Urbex glossary

The words that come up in the videos, defined the way I use them. Each one links to the full post.

asbestos: Which old building materials contain asbestos, when US use was restricted, why disturbed material matters, and what a P100 respirator is rated to do.
black mold: What black mold means, why wet abandoned buildings grow it, what the musty smell is, what the CDC says it does to health, and when a mask is not enough.
burned: A burned location has been exposed, whether posted, leaked, geotagged or found by too many people. After that it gets sealed, watched or toyed. How it happens.
condemned: Condemned means a city official has ruled a building unsafe or unfit and ordered it closed. It doesn't mean it's coming down. What the notice says and who decides.
dark tourism: Dark tourism is visiting places tied to death, disaster or tragedy. Where the term comes from, which sites count, and how it differs from exploring abandoned buildings.
dead air: Dead air is explorer slang for air bad enough to leave over: low oxygen, or heavy asbestos, insulation dust or mold. What causes it and what a mask can't fix.
dead mall: A dead mall has lost most of its stores and shoppers but is still standing. Why anchor stores matter, what Dixie Square Mall shows, and what I found in one.
demolition by neglect: Demolition by neglect is when owners let a building rot until it can't be saved. How cities define it, what Illinois can do, and what it looks like inside.
draining: Draining is exploring storm drains and sewers. Why it is a different and deadlier game than abandoned buildings, and what OSHA, NOAA and city officials say.
fed spot: 'Fed' spot is explorer slang for a high-risk location, not a federal one: cameras, alarms, police, owners who prosecute, or a building that can fail.
gatekeeping: Gatekeeping in urbex means keeping locations to yourself. Why explorers do it, what researchers and police say, and the fair case against it.
geotagging: Geotagging attaches a location to a photo or post. How coordinates hide inside files, what the Army and park managers say, and why I never post where a spot is.
ghost town: A ghost town is a settlement that was abandoned or lost most of its people. How towns die, how Bodie and Cardiff, Illinois ended up empty, and what I film instead.
industrial archaeology: Industrial archaeology studies the physical remains of factories, mills, mines and machines. Where it started, what it records, and the Illinois plants it applies to.
Kirkbride: A Kirkbride is a 19th century hospital for the mentally ill built to Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride's plan, with staggered wings for air and light. How they worked and what became of them.
land bank: A land bank is a public agency that takes vacant, tax delinquent property and passes it to buyers who will reuse it. How Cook County's works.
liminal space: A liminal space is a place of transition, like a hallway or an empty parking lot, that feels strange without people. Where the term comes from and real examples.
probate: Probate is the court process that settles a dead owner's estate. Why a house can sit empty while it runs, and what those houses look like inside.
red tag: A red tag is a posted notice that a building is unsafe to occupy. What the red, yellow and green placards mean, who posts them, and what a red tag does and doesn't tell you.
rooftopping: Rooftopping is climbing to the top of tall buildings and cranes for photos and video. What it is, how it differs from urbex, and what the fall numbers say.
ruin photography: Ruin photography is photographing abandoned and decaying places. Where it comes from, why Detroit made it controversial, and the rules I follow as a photographer.
scrapper: Scrappers strip abandoned buildings for copper and other metal to sell. What they take, why vacant buildings get hit, and what Illinois requires of scrap buyers.
sealed: A sealed building has had its openings closed off with boards, steel, block or welds. Who seals them, how, and why sealed means leave it alone.
still water: Still water is stagnant water in an abandoned place. What's in it, why it stinks, and why you should keep your hands out of it.
tax sale property: In Cook County a tax sale sells the unpaid taxes and not the house. What the buyer gets, how owners redeem, and why some empty houses sit first.
the Backrooms: The Backrooms is an internet horror story about endless empty office rooms. Where it started in 2019, how the movie came about, and why real offices look the same.
time capsule: A time capsule is a building abandoned with its contents intact. Why they happen, why they're rare, and how to tell a real one from a staged one.
toyed: A toyed spot has been trashed by toys, the explorer word for people who destroy buildings. Basically the same as burned. How a time capsule turns into a wreck.
urban decay: Urban decay is when part of a city falls into disrepair as people, jobs and tax money leave. Causes, what it costs, and what it looks like in Gary and Illinois.
urbex: Urbex is short for urban exploration: visiting abandoned or hidden places to document them. Where the word came from, the code, the law, and what bando means.
urbex spot: In urbex a spot is a specific place an explorer visits, usually abandoned. How a building becomes one, why spots disappear, and why I keep most of them private.
vacant building registration: A vacant building registration puts a name, insurance and a security duty on the owner of an empty building. How Chicago's works and what it means for the building.
zombie property: A zombie property is a vacant house stuck in a stalled foreclosure. How they happen, who is responsible, and how many Cook County had.