Thoughts on Urban Survival

22-rimfire said:
You folks on Signal Mountain need a good North-South highway to tie into 111. But you do have the shooting range handy. That is worth something. :)

Chattanooga (and surrounding cities) are on the cusp of changing into a much larger place in the next 20 years. It should be an interesting place to live.

The first thing I try to learn about a city is to create a mental map of the area with major highways and waterways. From there, I add significant connector routes and find some non-major routes in and out of the urban area. The knowledge continues from there. I keep paper copies of maps and I especially like the Delorme Gazetteer series of state maps. The computer versions are handy too. But I still depend on the paper copies and use technology as I have a need and it is available.

In cities dominated with mountains or rivers (or both) as Chattanooga is and example of, a lot of the escape routes involve bridges across the major waterways. Years ago, there were ferries, they have all dissappeared in the last 5 years in East Tennesssee.

East Tennessee is a wonderful place to live with a combination of mountains, lots of water, and great folks. Deer populations have been on the increase in East Tennessee. Seeing a deer was an uncommon sight 40 years ago, now it is a common sight.

Every area has it hazards. The flooding hazarded has been essentially minimized since TVA built their hydro dams in the Tennessee Valley. The biggest danger is probably nuclear these days with chemical spills being a concern but not a significant regional risk hazard.
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We are set for a major change...at some point chattanooga will meet Cleveland and along with running into other cities in Hamilton County will become one huge urban sprawl...sort of like Dallas Fortworth on a smaller scale.

The shooting range I go to is up on Suckcreek Mountain which is just another section of Walden's Ridge. There are roads that connect the entire mountain range though some of them are dirt. The Big Fork road from Suckcreek to Signal used to require a 4x4 to negotiate but now with all of the developement they have blasted the stone stairs and graded it all, and though it is still dirt at this point I could drive across it in my wife's Buick Century now.
 
This is one of the best threads to grace this forum in a long time. Not that everything here is blah, but this is really good. Well thought out posts too.

It's really important too because in the wilderness, in the majority of cases - well, you put yourself there! Then you did something else that was stupid and made everything worse. Suburban and urban? You can do everything right and still end up in some type of survival situation because of natural or manmade disasters...or both. Look at Katrina in N.O., all of the chemical factories and fuel storage tanks led to a natural disaster being a manmade disaster and then you throw in the looters and opportunists, etc., and you had everything going haywire at once, once it got rolling.
 
Intesting thread. As for me i live in Los Angeles and you guys all know how the traffic is here. I live in an apartment but my parents are looking to buy a house about 20-25mile away. I already have 7 15gallon blue barrels that im going to keep water in. Im going to set up a shelter at the back yard. The only thing i realy worry about is earthquake realy. So there would be enough food water and shelter for at list 10 people. Just in case other family member show up. If any of the roads would be blocked the city would stop in its tracks I figured out that the only way i could get there would be a bike or walk. The idea is to copy the chinese and load up the bike ride it where i can and push it where i need to. Carry some of the basics on a backpack just in case i need to leave the bike and run. I figure on two days travel. I Know some of you might say 25miles is not far. But if you consider most roads would be blocked and i would have to go around them. Some areas i might want to avoid in the first place. Also dont want to look as a good target. A handgun under the jacket with some spare ammo should be all i need. I acutaly started to fit some old canvas bags to the side of the bike last week. To see how it would work.

Sasha
 
Don Rearic said:
This is one of the best threads to grace this forum in a long time. Not that everything here is blah, but this is really good. Well thought out posts too.

It's really important too because in the wilderness, in the majority of cases - well, you put yourself there! Then you did something else that was stupid and made everything worse. Suburban and urban? You can do everything right and still end up in some type of survival situation because of natural or manmade disasters...or both. Look at Katrina in N.O., all of the chemical factories and fuel storage tanks led to a natural disaster being a manmade disaster and then you throw in the looters and opportunists, etc., and you had everything going haywire at once, once it got rolling.
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It's not just natural disasters here. Lately there is tons of much needed and long over due road construction going on with the major freeways that cross the town. They are doing it as much at night as any other time due to less traffic but a lot of the detours send people through some really bad areas of town. A person unfamiliar with the history of these locations, and the fact that foreign gangs with members who are here illegally, undocumented, and are setting up a strong presence who has a flat or engine trouble in one of these areas could quickly find themselves in a place they really shouldn't, and really don't want to be. There has been an influx of teenage girls just disappearing here. With my having a daughter that is about to turn sixteen this is a major concern for me.

