Urban exploration

{{Short description|Exploration of usually hidden or abandoned buildings and structures}}

{{redirect|Urbex|the documentary series|URBEX – Enter At Your Own Risk}}

{{Multiple issues|

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File:Thomas Bresson - Fort du Salbert-8 (by).JPG]]

Urban exploration (often shortened as UE, urbex, and sometimes known as roof and tunnel hacking{{cite book |title=Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration |year=2005 |page=223 |author=Ninjalicious |publisher=Infilpress |isbn=9780973778700 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JhJjAAAAMAAJ&q=%22roof+and+tunnel+hacking%22 |access-date=29 August 2022}}) is the exploration of manmade structures, usually abandoned ruins or hidden components of the manmade environment. Photography and historical interest/documentation are heavily featured in the hobby, sometimes involving trespassing onto private property.{{cite news|title=The Art of Urban Exploration|last=Nestor|first=James|date=19 August 2007|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=20 June 2008|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/19/CMA4QVBMQ.DTL}} Urban exploration is also called draining (a specific form of urban exploration where storm drains or sewers are explored),{{cite news |title=Forgive us our tresspasses |first=Seth |last=Stevenson |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=15 October 2000 |page=105 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108705598/draining-urban-exploration/ |access-date=31 August 2022}} urban spelunking,{{cite news |title=Storm drains vital for a rainy day, but at times they're overwhelmed |first=Sheridan |last=Lyons |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun | date=6 July 1981 |page=32 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108537645/storm-drains-vital-for-a-rainy-day-but/ |access-date=29 August 2022}} urban rock climbing,{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Scott |date=1 March 1993 |title=Hacking the Material World |magazine=Wired |volume=1 |number=3 |url=https://www.wired.com/1993/03/tunnelers/ |access-date=29 August 2022}} urban caving,{{cite news |title=Circling the Drain |first=David |last=Lipin |magazine=Los Angeles |date=January 1997 |volume=42 |number=1 |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wF0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA18 |access-date=29 August 2022}} building hacking, or mousing.

The activity presents various risks, including physical danger, the possibility of arrest and punishment if done illegally and/or without permission, and the risk of encountering squatters. Some activities associated with urban exploration may violate local or regional laws, certain broadly interpreted anti-terrorism laws, or can be considered trespassing or invasion of privacy. Encountering squatters, who are unauthorized occupants in abandoned or unmonitored properties, can lead to unpredictable and potentially dangerous situations.

Exploration sites

File:Urban Explorer in the entrance of technical gallery.jpg

=Abandonments=

Ventures into abandoned structures are perhaps the most common example of urban exploration. Many sites are entered first by locals and may have graffiti or other kinds of vandalism, while others are better preserved. Although targets of exploration vary from one country to another, high-profile abandonments include amusement parks, grain elevators, factories, power plants, missile silos, fallout shelters, hospitals, asylums, prisons, schools, outmoded and abandoned skyscrapers, poor houses, and sanatoriums.

In Japan, abandoned infrastructure is known as {{nihongo3||廃墟|haikyo}} (literally "ruins"), and the term is synonymous with the practice of urban exploration.{{cite web | first = Michael | last = Gakuran | title = The Hazards of Haikyo and Urban Exploration | date = 23 March 2010 | url = http://gakuran.com/the-hazards-of-haikyo-and-urban-exploration/ | access-date = 21 June 2011}} {{nihongo3|||Haikyo}} are particularly common in Japan because of its rapid industrialization (e.g., Hashima Island), damage during World War II, the 1980s real estate bubble, and natural disasters such as the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.{{cite web|url=http://www.tokyoweekender.com/2010/05/haikyo-abandoned-treasure/|title=Haikyo: Abandoned Treasure|work=Weekender|date=May 2010|access-date=18 November 2010}}

