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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''Every town in the [[Multiverse]] has a part that is something like [[Discworld|Ankh-Morpork]]'s Shades. It's usually the oldest part, its lanes faithfully following the original tracks of medieval cows going down to the river, and they have names like the Shambles, the Rookery, Sniggs Alley... [[Wretched Hive|Most of Ankh-Morpork is like that in any case]]. But the Shades is even more so, a sort of black hole of bred-in-the-brickwork lawlessness. Put it like this - even the ''criminals'' were afraid to walk the streets. The Watch didn't set foot in it.''|'''[[
In the setting of a large sprawling Metropolis, there is
▲{{quote|''Every town in the [[Multiverse]] has a part that is something like [[Discworld|Ankh-Morpork]]'s Shades. It's usually the oldest part, its lanes faithfully following the original tracks of medieval cows going down to the river, and they have names like the Shambles, the Rookery, Sniggs Alley... [[Wretched Hive|Most of Ankh-Morpork is like that in any case]]. But the Shades is even more so, a sort of black hole of bred-in-the-brickwork lawlessness. Put it like this - even the ''criminals'' were afraid to walk the streets. The Watch didn't set foot in it.''|''[[Discworld (Literature)/Guards Guards|Guards Guards]]'', '''Terry Pratchett'''}}
It will also manage to be made entirely of back alleys that seem to only back onto more back alleys. It is basically the back alley of the entire city which is what distinguishes it from the [[Wretched Hive]]: the [[Wretched Hive]] is an entire locale of crime and vice but
▲In the setting of a large sprawling Metropolis, there is the a certain spot that contains the dark side of city life. It will be the place where the police rarely tread and where those who attend to certain unsavory professions rely on their own methods of protection. It will have its own nickname from the locals, it may even be marked out on the official map. Its level of actual malice may vary; it could be a place where the protagonist is in constant danger for each moment that they spend in this dark corner or it could be a rather lively area with an active [[Black Market]] that forms an actual market and gamblers, whorers and dealers collect for decadent revelry. The latter is more common when [[The City Narrows]] are the [[Not-So-Safe Harbor]] district and are thus filled with pirates' and sailors' entertainment in levels that would make [[Frank Miller]] blush.
A subtrope of [[Wretched Hive]] and [[Wrong Side of the Tracks]]. It is [[Truth in Television]] to a degree; that degree being how much you can tell the inhabit of a real life version of this trope that [[Urban Segregation|they live in their city's arse end]] and not be given a [[Glasgow Grin]].
▲It will also manage to be made entirely of back alleys that seem to only back onto more back alleys. It is basically the back alley of the entire city which is what distinguishes it from the [[Wretched Hive]]: the [[Wretched Hive]] is an entire locale of crime and vice but [[The City Narrows]] is the subsection of the city that you can accidentally wander into from the nice side, ''if'' you walk too far along the [[Wrong Side of the Tracks]]. So you can expect plenty of "What's a nice girl like you doing here then?"
▲A subtrope of [[Wretched Hive]] and [[Wrong Side of the Tracks]]. It is [[Truth in Television]] to a degree; that degree being how much you can tell the inhabit of a real life version of this trope that [[Urban Segregation|they live in their city's arse end]] and not be given a [[Glasgow Grin]].
{{examples}}
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* The Walled City in ''[[Witch Hunter Robin]]'', presumably taking its name from the real world Kowloon Walled City that was used in the Bourne series below.
* The Gray Terminal, a literal compost heap, which lies right next door to the capital City of Goa on Luffy's hometown island of Dawn Island in [[One Piece]].
* Wherever ''[[Holyland]]'' takes place has this.
== Comic Books ==
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* The Triangle, a hotspot of gang warfare in [[Green Arrow]]'s Star City
* Hell's Kitchen, NYC, had this reputation IRL; consequently, it serves this purpose in the Marvel Verse.
** Gail Simone wrote a satirical article when Hell's Kitchen started getting gentrified into Clinton; [[Daredevil]] runs into Bullseye, who's more interested in getting a latte at Starbucks than fighting.
* Arguably, Shadow Hill in ''[[Astro City]].''
* Even as scary as [[Sin City]] is, ''The Projects'' are even scarier. Also, while it's technically outside the city limits, ''The Farm'' is a place that both cops and criminals try to avoid. It's been rumored to be haunted.
