Never Recycle a Building: Difference between revisions

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In most fictional works, it's normal for an abandoned place to be left undisturbed until the protagonists need to utilize it. Sure, there might be a layer of dust everywhere, but the building can sit around for ''decades'' without anyone claiming it, renovating it, or outright demolishing it. If [[The Voice]] instructs the heroes to find an [[Abandoned Warehouse]] from fifty years ago, they can rest easy knowing that it'll still be ~~there -- just~~ break the lock, clear out the cobwebs, and continue advancing the plot.

In most fictional works, it's normal for an abandoned place to be left undisturbed until the protagonists need to utilize it. Sure, there might be a layer of dust everywhere, but the building can sit around for ''decades'' without anyone claiming it, renovating it, or outright demolishing it. If [[The Voice]] instructs the heroes to find an [[Abandoned Warehouse]] from fifty years ago, they can rest easy knowing that it'll still be there—just break the lock, clear out the cobwebs, and continue advancing the plot.

May be justified if the location is [[Haunted Index|haunted.]]

How much of this is [[Truth in Television]] varies widely. In highly-populated areas with thriving economies, this will almost never occur; if an [[Abandoned Hospital]] is sitting unused for any period of time, ''someone's'' going to exploit the local abandoned property laws to claim the land and build something<ref>unless the cost of cleanup and demolition are exorbitant.</ref>, even if that "something" is just a parking lot. On the other hand, structures in depressed economic areas, remote locations, or [http://englishrussia.com/?p=293 disaster zones] can lay untouched for years, simply because no one is around (or ''wants'' to be around) to care. But even in places where buildings do stand vacant for long periods of time, they're rarely truly ''vacant''. Squatters, trespassers, and the homeless will take up residence for a time, usually being driven off at semi-regular intervals by the local authorities. And there's always stray dogs/cats, raccoons, and other wild animals.

How much of this is [[Truth in Television]] varies widely. In highly-populated areas with thriving economies, this will almost never occur; if an [[Abandoned Hospital]] is sitting unused for any period of time, ''someone's'' going to exploit the local abandoned property laws to claim the land and build something,<ref>unless the cost of cleanup and demolition are exorbitant.</ref> even if that "something" is just a parking lot. On the other hand, structures in depressed economic areas, remote locations, or [http://englishrussia.com/?p=293 disaster zones] can lay untouched for years, simply because no one is around (or ''wants'' to be around) to care. But even in places where buildings do stand vacant for long periods of time, they're rarely truly ''vacant''. Squatters, trespassers, and the homeless will take up residence for a time, usually being driven off at semi-regular intervals by the local authorities. And there's always stray dogs/cats, raccoons, and other wild animals.

A notable variation is having an abandoned ''room'' inside a frequently-used building. This one tends to be more fanciful than factual, as any reasonable custodial staff would have access to blueprints and schematics showing where everything is. For a room to remain undisturbed for decades would normally require someone (or [[Eldritch Abomination|something...]]) actively protecting it.

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== Films -- Animation ==

* Carl and Ellie's house in Pixar's ''[[Up]]''. It appears to have been abandoned for quite some time when Carl and Ellie first meet inside as children, and it remains that way up until they buy and refurbish it after their marriage. [[Egregious]] because [[World War Two]] ([[Fridge Logic|and it's accompanying]] dual housing ~~shortages -- one~~ during the war, [[It Got Worse|and one after]]) happened somewhere in between there.

* Carl and Ellie's house in Pixar's ''[[Up]]''. It appears to have been abandoned for quite some time when Carl and Ellie first meet inside as children, and it remains that way up until they buy and refurbish it after their marriage. [[Egregious]] because [[World War Two]] ([[Fridge Logic|and it's accompanying]] dual housing shortages—one during the war, [[It Got Worse|and one after]]) happened somewhere in between there.

* In ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'', Tiana's father sets his sights on an abandoned mill as the place to set up the restaurant he dreams of starting. Not only was the mill empty for some time before he announces this, it remains empty for another ten years or so, while Tiana grows up and saves the money so she can buy the mill for the same purpose after her father dies. One of the things that kicks off the plot is that as soon as she tells the men selling the mill that she's able to afford it, she's informed that someone else just happened to outbid her on it. Given how the men are jerks who suggest that Tiana couldn't handle running a restaurant because she's black, [[Fanon]] has taken to the notion that Tiana was simply lied to about the competition.

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* Abandoned room example: The Crypt of Civilization, a giant airtight time capsule at Oglethorpe University, was forgotten about for thirty years after its sealing in 1940. As it's not supposed to be opened for another 6000 years, somebody'd parked some furniture in front of the door, hiding it from notice for decades.

* Urban Exploration is a phenomenon springing up all over the world where such abandoned structures are explored and documented by private persons. It turns out that abandoned buildings may very well be there, but they're not gonna be ''untouched'' for a long time. Squatters, vandals, paintballers and graffiti artists (sometimes all of them at the same time) will see to that.

** ''That'' part is subverted by some [[Abandoned Hospital~~|Abandoned Hospitals~~]], where equipment that was left behind decades ~~ago -- wheelchairs~~, bed frames, even iron lungs (read: pickup-truck-bed-sized loads of scrap metal, on casters for your convenience) have remained in place for decades.

** ''That'' part is subverted by some [[Abandoned Hospital]]s, where equipment that was left behind decades ago—wheelchairs, bed frames, even iron lungs (read: pickup-truck-bed-sized loads of scrap metal, on casters for your convenience) have remained in place for decades.

* A notable variation is [http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1975397_2094492,00.html the city of Ordos], in China's Kangbashi district. It's a "new" city, built by local officials to show a healthy annual GDP, but is almost completely abandoned because it's ''too expensive'' for people to live in.

* Many ghost towns (at least the ones that aren't tourist attractions) are this.