It looks like the set from a dystopian movie — but it's just a photograph of a Murfreesboro, Tennessee, neighborhood.
"The juxtaposition of this cookie cutter subdivision against the colossal fulfillment center/warehouse or whatever is gross," the person who posted the photo wrote in the subreddit r/UrbanHell. "A beautiful view of beige corrugated metal walls."
The photo shows a row of near-identical homes lining a subdivision street, looking unnervingly uniform but otherwise normal. But the odd part of the photo is the massive, gray-beige wall looming behind the homes and towering overhead.
"This [is] so depressing," one person wrote.
Commenters tracked down the exact location of the subdivision and found two more frustrating facts. Not only are the houses there listed at over $300,000, but they're also "tucked between the highway and the interstate to boot," one commenter wrote in astonishment.
"Not many sun rays in the evenings there since that warehouse is directly west of them. The sun probably 'sets' at 1pm on that street," another lamented.
This desolate scene is reminiscent of other places where industry has taken precedence over livability, like the historic Indiana home that was left stranded in the middle of a parking lot after its owners refused to sell to pave the way — literally — for a new sports stadium.
"Imagine being a kid in those communities. No back yards and no sidewalks. So there's private property, a giant warehouse, and the street. I imagine no parks nearby either. How disgusting," one person wrote. "Oh, and your childhood bedroom will never get sunlight because it's right up against said warehouse."
Aside from being ugly, living in congested industrial areas like this one has deleterious impacts on health.
Prolonged exposure to air pollution — commonly found in most U.S. cities — has been linked to various health risks, from increased likelihood of respiratory illness to miscarriage, as reported by the Guardian. According to a study from The Lancet, long-term exposure to air pollution increases a person's risk of premature death.
Instead, the onus is on local governments to incorporate more public transportation and clean energy sources into infrastructure to keep citizens safe.
"We weren't made to live like this," another Redditor commented.
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