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== Film ==
* Old Detroit as portrayed in ''[[
* Five Points was this in ''[[Gangs of New York]]'', as well as in [[Real Life]], in the 19th century.
* The nearly literal "Narrows" quarter of Gotham City in ''[[Batman Begins]]''.
* In ''[[Star Wars]]'', the underworld of [[City Planet|Coruscant]], as visited by Anakin and Obi-Wan in ''[[Attack of the Clones]]''. One denizen even tries to sell them a [[G-Rated Drug]].
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== Literature ==
* The Shades of Ankh-Morpork on the ''[[Discworld]]''. A classic example: the cops don't go there at all (except for the werewolf), the [[Band of Brothels|Seamstresses' Guild]] keep their girls safe with a couple of ... people and each time a major character enters it's basically just a countdown for their first [[Random Encounter]].
** Arguably, Ankh-Morpork is an inversion; ''most of the city'' constitutes one of these, at least up until the events of ''[[
** Even the
*** Indeed, one of the generals is amazed to learn that the massive loss of men wasn't due to enemy action, but because they went into the Shades carrying weapons and armour - i.e. valuable loot.
* The underlevels of Coruscant in ''[[Star Wars]]''{{'}} prequel trilogy and extended universe. The planet is one huge city, so overdeveloped that the lower levels barely ever, often never, see natural sunlight. This drives the property values down and attracts the wrong sort of character (though Palpatine probably tried to [[British Newspapers|shift the blame on non-human immigrants]]).{{verify}} The ''[[X Wing Series]]'' has Gavin Darklighter from Tatooine going to the underlevels of Coruscant and thinking that "if Mos Eisely was considered the armpit of the galaxy, this part of Coruscant could be considered anatomically lower and decidedly less hygienic."
** By contrast the lower levels of Nar Shadda (The "Smuggler's Moon") are a sort of inversion. They're considered ''safer'' than the higher levels because everyone walks around armed and no one has anything worth stealing.
* Several of [[Andre Norton]]'s science fiction novels (such as ''Judgement on Janus'', ''Catseye'' and ''Forerunner Foray'') have The Dipple, a refugee camp in the planet Korwar's capital city of Tikil. The character who were born there ''always'' escape because there is no [[Happy Ending]] while you are in it.
* ''[[Thieves' World]]'', the shared world fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin, has the Maze in the city of Sanctuary.
* In the second novel of ''[[The Bourne Series (
* ''[[Chung Kuo]]'' has the lowest, "below the Net" levels of the [[Mega City|world city]].
* In ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'', while the west side of the Eldar in Ebou Dar is relatively safe, wandering in the Rahad on the east side in rich clothes is equivalent to suicide. Unless you have a Wise Woman with you.
* In [[Michael Flynn]]'s novel ''[[Spiral Arm
* [[Punny Name|Knockturn Alley]] in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' books. It's the place where the stores sell [[Artifact of Doom|artifacts of doom]] instead of normal magical artifacts.
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Conan the Barbarian]] story "Rogues in the House", the Maze.
** In "The Phoenix on the Sword", the conspirators meet in one.
* Jack Ketch's Warren (or just the Warren) in the [[Matthew Hawkwood]] novels. It was almost certainly this in [[Real Life]] as well.
* Caravanserai in [[The Vorkosigan Saga|Vorbarr-Sultana]] long was this trope, until getting cleaned up during and after [[Cincinnatus|Aral Vorkosigan's]] tenure as a Prince-Regent and Prime Minister.
* Such districts pop up in several ''[[
** Old City in [[The Windy City|Chicago]] is a notorious slum which generally corresponds to both flavors of the trope. [[Irony|The Loop]] is still a lively bohemian area (where you should pay close attention to your wallet's whereabouts though), and even a Soldier Field isn't that bad, but the lower levels are overrun with the murderous hoodlums, junkies and occasional rogue [[Super Soldier]].
** [[Fan Nickname|The Spook Duo]] [[The Infiltration|set their shop]] in such an area of the [[Right Under Their Noses|Mesan capital of Mendel]]. Ironically, this works even if their base is a [[Greasy Spoon|crowded working-class diner]]<ref>Anton even calls it thus, triggering an angry rant by Steph Turner, the owner of the restaurant in question, on subject of how [[Even Evil Has Standards|the sanitary violations are one of the few things]] authorities ever care about there.</ref> and Anton Zilwicki being pretty much the [[Overt Operative]] by that point.
