»In which we go exploring

Illicit Ohio and The Vanishing Point explore abandoned or unexplored pieces of our massive urban infrastructure, in Cincinnati and Toronto respectively.. Many of the sites result from intrepid explorers lifting up manholes, sliding down drains, and inveigling themselves into unusual physical situations; the resulting photographs are dramatic and useful. A pragmatic example of why understanding this infrastructure proves useful comes via Pittsburgh:

Pittsburgh's water mains have a seven-year itch or something, as the same water main has ruptured twice now.

Plenty of exploration and publication about urban infrastructure concerns New York: photographer Stanley Greenberg published a volume, entitled Invisible New York, with beautiful images of substations, utility passages, and tunnels from around the city. From photographic evidence to anecdotal accounts, we arrive at people living in old rail tunnels; I discount these stories of "Mole People" as a sort of folklore, due to lack of substantiation: they seem more a romantic idea, or wishful thinking, that communities of social outcasts live on the physical and cultural fringe of New York City, underneath is massive parks and in its abandoned subway tunnels.