File:Željava, Underground 5.jpg

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a large underground facility abandoned since 1992 is Željava Air Base, situated under the {{Lang|sh|Gola Plješevica|italic=no}} mountain, near the city of Bihać. It was the largest underground airport and military air base in the SFR Yugoslavia, and one of the largest in Europe. The complex contains tunnels in total length of 3.5 km (2.2 mi), and other large facilities. Nowadays, it is popular for urban exploration, although it is risky due to the possibility of anti-personnel landmines being located in unexplored areas, remnants from 1990s Bosnian War.{{cite web |title=Zeljava Airbase |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/zeljava-airbase |accessdate=27 April 2017 |publisher=Atlas Obscura}}{{cite web |date=June 17, 1968 |title=Underground Aircraft Dispersal Bihac Airfield, Yugoslavia 44-50N 015-47E |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB439/docs/Underground-Doc4.pdf |access-date=28 July 2022 |work=National Photographic Interpretation Center |via=nsarchive2.gwu.edu}}{{cite web |title=Zeljava-jna_jedinice |url=http://www.zeljava-lybi.com/opis_eng.html |accessdate=27 April 2017 |publisher=}}

Many explorers find the decay of uninhabited space profoundly beautiful, and some are also proficient freelance photographers who document what they see, such as those who document the infrastructure of the former USSR.{{cite news|last=Shevchenko|first=Vitaly|title=The urban explorers of the ex-USSR|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26018424|access-date=12 February 2014|publisher=BBC|date=11 February 2014}}

Abandoned sites are also popular among historians, preservationists, architects, archaeologists, industrial archaeologists, ghost hunters and notably, photographers.{{Cite journal |last=Duda |first=Anna |date=2023-05-04 |title=Tourist photography and heritage. The case of the abandoned city of Pripyat |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1743873X.2022.2161907 |journal=Journal of Heritage Tourism |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=384–400 |doi=10.1080/1743873X.2022.2161907 |issn=1743-873X|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite book |last=Sipes |first=Todd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GevxAwAAQBAJ&dq=abandoned+photography&pg=PT6 |title=Urban Exploration Photography: A Guide to Shooting Abandoned Places |date=2013-12-17 |publisher=Peachpit Press |isbn=978-0-13-381694-5 |language=en}}

=Active buildings=

File:Light Painting Urbex.jpg inside an abandoned limestone quarry in France.]]

Another aspect of urban exploration is the practice of exploring active or in use buildings, which includes gaining access to secured or "member-only" areas, mechanical rooms, roofs, elevator rooms, abandoned floors, and other normally unseen parts of working buildings. The term "infiltration" is often associated with exploring active structures. People entering restricted areas may be committing trespass, and civil prosecution may result. One notable instance of the urban exploration of active buildings occurred in 2007, when the French urban exploration group les UX carried out a clandestine operation to repair and restore the Panthéon's clock, which had stood inoperable for several decades. The group were able to conduct the repair work in secret, having infiltrated the building and set up a workshop inside a cavity under the Panthéon's dome.{{Cite news |last=King |first=Emilie Boyer |date=2007-11-26 |title=Undercover restorers fix Paris landmark's clock |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/26/france.artnews |access-date=2025-04-18 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

=Catacombs=

File:Catacombes de Paris.jpg

Catacombs such as those found in Paris,{{cite map|url=https://www.pdf-maps.com/maps/105662/paris-underground-map/|title=Paris Underground Map|publisher=Michel-Eugène Lefébure de Fourcy|year=1841}} Rome, Odessa, and Naples have been investigated by urban explorers. Some consider the Mines of Paris, comprising many of the tunnels that are not open to public tours, including the catacombs, the "Holy Grail" due to their extensive nature and history. Explorers of these spaces are known as cataphiles.

=Sewers and storm drains=

File:St Paul storm drain.jpg]]

Entry into storm drains, or "draining", is another common form of urban exploration. Groups devoted to the task have arisen, such as the Cave Clan and Darkside in Australia. Draining has a specialized set of guidelines, the foremost of which is "When it rains, no drains!", because the dangers of becoming entrapped, washed away, or killed increase dramatically during heavy rainfall.

A small subset of explorers enter sanitary sewers. Sometimes they are the only connection to caves or other subterranean features. Sewers are among the most dangerous locations to explore owing to the risk of poisoning by buildups of toxic gas (commonly methane, hydrogen sulfide, or carbon dioxide). Sewers can contain viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms. Protective equipment is recommended for people who enter sewers.{{Cite web |last=Water |first=Municipal Sewer and |date=2020-06-22 |title=How to Keep Sewer Workers Safe |url=https://www.mswmag.com/editorial/2020/07/how-to-keep-sewer-workers-safe |access-date=2022-12-09 |website=Municipal Sewer and Water |language=en}}

=Transit tunnels=

File:DPS-01 and AS1A in D6 tunnel.jpg D6 line in Moscow, Russia]]

Exploring active and abandoned subway and railway tunnels, bores, and stations is often considered trespassing and can result in civil prosecution due to security concerns. As a result, this type of exploration is rarely publicized. An exception to this is the abandoned subway of Rochester, New York, the only American city with an abandoned subway system that was once operational. The Cincinnati subway is also abandoned but was never completed. London has a number of stations on the London Underground network that have been closed over the years, with Aldwych tube station a popular location for explorers.