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== [[Live
* Downbelow on ''[[
* In ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the poor lower levels of New New York in the episode "Gridlock," complete with vendors selling mood-altering substance patches.
* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Suicide Slums]] in [[Smallville|Metropolis]]
* Played with in the third season of ''[[The Wire]]''. Hamsterdam (a legalized drug zone, with all of the unpleasantness you'd think that implies, and a bit more) is made as far away as possible with it still being accessible to street dealers. It's still not far enough so that
* Several parts of Honolulu in ''[[Magnum,
* While it is doubtful that any part of Sunnydale (the setting for ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'') is safe, [[Good Guy Bar|the Bronze]] (a popular nightclub frequented by the cast) is located in "the bad part of town". It does tend to be targeted by monsters rather often.
== Tabletop Games ==
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== Video Games ==
* The crumbling slums of Meiyerditch in ''[[
* The Slums district of Amn in ''[[
* The village in [[Quest for Glory]] I has a single alley not fully protected against violence by Erana's spell. During the daytime, it's safe and a beggar spends his time there. At night, however... Unfortunately, where you stand, Erana's spell is still active.
* The back alley, a section of the docks (which is pretty bad in itself) of the city of Neverwinter in [[Neverwinter Nights 2]] also the beggars nest from the first game.
* The favela in ''[[Modern Warfare]] 2'' in Rio. There's literally an entire army of heavily-armed Brazilian criminals there who do ''not'' take well to outsiders. You know you're in a bad place when the only viable way to enter the area and locate the one criminal you're trying to find is to walk in ''shooting a weapon in the air'' so you can draw the militia out for a straight fight instead of trying to sneak through and get surrounded.
* Rapture's Apollo Square district in ''[[
* ''[[Cyberpunk (role-playing game)|Cyberpunk]]'': Night City is already a [[Wretched Hive]] even by the standards of the [[Crapsack World]], but there are parts of it that are somehow even worse. In [[Cyberpunk 2077|2077]], there's the Pacifica district's Dogtown, being controlled by a Dangerous Deserter's gang and something that the cops, corps, and most other gangs want nothing to do with other than to wall it off and keep the bad, crazy people in.
== Web Original ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131102070203/http://www.collegehumor.com/video/3896718/rape-tunnel-a-valentines-day-love-story---moon-county The Rape Tunnel.] "It actually has
==
* ''[[
* In ''[[Tales of the Questor]]'', they have their capital city, Sanctuary--- and the "suburb" commonly known as the Tumbledowns, a multi-story shantytown filled with street gangs and other dregs of society....
* Candi Levens in the ''[[Ciem Webcomic Series
** On the other hand, Latin Town is about the only southern Indiana locale in that story which ''isn't'' a [[Wretched Hive]].
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Inverted in a lot of real-world cities, where the fact that you can buy old houses extremely cheap makes them prime locations for gentrification. For example, The Lanes in Brighton, a warren of winding roads and crooked houses that is the remnants of the original fishing village, is nowadays full of ridiculously expensive boutiques and restaurants.
* Hitrovka in [[Tsar Tsar Autocracy|Imperial-era]] Moscow. Was completely purged clean by Bolsheviks after the [[Red October]].
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* [[Stargate City|Vancouver]]'s Downtown Eastside, although it's known just as much for its sheer poverty (combined with copious drug addictions) as for being dangerous. This is where serial killer Robert "Willie" Pickton did his hunting, and as such has a reputation for women (especially prostitutes) just... vanishing.
* International Boulevard in Oakland, CA, used to be called East 14th Street until the city changed the name as part of an effort to change its image. It hasn't really worked.
* Several parts of [[London]] have been this at various points in its history - Southwark of 500 years ago was famous for its brothels (licensed by the local bishop!) and St. Giles was the place the police would only go en masse.
* The poorest neighbourhoods in Mexico City like "Tepito" tend to be this. These places are where most muggings and drug-lord firefights take place. If you ever come to visit, stay close to downtown and never be outside late at night.
