Are Many Parts of UK Now Experiencing Serious and Accelerating Urban Decay?

As noted in numerous previous posts, it seems that the West is in the midst of serious decay due to a convergence of multiple systemic issues- from widespread institutional and administrative failure to demographic and technological stagnation. While many of you can already see the tragic effects of this in many towns and cities across USA, including some of the only seemingly thriving urban areas pre-COVID such as NYC and the Bay Area, few people (at least in USA) talk about very similar trends in western European countries. While there are many reasons for why the decay is less obvious in some of the countries (because they still have more government spending and better social safety nets) it is clear that the problems affecting many towns and cities in USA are present on the other side of the Atlantic- often to a similar degree.

Now let us now move on the topic of widespread and accelerating urban decay in UK, which happens to be most USA-like country of that bunch. While UK, as a nation, was never as ‘rich’ or full of large suburban houses and large cars as the USA- its median resident did, for decades, enjoy a reasonably good standard of living. While the first decade or two after the end of WW2 were not great, and 70s were a washout, things did get better after 1980 (largely due to the discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea) and things seemed quite to be quite OK until the early 2010s. Long story short- a series of adverse trends from rapidly increasing housing prices, relatively stagnant wages, lack of any real economic sector beyond the financial, post-2008 “austerity” policies and uncontrolled immigration have had some very negative effects on the average person in that country. In that respect, the COVID “lockdowns” and the massive subsequent wave of small and medium sized business closures were just the feather which finally broke the proverbial camel’s back.

And before we go the next part- feel free to use the uBlock Origin plugin to block ads on YouTube. I personally have found it to be superior to AdBlock Plus or other ad-blockers, especially when used with FireFox. So here is the first video which shows that many shopfronts in previously thriving and central areas of London are now boarded up and looking for new tenants. Its is quite reminiscent of what we currently see in NYC or cities in the Bay Area- to name a few places in USA. Curiously the causes for this change, which he discusses in the later part of that clip, also sound a lot like what you might hear in the coastal areas of USA. Here is a link of other videos on his channel- Wandering Turnip. Have a look at some of his other videos.

Once you start searching for similar content, an interesting pattern becomes evident. It seems that there are other similar channels on YouTube documenting the slow decay of many other towns and cities in UK. While the ambience of many of these places is similar to what we see in ‘Rust Belt’ cities and towns in USA, it is important to note that things started getting really bad only after 2010-2012. Here is a link to another channel which documents these issues- UK Explored. Curiously, even the severely trashed areas of UK have a noticeably lower crime rate than similar areas in USA. Once again, have a look at some of his other short videos.

I will leave you with a link to another channel, Turdtowns, which takes a somewhat more humorous and click-baity look at this situation. FYI_ I could help but notice that even some of the nicer places to live in UK look rather rundown, sad and full of old people. It is almost as if we are witnessing a society which no longer has any vitality, vigor and the ability to build a better tomorrow- except maybe the parasitic bureaucrat class which is constantly making life harder for everybody else.

What do you think? Comments?