Ten years ago when I was working out of the carpenters local here we were remodeling the TVA office complex that is shown in some of the first pictures. We had to work in the middle of the night when their employees weren't working. More than once when going back to the main office (which is set up like a gated fortress in one of the bad areas) for materials and tools, prostitutes and other "street people" have tried to just climb in the truck with us demanding a ride. I'd like to note that this is not Vegas and the term prostitute is used loosely here as most prostitutes work for money in my opinion...here we have crack addicts that trade services, steel, and mug, for enough money to get their next fix. Of the ones they refer to as "prostitutes" The young ones will break any father's heart and the older ones are so far gone they more resemble zombies from a horror movie than any prostitute and can be very dangerous.


sasha said:
Intesting thread. As for me i live in Los Angeles and you guys all know how the traffic is here. I live in an apartment but my parents are looking to buy a house about 20-25mile away. I already have 7 15gallon blue barrels that im going to keep water in. Im going to set up a shelter at the back yard. The only thing i realy worry about is earthquake realy. So there would be enough food water and shelter for at list 10 people. Just in case other family member show up. If any of the roads would be blocked the city would stop in its tracks I figured out that the only way i could get there would be a bike or walk. The idea is to copy the chinese and load up the bike ride it where i can and push it where i need to. Carry some of the basics on a backpack just in case i need to leave the bike and run. I figure on two days travel. I Know some of you might say 25miles is not far. But if you consider most roads would be blocked and i would have to go around them. Some areas i might want to avoid in the first place. Also dont want to look as a good target. A handgun under the jacket with some spare ammo should be all i need. I acutaly started to fit some old canvas bags to the side of the bike last week. To see how it would work.

Sasha
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Under disaster circumstances such as an earthquake that 25 miles could easily double and perhaps even tripple.
 
mistwalker said:
It's not just natural disasters here. Lately there is tons of much needed and long over due road construction going on with the major freeways that cross the town. They are doing it as much at night as any other time due to less traffic but a lot of the detours send people through some really bad areas of town. A person unfamiliar with the history of these locations, and the fact that foreign gangs with members who are here illegally, undocumented, and are setting up a strong presence who has a flat or engine trouble in one of these areas could quickly find themselves in a place they really shouldn't, and really don't want to be. There has been an influx of teenage girls just disappearing here. With my having a daughter that is about to turn sixteen this is a major concern for me.
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There was a story a few years back of a family getting shot to death because they took a wrong turn in Los Angeles somewhere. I don't remember if they all died or what.

There are always warnings about turning threads in here into political threads, etc. I won't do that but one has to really marvel at the problems our flirtation with deregulation and lack of enforcement has given us. MS-13 and two dozen other gangs are active in my state and it's probably the same story where you are. If you say you don't like illegal immigration now, you are the potential or outright domestic terrorist. You have to love it, brave new world and all that. :rolleyes:
 
Don Rearic said:
There was a story a few years back of a family getting shot to death because they took a wrong turn in Los Angeles somewhere. I don't remember if they all died or what.

There are always warnings about turning threads in here into political threads, etc. I won't do that but one has to really marvel at the problems our flirtation with deregulation and lack of enforcement has given us. MS-13 and two dozen other gangs are active in my state and it's probably the same story where you are. If you say you don't like illegal immigration now, you are the potential or outright domestic terrorist. You have to love it, brave new world and all that. :rolleyes:
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I think it was a father and his two sons who were murdered inside their car in CA. It was about 2 years ago and I'm almost sure it was a MS13 member who was caught and released, caught, released, caught, released, then he gunned down that family. I woulden't be surprised if he's back out there.

When I think Urban Survival, I think less of "food, water, shelter, fire" and way more of "keep your head down".
 
When I think pf urban survival, I think of the Polish concert pianist Wladyslaw Szpillman, who spent the war hiding out in war torn Warsaw. Being a jew, he was in deep hiding for fear of being sent to a camp. He found abandoned buildings, cellers of bombed out buildings, even an attick to lay low in.

urban survival is a way different set of skills than out in the boonies. Whole different art of scavanging, and rooftop dove/pidgion hunting with air rifle.
 