* Skid Road, in central [[Seattle]], WA, was such a place in the early 20th century - the proverbial "Skid Row" having derived from its name. (The neighborhood has since been gentrified and redubbed "Pioneer Square", though it's still not the sort of area one feels comfortable walking around in after dark.)
* [[New York City]]:
** The Five Points in 19th-Century New York.
* North Minneapolis, nicknamed Murderapolis. ▼
** Certain neighbourhoods of New York City
* Bunker Hill was this during the golden age of Los Angeles (abt. 1917-1963). Not even South Central comes close today.▼
* The outer half of the VIII. district of Budapest, [[Useful Notes/Hungary|Hungary]]. It's suspiciously similar to a jungle - a machete greatly increases your chances to survive. ▼
▲* Bunker Hill was this during the golden age of [[Los Angeles]] (abt. 1917-1963). Not even South Central comes close today.
* The North Praga district of Warsaw, [[Useful Notes/Poland|Poland]]. There's even an old saying "Jedziesz na Pragie, to weź pan lagie" ("If yer goin' to Praga, get a big stick, guv."). Before [[World War II]], Wola was this as well, but it slowly gentrified over the years.▼
▲* The outer half of the VIII. district of Budapest, [[
* Chinatown in [[Useful Notes/Boston|Boston]] was this up until recently. At the time (the 1960s-1970s), Chinatown adjoined [[wikipedia:Combat Zone (Boston)|Boston's Combat Zone]], home to porno theaters and prostitutes. It was literally only one block from the Boston Common, the park at the heart of the city. Rising property values, the ability to watch porn at home, and the fact that the Chinese got sick of the bad reputation the area had, all led to its demise. It's now a perfectly nice light-commercial area.▼
▲* The North Praga district of Warsaw, [[
* The "SWATS" (or Zone 4) in Southwest [[Atlanta]], Georgia, so called because it's in '''S'''outh'''w'''west '''At'''lanta, or because the SWAT team is always there. Quite a few rappers are from there, including T.I. and Big Boi. ▼
▲* Chinatown in [[
* Take a look at "Several parts of Honolulu in ''[[Magnum PI]]''." The most notorious of these several parts, at least until a wave of clean ups in the early 2000s, was Hotel Street in Chinatown. Long a red-light district catering to certain... desires... of sailors from neighboring Pearl Harbor, the area became very run down and was controlled by the Tongs and other organized crime syndicates, and it was not a place you went to at night if you valued your life, and it was a wise man who avoided it during the day as well. The area has, however, undergone a revitalization that has -- mostly -- reclaimed the area for decent society.▼
▲* The "SWATS" (or Zone 4) in Southwest [[Atlanta]], Georgia, so called because it's in '''S'''outh'''w'''
▲* Certain neighbourhoods of New York City are this. Specifically, the South Bronx and East New York are known for being ''extremely'' dangerous.
▲* Take a look at "Several parts of Honolulu in ''[[Magnum,
* Japan:
** [https://www.tofugu.com/japan/nishinari/ Nishinari Ward] is considered the slum of Osaka and the most dangerous place in Japan. Multiple riots took place there, and even now it remains infamous for strong [[Yakuza]] presence and the largest [[Red Light District]] in the nation. It is almost literally on the [[Wrong Side of the Tracks]] from much more upmarket Namba to the north.
** Kabukicho in Shinjuku, Tokyo, which you may have heard of from ''[[Gintama]]'' or the [[No Communities Were Harmed]] "Kamurocho" in ''[[Ryu ga Gotoku|Yakuza]]'', has long had an unsavoury reputation for sleaze and crime. While it is hotly-debated as to how active the ''gokudō'' and prostitutes remain, what's not in question is that [https://soranews24.com/2021/12/16/how-a-bar-in-kabukicho-scammed-one-diner-out-of-their-money-and-how-it-can-happen-to-you-too/ scammers are still very much in operation.]
* There are places in Singapore like Orchard Towers or certain parts of Geylang where it is an open secret that prostitution, which is officially illegal in the country, is quietly tolerated as long as no one rocks the boat.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Wretched Hive]]▼
[[Category:The City]]
[[Category:Truth in Television]]
[[Category:
{{DEFAULTSORT:City Narrows, The}}
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