=Utility tunnels=

File:Schiffbau tunnel.jpg in the center of Zürich, Switzerland]]

Universities, and other large institutions, such as hospitals, often distribute hazardous superheated steam for heating or cooling buildings from a central heating plant. These pipes are generally run through utility tunnels, which are often intended to be accessible solely for the purposes of maintenance. Nevertheless, many of these steam tunnels, especially those on college campuses, have a tradition of exploration by students. This practice was once called "vadding" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but students there now call it roof and tunnel hacking.

Some steam tunnels have dirt floors, poor lighting and temperatures above {{convert|45|C|F}}. Others have concrete floors, bright light, and more moderate temperatures. Most steam tunnels have large intake fans to bring in the fresh air and push the hot air out the back, and these may start without warning. Most active steam tunnels do not contain airborne asbestos, but proper breathing protection may be required for other respiratory hazards. Experienced explorers are very cautious inside active utility tunnels since pipes can spew boiling hot water or steam from leaky valves or pressure relief blow-offs. Often there are puddles of muddy water on the floor, making slips and falls a special concern near hot pipes.

Steam tunnels have generally been secured more heavily in recent years due to their frequent use for carrying communications network backbone cables, increased safety and liability concerns, and perceived risk of use in terrorist activities.

Popularity

The rise in urban exploration's popularity can be attributed to increased media attention. Recent television shows such as Urban Explorers on the Discovery Channel, MTV's Fear, and the Ghost Hunting exploits of The Atlantic Paranormal Society have packaged the hobby for a popular audience. The fictional film After... (2006), a hallucinatory thriller set in Moscow's underground subways, features urban explorers caught up in extreme situations. Talks and exhibits on urban exploration have appeared at the fifth and sixth Hackers on Planet Earth Conference, complementing numerous newspaper articles and interviews.

Another source of popular information is Cities of the Underworld, a documentary series that ran for three seasons on the History Channel starting in 2007. This series roamed around the world, showing little-known underground structures in remote locales and right under the feet of densely packed city-dwellers. Websites for professional and hobby explorers have been developed to share tips and locations.{{Cite news|last=Mele|first=Christopher|date=2020-07-27|title=Urban Explorers Give Modern Ruins a Second Life|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/us/abandoned-properties-to-explore.html|access-date=2020-08-16|issn=0362-4331}}

With the rise in the hobby's popularity, there has been increasing discussion of whether the extra attention has been beneficial.{{Cite web |date=2016-03-18 |title=Urban explorers risking lives and arrest for social media glory, say experts |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/18/urban-explorers-arrest-social-media-base-jumper-free-running-parkour |access-date=2022-12-09 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}

Legality

File:Tunnel in Kyminlinna.JPG fortress in Kotka, Finland]]

File:Hill 60 illowra battery port kembla.jpg. On the right is a corridor leading to the bunker complex, and on the left is the "mushroom tunnel".]]

The activity's growing popularity has resulted in increased attention not just from explorers but also from vandals and law enforcement. The illicit aspects of urban exploring, which may include trespassing and breaking and entering,{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/content/articles/2008/08/19/urban_explorer_feature.shtml |title=Urban exploration - Richard Shepherd photographs derelict buildings in the North East and further afield. |publisher=BBC Tyne, Broadcasting Centre |date=20 August 2008 |access-date=23 April 2014}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-04-17 |title=Urban exploration: the threat to business |url=https://citysecuritymagazine.com/risk-management/urban-exploration-the-threat-to-business/ |access-date=2022-12-09 |website=City Security Magazine |language=en-GB}} have had critical attention in mainstream newspapers.{{cite news|title=Urban explorers dare to investigate seldom-seen Pittsburgh sites|date=7 September 2003|last=Batz|first=Bob Jr.|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=20 June 2008|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/lifestyle/20030907explore0907fnp1.asp}} Sometimes, security or police of buildings can let explorers off with a warning, but can differ depending if explorers have caused destruction or fires.

