A millennial guide to urban exploration in London. I will rationalise my design, why it exists, who is it for and what do they need, and the worries of using the app.
Depending on how you view it London is a playground. Those who have realised this have turned this into a hobby, this is called Urban Exploration, the unearthing of the urban environment and abandoned man-made structures.
urbanexplore.london was simply made to offer the millennial convenience of a web application, aggregating many locations acquired from a range of urban exploration websites and forums. The sources are in Sources Tab.
Those who are heavily interested in Urban Exploration often document their exploits and activities on online message boards, these are often hidden and thrive on their secrecy, mostly due to legal issues because in most cases urban exploration involves trespassing onto private property, which in turn presents a whole host of its own legal issues.
That's why this site respects the secrecy of this hobby with a number of reasons.
With the popularity of websites and applications such as UberEats, Deliveroo, Aliexpress and eBay, you don't need to sell a physical product to have a successful business, this was my main inspiration in making urbanexplorer, as it sourced data from many places and displaying them at once. Aggregation is happening all around us and those who execute well do it are becoming very successful.
This is the rational behind my project. The data was collected from many different places, I didn't have to go out and physically search for them they were posted freely on the internet all I had to do was to construct and excel document with the Name, Type and Longitude and Latitude and the rest is history.
Aggregation is the future and I'm proud to be a part of it.
Not only will this site provide locations of derelict buildings to explore, I believe it is imperative that everyone knows their rights when engaging in a hobby which operates within a borderline grey area, and in general, as it is one of the tenants of a democracy and a functioning civilisation.
That's why I created a risks tab which is split into three sections:
We could get psychological, and equate my disdain for authority and those who abuse it as the reason behind me making the risks tab so dense, in comparison to the disclaimer icon which serves to just make sure no one dies and holds me accountable trying use my website.
The risks tab will provide detailed information on what will happen if you have an encounter with the law, the differences between them and what to do if you are caught, as some activities associated with urban exploration can lead to guaranteed arrest, and knowing the law and the type of punishment and severity of the crime could lead a simple trespass, to an arrest or prosecution under anti-terrorism laws.
Especially when the threat level from international terrorism in the United Kingdom as of 23 May 2017 is at Critical, police presence is going to be more present and brutal than ever. So I implore all Urban Exploration enthusiasts to note the disclaimer (signified as the red warning sign).
The law are not the only risks that Urban Exploration present, derelict and unmanaged buildings can provide physical danger to the user, from a host of issues to just name a few such as asbestos, dry drowning, pests and vermin. To the actual structural integrity of the building you are exploring physically falling apart.
Seeing as Urban Exploration is a close knit hobby with its own terms and language I have also provided a glossary of common terms. If you decide to be apart of it. These will be located in the Sources tab.
Tariq Taybi / privacydied / PGP Key / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / X
Civil Trespass: Civil trespass, also known as "simple" trespass, is not a criminal offence in the UK. You cannot be arrested for civil trespass, though police may attend if there's a possibility that another offence has been committed or will be committed. In England and Wales, you can be sued by the landowner in a civil court for trespass, in Scotland you can only be sued if actual damage was caused. Repeat trespass could be prevented if a landowner takes out an injunction, but this is unlikely in urbex situations.
Aggravated Trespass: This applies to trespass committed with the intent to intimidate or disrupt people taking part in a lawful activity. If you trespass on a golf course to move the flags, it's aggravated trespass. Generally, this does not concern urbexers. You cannot be prosecuted for aggravated trespass where there is no activity to disrupt, so it does not apply to derelict sites. It would only apply to live sites if you intended to cause disruption.
Criminal Trespass: One type of this offence applies to a specific list of sites, including defence sites, nuclear power stations and royal palaces. The full list can be found here. Another type applies to sites where bye-laws forbid trespass - these include MOD property, railway property, and perhaps other sites like power stations. There is no centralised list of bye-laws, unfortunately, but this site lists MOD bye-laws. A third type of criminal trespass applies to Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
From an urbex point-of-view, it is a good idea to stay away from any active military, nuclear, royal, utility or railway property - pretty much common sense.
