Urban survival is similar to making it in a more rural area, but also presents its own challenges that are unique to large masses of people living together.

Understanding the basics is critical to ensuring you can make it through in one piece!

Urban Survival Planning and Preparation

For the sake of the rest of this article, let’s assume you decide it’s best to hunker down.

The real survival threat in an urban setting is the sheer number of people fighting over the same resources. So to survive such an environment we will primarily focus on the following two skills:

1 – Avoiding Others
2 – Scavenging Resources

If you can limit your exposure to others and scavenge essential resources, your chances of urban survival go up significantly.

Avoiding Others – Staying Put

Avoiding others will be a real challenge in a dense city, but the easiest way to avoid other people is to stay hidden in your home or apartment. And the only way you’re going to be able to do that for and extended period of time is to stockpile.

I won’t go into extreme detail here about stockpiling (you can read more about it here), but basically, you need to stock food, water, medical supplies, etc.

A note of caution: Don’t tell your neighbors or even friends about your stockpile. Unless you’re OK with sharing your stock resources when SHTF.

So limiting the amount of exposure to others by hunkering down is a good first step. But if you’re dealing with a prolonged disaster, at some point you’ll be forced to venture out for replenishment.

Avoiding Others – Urban Transportation

Naturally, if you jump in your car, start her up and put the pedal to the metal you’ll be noticed by others. But more often than not, in serious emergencies roads will be jammed up anyways. This can be a serious obstacle for someone determined to get back to home base or trying to move about the city.

Cars and trucks are the hardest to get around in the midst of chaos. Motorcycles and scooters more nimble and can dart/weave through thick traffic and tight roadways.
Bicycles are another quick way of getting around in an emergency – they are particularly handy in the case of an EMP because they do not require any electrical input to get you from point A to point B. However, with all of these options you are highly exposed. Exposed to gangs, thieves, or a looter who all may have gunfire.

So evasion is paramount when exposure becomes risky.

Going by foot is preferred once cars, scooters, and bikes become a liability because you can move quietly, and efficiently without the need for roads. Unfortunately, many large cities sprawl which means that you could have a very long distance to cover. Miles could take days if remaining hidden is required.

Darting through small buildings, basement or rooms to provide hidden paths can work, however, if you don’t know the city well you may be evading right into a bad guy’s lair.
Cities simply have too many people in them to remain undetected for the long haul. So you also need to have a self-defense plan and be ready to take immediate proactive action. Firearms are loud but effective so equip yours with a suppressor. Melee weapons are quieter but less efficient.

I plan to have both options with me at all times and use the one that seems most appropriate for any given situation.

Get To Know Your Area Well and Practice

People who live and work in urban environments should know their area intimately.

Take multiple different routes to and from work each day to explore new areas and find back alleys and shortcuts.

Buy some detailed maps of the city and surrounding areas (keep these in your Get Home Bag). Study these maps. Learn them now so you’re not fumbling with them later when the lights go out, and anarchy breaks loose in the city.

Urban survival includes learning how to move about a city undetected; like a ninja.

Traveling over rooftops or sewer systems becomes a major advantage. These are routes you should start practicing today to move secretly throughout a city.

Scavenging For Resources

As we just discussed, moving about undetected is key to avoiding conflict. But where are you going and why? You’re scavenging.

Finding useful resources in an urban environment may seem like a simple process. Just dart off to the nearest Walmart or Target, right? The problem with these public locations is that they are obvious.

Everyone already knows about these locations and they will be looted early in a disaster. So you need some new ideas. Some good locations where the masses won’t be looking (at least initially).

You want to focus on places that the masses have never thought about. Places such as distribution centers, manufacturing sites, schools, or building construction sites.

Your odds of scoring a few precious resources go up significantly if the masses haven’t been there yet. The main resources you’re going to want are:
• Water
• Food
• Medical Supplies
• Tools and Gear

Also, if you’re a skilled survivalist, you’ll know how to turn what looks like junk into a useful survival item. So keep that in mind when scavenging.

Situational Awareness

The urban survival skill you really need to focus on and develop is situational awareness. The choices you make when traveling and scavenging will be determined by how well you’ve honed your situational awareness.

Using your instincts and constantly scanning your environment for evidence of trouble will help you to make wise survival decisions. Often it’s not the strongest or most aggressive who wins, but the one who makes better choices based on what a situation calls for.

The bottom line is: A lot of violence could be prevented if more people had better situational awareness.

To Trust Others or Not

Helping your neighbors can be incredibly rewarding. Sharing your emergency food stockpile or ammo, or even a useful survival tip can earn you an ally during a tumultuous period.

You watch their back, and they will watch yours. It is a symbiotic relationship that benefits both parties. Besides, having survival friends is nice for the company.

However, don’t be too trusting or you might end up dead. Even if it is someone you have known for years and consider a close friend, it is never a good idea to show someone where you keep your survival stash.

Revealing valuable food, water, weapons or your ammo supplies to someone might present unnecessary temptation. It would suck to wake up one morning and find out your “buddy” Scott skipped town with all your ramen noodles and shotgun shells.

Surviving in a crisis in an urban area also has other considerations that must be addressed.

Do you bug out – or bug in? Is it wise to venture out if there is civil unrest or are you confining yourself and reducing your chances of survival by bunkering down?

Do you trust the authorities? If so, to what extent?

These are just a few questions and to see even more urban survival topics discussed, please visit Skilled Survival.