In Australia, lawyers for the Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales shut down the Sydney Cave Clan's website after they raised concerns that the portal could "risk human safety and threaten the security of its infrastructure". Another website belonging to the Bangor Explorers Guild was criticized by the Maine State Police for encouraging behavior that "could get someone hurt or killed". Toronto Police, who have called for an "end" to rooftop photography in 2016, citing similar concerns about the possibility of death or injury.{{Cite web |title=Edge walkers: police call for end to 'rooftopping' before it's too late {{!}} Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/2489263/edge-walkers-police-call-for-end-to-rooftopping-before-its-too-late/ |access-date=2022-12-10 |website=Global News |date=7 November 2015 |language=en-US}} The Toronto Transit Commission has used the Internet to crimp subway tunnel explorations, going as far as to send investigators to various explorers' homes.

Jeff Chapman, who authored Infiltration, writes that genuine urban explorers "never vandalize, steal or damage anything". The thrill comes from "discovery and a few nice pictures". Some explorers also request permission for entry in advance.{{cite news |last=Ebaster |first=Al |date=19 September 2007 |title=Legal Urban Exploration: 7 Tips for Visiting Historical Abandonments |publisher=Web Urbanist |url=http://weburbanist.com/2007/09/19/legal-urban-exploration-7-tips-for-visiting-historical-abandonments/}}

Hazards

Storm drains are not designed with human access as their primary use and can be subject to flash flooding and poor air quality.

Many abandoned structures have hazards such as unstable structures, unsafe floors, broken glass, stray voltage, entrapment hazards, or unknown chemicals and other harmful substances (most notably asbestos). Other risks include freely roaming guard dogs and hostile squatters. Some abandoned locations may be heavily guarded by motion detectors and active security patrols, while others are more easily accessible and carry less risk of discovery.{{cite news |title=Abandoned beauties: Urban explorers find adventure in ruins of old buildings |date=5 December 2004 |last=Owen |first=Mary |work=U-T San Diego |access-date=27 July 2009 |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041205/news_mz1h5abandon.html}}

= Deaths from urban exploration =

class="wikitable sortable"

! scope="col" |Date

!Location

! scope="col" class="unsortable" |Description

|{{flagicon|Canada}} Toronto, Canada

|A 26-year-old man died in hospital two days after falling off a catwalk at the abandoned Richard L. Hearn Thermal Generating Station in Toronto. The man entered the building with a friend intending to take "artistic photographs" of the building.{{cite news |last1=Reinhart |first1=Anthony |title=Urban explorer pays for his hobby with his life |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/urban-explorer-pays-for-his-hobby-with-his-life/article17988047/ |access-date=1 December 2022}}

|{{flagicon|USA}} Saint Paul, United States

|A man was inside a tunnel along the Mississippi river when it began to rain heavily, and the rain swept him down the tunnel to the river. The man was found in the river and later died in hospital, having drowned.{{Cite news|url=https://www.rivertowns.net/news/938252-woodbury-man-dies-after-being-swept-river-while-exploring|title=Woodbury man dies after being swept into river while exploring|date=26 April 2009|work=RiverTown News|access-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708015306/https://www.republicaneagle.com/news/woodbury-man-dies-after-being-swept-into-river-while-exploring/article_cffce747-6b35-5236-8a4d-c2c976226c8f.html|archive-date=8 July 2021|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.startribune.com/man-dies-another-rescued-in-drama-along-mississippi-river/43744557/?refresh=true|title=Man dies, another rescued in drama along Mississippi River|author=Heron Marquez Estrada|date=26 April 2009|work=Star Tribune|access-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708015342/https://www.startribune.com/man-dies-another-rescued-in-drama-along-mississippi-river/43744557/?refresh=true|archive-date=8 July 2021|url-status=live}}