It was the MS-13 gang that was involved in the shooting. They killed a little girl only but her dad was shoot as well but not bad... He took the wrong turn and they confused the family for a gang banger from a diffrent gang.. Shoot first ask Qs later. It wont be easy to get out of the city if law and order breaks down... On one side people on here say that they would rather stay away from our friendly Gov. But on the other side if we stay away we might end up with our friendly Gang bangers who would love to share everything as long as its yours.


Sasha
 
We didn't have much of a problem with gangs here for years. It used to only matter in the projects...but now it is spreading and getting very violent at times. I drove around town for a while today just looking a little closer at things and familiarizing. We are getting a lot of stores that don't advertise in or even speak English at all.

MexicanStore.jpg


MexicanStore-2.jpg


I also noticed a lot more abandoned buildings had been gutted like this one

GuttedBldg.jpg


and more and more there are bars and roll up doors on the store fronts.

BarredWindows.jpg


Also I am noticing a connection of colors. I keep seeing this shade of orange...meeting with the guys and girls in the white and Black shirts

Orange-2.jpg


What I am trying to figure out now is whether these are separate gangs or if these colors signify rank or area of responsibility within one massive organization. If so then it is really big. Here you see the exchange between the guy in white and the guy in orange....

WhiteGang-7A.jpg


and here notice the guy all in black to the left of the police cars calmly observing the scene of the other guy all in black being arrested. I am going to have to pay more attention to this for a bit. Anyone no more about this color combination? What colors if ant does MS-13 fly and what the h#ll does MS-13 stand for?

IMG_1661.jpg



I went back into Renaissance Park today to see if the squatter camps were active again yet and I was right, they are already.
This is the walkway through the new Renaissance Park.

Walkway-1.jpg


Someone has stenciled a note on the walkway.

Notestenciledonsidewalk.jpg
 
and there were several freshly made openings right off of the walkway. I think with all of the lay-offs there will be many more homeless this year than last year.

Opening-2.jpg


inside the opening.

Opening-inside.jpg


Here is some-body's stash for their clothes and belongings.

Belongings-1.jpg


Belongings-2.jpg


Belongings-3.jpg


Not sure why but somebody had stashed a shirt at this opening in the bushes.

Shirt-1.jpg


Shirt-2.jpg


There was one little bright spot though, some girl noticed me taking pictures on my way out of the park and randomly decided to pose and said "do me, do me" so I obliged and took her picture :D Lol, I just couldn't resist.

RandomGirlPosinglol.jpg
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Hey mistwalker, your posts are interesting, but you might want to observe some caution, bro.

Doc
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Thanks DOC, I am always cautious bro, I'm not exactly in new territory. Besides she didn't look all that dangerous to me, not like I was going to propose to her.

Seriously though, I won't be back in that area for a while now. There are many facets to this thread...there are other things in other areas to look at along the way. I am not focusing on any one thing here but the bigger picture as a whole.

By the way, glad you find it interesting.
 
The least known danger in SE Tennessee is earthquake potential. More than likely the local damage will be caused from a quake more than 50 miles away, but there is still the potential problem. You throw in the nuclear plants, and you could have a disaster. Geologists have been discovering fault zones that are buried deep that are suddenly becoming active again. I believe there were some mention of this in the Kingsport area a while back.

Escape routes and shelters have been a part of the Chattanooga area for a long time due to the nuclear plants spaced up along the Tennessee River. They also are a potential terrorist target. Security has been beefed up since 9-11.

In any urban area in which you live, you need to assess the potential dangers as best you can. For most, it is a slow learning process as you familiarize yourself with an area and take it's "pulse". The potential dangers are many.

I keep thinking one of those "scooters" might come in real handy, but I don't communte downtown and a small motor bike has little use beyond recreation where I live. Can't load up at the grocery store too well with one. They make them now that will go 75 mph and still get great gasoline mileage. These run in the $5K area so they aren't exactly cheap.

The bicycle comment is a good one in terms of preparation. I think having a bike or two available is good practice and they are great for exercise and recreating in general.
 
Interesting thread, and one that I think is more like to affect us (and certainly the non-wilderness folks) more than wilderness survival.

I have said before - and half jokingly - that this is a basic urban survival kit. Your cranium is of course your best kit, but it doesn't hurt to supplement:

july052008hilltopMedium.jpg
 
I am familiar with the "rather be tried by twelve than carried by six" philosophy and live by it at times, but to ever be caught with any firearm inside any state, county, or city park here...even if you did only use it to defend yourself would result in going to jail, a huge fine, and the permanent loss of getting a concealed carry permit. It's a lot to risk.
 
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