, it works in the city too! Fill that wrecked abandoned car in the yard with dirt and grow a micor garden. Saw a story where an enterprising guy out of work in a slums did this, grew high end herbs in a wrecked car and sold them locally to a restaurant for enough money to live on. Important is, not to cry in or beer about how tough it is, and would have should have but not, do anything about it. Survival is to find answers and solutions. Anyhow ideas to put out there. Hope all of you are safe!
 
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