|{{flagicon|Russia}} Neman, Russia

|It is thought that a 9-year-old boy fell {{convert|6|m}} from a spiral staircase to the ground inside the ruins of Ragnit Castle and died from his injuries.{{Cite news|url=https://klops.ru/news/Proisshestvija/72814/V-Nemane-9letnij-maljcik-upal-s-lestnicy-razrusennoj-kreposti-i-pogib.html|title=In Neman, a 9-year-old boy fell from the stairs of a destroyed fortress and died|date=17 June 2013|work=klops|access-date=25 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125043205/https://klops.ru/news/Proisshestvija/72814/V-Nemane-9letnij-maljcik-upal-s-lestnicy-razrusennoj-kreposti-i-pogib.html|archive-date=25 November 2020|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newkaliningrad.ru/news/incidents/2078249-v-nemane-politsiya-obnaruzhila-trup-9letnego-malchika.html|title=In Neman, the police found the corpse of a 9-year-old boy|date=17 June 2020|work=new Kaliningrad|access-date=12 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730160412/http://www.newkaliningrad.ru/news/incidents/2078249-v-nemane-politsiya-obnaruzhila-trup-9letnego-malchika.html|archive-date=30 July 2013|url-status=live}}

|{{flagicon|Australia}} Brisbane, Australia

|A man was kayaking through a storm water drain when he became trapped by rising water from heavy rain and drowned.{{Cite news

|url=https://www.byronnews.com.au/news/man-exploring-brisbane-city-tunnels-dies-heavy-sto/2582781/|title=Man exploring Brisbane city tunnels dies in heavy storm|date=23 March 2015|work=Byron Shire News|access-date=27 September 2020|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124183003/https://www.byronnews.com.au/news/man-exploring-brisbane-city-tunnels-dies-heavy-sto/2582781/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/sunshine-coast/man-exploring-brisbane-city-tunnels-dies-in-heavy-storm/news-story/8895be7155e45d1b7bf65beb5a6e64d3|title=Man exploring Brisbane city tunnels dies in heavy storm|date=23 March 2015|work=The Courier Mail|access-date=7 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707074711/https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/sunshine-coast/man-exploring-brisbane-city-tunnels-dies-in-heavy-storm/news-story/8895be7155e45d1b7bf65beb5a6e64d3|archive-date=7 July 2021}}

|{{flagicon|France}} La Mulatière, France

|An 18-year-old boy was on Mulatière railway bridge taking photos, when he fell from the bridge and died.{{Cite news|url=https://www.20minutes.fr/lyon/1996007-20170115-lyon-depuis-disparition-maxime-hommages-multiplient-reseaux|title=Lyon: Since the disappearance of Maxime, tributes have multiplied on the networks|last=Noble-Werner|first=Baptiste|date=15 January 2017|work=20minutes|access-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112022609/https://www.20minutes.fr/lyon/1996007-20170115-lyon-depuis-disparition-maxime-hommages-multiplient-reseaux|archive-date=12 November 2020|url-status=live}}

|{{flagicon|USA}} Chicago, United States

|A Memphis photographer and urban explorer died after a 14-story fall off a hotel in Chicago while trespassing.{{cite news |title=Man taking photos falls 14 stories to his death at Chicago hotel |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-falls-to-his-death-londonhouse-chicago-hotel/ |access-date=1 December 2022}}

|{{flagicon|USA}} Philadelphia, United States

|A 30-year-old photographer and urban explorer died in Philadelphia after being swept away in a flash flood while exploring a storm drain.{{cite news |last1=Scotti |first1=Ariel |title=Urban explorer who died while photographing Philadelphia storm drain remembered as 'bando queen' |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-fea-urban-explorer-dead-20180607-story.html |access-date=1 December 2022}}

|{{flagicon|Russia}} Yekaterinburg, Russia

|A 16-year-old boy was walking on the roof of a one-story abandoned building and was killed when the edge of the building collapsed.{{Cite news|url=https://www.e1.ru/news/spool/news_id-66185446.html|title="One brick collapsed": details of the death of a teenager who crashed at Moscow|last=Zabailovich|first=Julia|date=5 August 2019|work=e1.ru|access-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307231116/https://www.e1.ru/news/spool/news_id-66185446.html|archive-date=7 March 2021|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.e1.ru/news/spool/news_id-66184729.html|title=In Yekaterinburg, a teenager crashed to death by falling from the roof of a one-story building|date=3 August 2019|work=e1.ru|access-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708080314/https://www.e1.ru/text/incidents/2019/08/03/66184729/|archive-date=8 July 2021|url-status=live}}

|{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Totnes, United Kingdom

|A 22-year-old man died after falling from the roof of an abandoned factory.{{cite news|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/i-cannot-him-die-vain-18703846|title='I cannot let him die in vain' Mum pays tribute to 'urban explorer' son who died after falling from roof|date=2020-08-02|access-date=2020-09-13|last=Smith|first=Daniel|website=WalesOnline|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807104653/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/i-cannot-him-die-vain-18703846|archive-date=7 August 2020|url-status=dead}}

|{{flagicon|Russia}} Moscow, Russia

|A 34-year-old YouTuber suffered a fatal fall while filming a YouTube video in an abandoned building in Moscow.{{cite news |last1=Ningthoujam |first1=Natalia |title=34-Year-Old Russian YouTuber Falls To Death From Fire Escape While Shooting Video |url=https://www.latintimes.com/34-year-old-russian-youtuber-falls-death-fire-escape-while-shooting-video-486273 |access-date=1 December 2022}}

