The Strangest ABANDONED Cities Explained in 9 Minutes

Every abandoned city on Earth and why people left, explained in minutes. Some were buried by volcanoes, some were swallowed by sand, and one has been on fire since 1962. These aren't ruins from ancient history, most of them were thriving within your lifetime. As a real urban planner, i'm breaking down stangest abandoned cities and the exact moments that emptied them forever. #abondoned #city #explained Pripyat: A perfect Soviet city of 49,000 people frozen in the exact moment everyone left. Nature took over and wolves now roam through apartment blocks.. Centralia: A Pennsylvania town that's been burning underground for over 60 years.Five people still live there. The fire has enough coal for another 250 years. Hashima Island: Once the most densely packed place on Earth with 5,300 people on a tiny rock. Mitsubishi pulled everyone out in three months and never looked back. Varosha: A luxury beach resort in Cyprus where Elizabeth Taylor vacationed. Fenced off for 50 years with 1974 cars still sitting in dealership showrooms. Ordos: China spent $161 billion building a city for one million people. For a decade, almost nobody showed up. Now it's slowly filling in.. Kolmanskop: A diamond boom town in the Namibian desert that produced 11.7% of the world's diamonds. The sand is now filling rooms to the ceiling. Craco: A 1,400 year old Italian cliff village that's literally sliding off its own mountain. The geology decided humans were done living there. Plymouth: A Caribbean capital buried under 12 meters of volcanic ash in 1995. Residents can still see their old rooftops from the hilltop above. Which abandoned city haunts you the most? Let me know in the comments! 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗞 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗢𝗦; Urban Planning Lessons | Urban Design and City Planning Info ↪ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO5PaPVyUlAkfchYuUU2fV_3_9Z9_-_sR The Most INSANE City Transformations Explained ↪ https://youtu.be/0LlDSYRgdiE Every Capital City MISTAKE Explained in 9 Minutes ↪ https://youtu.be/ufQCdCLXVcI -TIMESTAMPS- 00:00 Pripyat 01:10 Centralia 02:18 Hashima Island 03:33 Varosha 04:41 Ordos 05:51 Kolmanskop 06:54 Craco 07:59 Plymouth 09:10 The End If you'd like to support this channel and its mission to make urban planning knowledge accessible for everyone, you can join our "Planning Office" via the 'Join' button! 🤝 You can also offer one-time support using the 'Super Thanks' feature below the video and be featured on the 'Thank You Board' at the end of the video, just like all our supporters. 🙏 📩 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 (𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀): [email protected] **** Welcome to Urban Planner Explained! I'm Umut, an urban planner currently pursuing my Master's degree. I'm passionate about decoding the complex world of cities, and I'm here to break down everything I've learned—from university lectures to my travels—into clear videos. My goal is to make the often technical subject of urban planning engaging and easy to understand for everyone. On this channel, we explain various topics like city models, principles of urbanism, some insanely-well designed cities, and American suburbs in a simple and clear way. Of course, topics like Megacity projects, future city models, street patterns, smart cities, walkability, urban design, zoning, public transportation and urban planners are also in our area of interest. If you want to better understand your environment, join a conscious conversation about cities, and explore these living organisms with me, you're in the right place. Subscribe to join the community and let's meet in the next video! © 2026 Urban Planner Explained