Burglary: This applies to trespass with intent to steal, commit criminal damage, rape or inflict GBH. All the police need to do to justify arrest is to show that they reasonably expected that you had intent to commit one of these acts. Intent could cover such things as carrying tools, carrying a "swag" bag, or theoretically even taking pictures of valuable objects. It is unlikely that you would be charged, however, unless you did actually steal or cause criminal damage. From an urbex point-of-view, it is important to do nothing which would give the police any idea that you are there to do anything other than take pictures. Burglary can also be called Breaking and Entering or Housebreaking.
Theft: This should be blatantly obvious. It is a criminal offence to take anything which belongs to someone else. From an urbex point-of-view, it is a very bad idea to take anything whatsoever from any site. As an aside, it has been ruled that theft does not apply to information - photographing documents, plans, or indeed sites would not be classed as theft - though data protection, copyright or official secrets legislation may apply to some types of information.
Criminal Damage: This is where someone intentionally or recklessly causes damage to another person's property, or intends to do such damage. It covers such things as graffiti, arson, and vandalism. Intent includes possessing an item with the intention to use it to damage or destroy property - carrying a chisel for levering open windows, for example. From an Urbex point-of-view, this means that you should never do any damage. Case law is mixed on details - for example temporarily unscrewing a panel to get in, then replacing it afterwards may not count as damage, but it's certainly not advisable.
Breach of the Peace: This is a very wide-ranging offence, covering any activity liable to cause distress or alarm to a member of the public. This could include refusing to leave a site when asked by security, or perhaps even showing off - swinging from a bridge, for example. In Scotland, the definition also includes "annoyance", making it even wider-ranging. From an urbex point-of-view, being polite and civil and leaving when asked will avoid most problems under this law.
Manufacture and Storage of Explosives: MSER 2005 covers any site used for the manufacture and/or storage of explosives, including fireworks. This makes it an offence to enter any site covered by MSER. Sites are covered by MSER until the Health & Safety Executive has determined that there are no explosives or explosives residues left on the site. From an urbex point-of-view, this covers any ordnance factories or explosives manufacturing sites that are still live, or which have not been completely decommissioned, and visiting them is not to be recommended.
Derelict Properties
You'll notice a property is derelict if:
Dangerous structures: As a building ages, the structure can become weaker. Unstable buildings are dangerous and could collapse during stormy or severe weather conditions. Buildings can also become dangerous due to:
Building control in the local council is responsible for investigating derelict, dangerous and insecure buildings in your area.
Empty homes: An empty home is a dwelling or residential property which has been unoccupied for more than six months. You can report an empty home to the Housing Executive. They can contact the owner and give advice about how an empty property could be used.
Recognising an empty home: An ‘empty home’ is a house or other dwelling which:
Squatters and unauthorised occupants: Squatting is when someone is occupying an empty or abandoned property which they don’t own or rent, and without the owner's permission. This is often without the owner's knowledge and without any legal right to do so.
Simply being on another person’s property without their permission is not, of itself, a criminal offence.
But if squatters commit offences, such as criminal damage or theft, their behaviour is punishable under the general criminal law and the police can take action against them.
Oliver Smith (!), Kate Hall, Farid Taybi, Tobias Revell, Eda Feola, Conor Paul.
By agreeing to use urbanexplore.london you agree that this information is provided with no guarantee of accuracy, I am not liable for any damage done to yourself or others from using this website.
Locations may differ in status, derelict buildings may become renovated living spaces meaning you could be breaking the law by visiting them.
urbanexplore.london was simply made to offer the millenial convenience of a web application, aggregating many locations acquired from a range of urban exploration websites and forums, and to expand my web design skills. The risks tab may differ from actual UK law and does not represent a legal opinion - if in doubt, consult a solicitor.