...an area of a city, or a district, where crime, drugs and other bad elements have made it hard for retailers to lease out space and there is a "ghost town" feeling about it? Do you know what I mean? Is there a term for this? I thought of "the projects", "the hood", and a few others but they don't capture what I am trying to describe.
"Redlining/redlined" might work (from insurance companies). I've also heard real estate agents just use the term "drug area," in suggesting one might not want to look at houses in a certain part of town.
Urban wasteland, deadzone, badlands, no go area... hang on... just found this I like urban desert the best.
Slum or Ghetto I'd say - or you could just give it a name and describe it. "oh yeah bro, the heights, even the cops don't go in there without an armored car"
This thread is an exercise in PC delicacy. I would just say: Shit part of town A shit street in a shit neighborhood In a neighborhood like this one, certain industries are thriving. Sex and drugs always make for a brisk, lively business. Cross-merchandising is common.
We drove past several strip malls that looked abandoned with FOR LEASE signs hanging everywhere. “What a shit hole,” I said. “My aunt works for an insurance company; she says they call this area the Redzone,” Rob said. “More like the Deadzone…” Rob nodded. “No doubt,” Thanks all
Redzone to me sounds too much like a red light district, which may be upscale or downscale depending on the culture. I usually cause dead space like that a "black hole." Why are there no businesses over there? It's a financial black hole.
Sounds like D.C. after dark. Well from the stories I heard from my mother when she was stationed there back in the early '90s. Waste Zone No go zone (NGZ) Crime District Urban Wasteland Urban Cesspool
A term for this is Skid Row, where drugs, prostitutes, transients, crime, and gangs dominate. This term came from the early 20th century Skid Road in Seattle where logs were slid down a steep hill (I believe it was Yesler) to a sawmill in the waterfront where all the rough logger types hung out. The other term is red light district, but that is more geared to prostitution, and has taken on a rather tame touristy atmosphere in Amsterdam.
There's as many phrases as there are towns. It'll be determined by where it's set and, notably, what kind of people mostly live there. You don't call the rough part of town in rural Kentucky 'the ghetto' and for good reason; but 'meth head central' would fit just fine. Also, remember that in most places drugs and prostitutes, while living fairly closely, tend not to live on the same exact streets and go by different names. The pimps don't like broke ass junkies scaring off their johns, the dealers don't like sad middle class men calling the cops when they see a gun.
Very true. Regional, who lives there, social statuses, etc, all weigh in on a name. A quick story about this- When I was young, in Cali, we knew terms like slum, ghetto, etc. When we went to Massachusetts, we were shocked to find that the state called the 'bad' section of Boston 'The Combat Zone'. Another way to term it is to tie it to the blue collar workers having left several years prior.
Also red light areas aren't generally quite the same as the sort of deadzone areas where lots of shops are vacant - if you think of somewhere like the 'combat zone' in Boston, or the Reeperbahn in Hamburg , they are red light areas where you can go to pick up a prostitute or rent boy, or to score some drugs but they aren't dead - they are bustling with businesses albeit bars, clubs, brothels, sex shops etc On a smaller scale - places like the area round the station in Swindon or North Tenth street in Milton Keynes are perfectly respectable businesses, shopping, and housing by day but transform into the red light area at night. In milton keynes the really shit areas - like the lakes estate are definitely sink areas where a lot of the houses are falling into disrepair and no one in their right mind wants to live, but they arent red light areas per se - principally because if you went in their kerb crawling you'd get mugged and robbed so why risk it compared to the relatively safe north tenth action ( I'd point out at this juncture that I don't make a habit of kerb crawling anywhere - but I worked in milton keynes for five years and know a lot of cops there)
"The old mall" is what I would call it, once a new one opens up the old ones nearby all die. Of course that is somewhat independent of the elements you listed as the reason for decline. If you are writing a story and you really want your specific concept to be what comes to mind you will probably have to add to the description to make your point since there are many names as listed above that might not be your desired fit all depending on the reader's background.