Rooftopping

File:Spidermanhk.jpg]]

Rooftopping and skywalking are the ascents of rooftops, cranes, antennas, smokestacks, etc., usually illegally, to get an adrenaline rush and take selfie photos or videos. Rooftopping differs from skywalking as the latter is mostly about taking panoramic photographs of the scene below, and safety is more important than the thrill.{{Cite web | title=Meet the rooftoppers: the urban outlaws who risk everything to summit our cities | url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/feb/17/rooftoppers-urban-explorers-risk-photographs-skyscrapers-bradley-garrett | work=The Guardian| date=17 February 2015 }} Rooftopping has been especially popular in Russia.Lucy Ash, [https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-39353851/ Article in "BBC News" March 23, 2017] Buildering has a similar goal as rooftopping and skywalking (to reach the roof), but involves climbing the building from the outside rather than infiltrating from the inside.

Methods and technology

Some urban explorers use action cameras such as GoPro or other helmet cameras for videos.{{cite web|title=Afraid of heights? You'll still want to watch this|url=http://www.redbull.com/en/adventure/stories/1331811152379/see-insane-gopro-shots-from-red-bull-tv-s-urbex|publisher=Red Bull|access-date=11 February 2017}}{{cite web|title=The Hong Kong urban adventurers for whom nothing is too tall, or deep, or spooky|url=http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/1935696/hong-kong-urban-adventurers-whom-nothing-too-tall-or-deep|work=South China Morning Post|date=14 April 2016|access-date=11 February 2017|language=en}}{{cite magazine|title=Meet the Place Hackers|url=https://time.com/4281028/meet-the-place-hackers/|magazine=Time (magazine)|access-date=11 February 2017}}

Some also use quadcopter drones for exploration and recording.{{cite web|last1=Ives|first1=Mike|title=Using Stealth, and Drones, to Document a Fading Hong Kong|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/world/asia/hong-kong-historical-preservation.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=11 February 2017|date=7 February 2017}}

The location-based games Ingress{{cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Jesse|title=The Practical Guide to Ingress: What you really need to know without the extraneous junk|date=30 January 2015|publisher=Jesse Harris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tx9zBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA20|access-date=11 February 2017|language=en}} and the following Pokémon Go{{cite web|title=Why Pokémon Go will surprise you in your own city|url=http://europe.newsweek.com/pokemon-go-unexpected-discovery-cities-pokestops-481750|work=Newsweek|date=19 July 2016|access-date=11 February 2017|language=en}}{{cite web|title=Pokémon Go - A New Avenue for Urban Exploration » CSBE|url=http://www.csbe.org/publications-and-resources/articles-and-lectures-on-urbanism/pokemon-go-a-new-avenue-for-urban-exploration/|publisher=Center for the Study of the Built Environment|access-date=11 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212091408/http://www.csbe.org/publications-and-resources/articles-and-lectures-on-urbanism/pokemon-go-a-new-avenue-for-urban-exploration/|archive-date=12 February 2017|url-status=dead}} based on the former have urban exploration elements. While some are concerned with keeping certain sites secret from the public at large, mainly to prevent vandalism, several apps dedicated to urban exploration exist.{{cite web|last1=Walker|first1=Alissa|title=5 Apps That Help You Find Your City's Hidden Gems|url=https://gizmodo.com/5-apps-that-help-you-find-your-citys-hidden-gems-1657009307|website=Gizmodo|date=13 November 2014 |access-date=12 February 2017}}{{cite web|title=Abandoned App Leads You to Local Urban Exploration Sites|url=http://weburbanist.com/2013/02/25/abandoned-app-leads-you-to-local-urban-exploration-sites/|website=WebUrbanist|access-date=12 February 2017|date=26 February 2013}}