Kansas City Urban Explorers

Location Longevity is the practice of exploring in a way that allows us to keep exploring the same location well into the future; allowing new explorers joining our community to share the same experiences. The below information will help guide you on how to better explore with location longevity in mind.

Keep the Spot Secret!

• Don’t publicly share addresses or coordinates. Avoid geo-tagging your photos or posting identifiable features.
• Use codenames for sites (e.g. "Virgin Destroyer Drain", "Deer Skull Mine", "Solar School"). This adds a layer of fun and protection. If you find a new spot in our community, you get to name it whatever you want!
• Be selective with who you bring. It only takes one person to lead to a spot getting ruined. Vet your friends carefully.

Leave No Trace - and Try To Leave It Better

• Avoid moving or altering objects unless necessary for safety or access, always return them to their original position.
• Avoid taking souvenirs, especially one off objects or artifacts. (There can be exceptions to this; like if the object is in imminent risk of destruction).
• Avoid tagging or leaving marks when/where not appropriate. We don't want to encourage further vandalism, or tip off people that someone has been there.
• If safe to do so, remove trash left by others. Some people have a bad habit of leaving behind beer cans, cigarette/weed butts, and other personal trash. If the spot looks pretty clean, we should do our best to try and make sure we aren't contributing to a spot becoming a dump.

Respect Access and Barriers

• If it can't be secured back the way you found it, its probably not a good idea. Sometimes its best to wait until the conditions are more ideal to crack a spot!
• Do not force entry. There are plenty of ways to bypass security measures. Cutting locks and prying things open are crappy short-term solutions. Read about Overt, Covert, and Surreptitious here.
• Never break windows. It makes a mess and can cause major injury. Its also a shitty thing to do, so just don't.

Be Stealthy - For You and the Spot
This more applies to brand new and unfamiliar spots, use your best judgement.

• Don't stomp the yard. If you've been in marching band, you're probably familiar with rolling your steps. This technique will help you walk extremely stealthy
• Avoid heavy foot traffic. Bring people in small groups unless there is minimal chance of being spotted.
• Don't linger at entrances/exits. We don't want to attract attention to the spot.

(Not) Sharing is Caring

• Crop out or blur identifying markers.
• Delay sharing photos for periods of time to avoid alerting others that a spot is open/doable.
• Keep fresh, pristine and cherished spots off of public social media pages.

Know When Not to Go

• A spot might be too fragile, recently discovered, and/or not ready for increased traffic. Give spots time to breath! A spot visited everyday is more at risk than a spot visited once a month.