A visual guide to rural decay and its impact on infrastructure (Photos)

Even though the namesake of this page stems from urban decay, one kind of decay often overlooked by those who have no reason to venture well outside of cities is rural decay. Rural decay does not affect everywhere equally. For example, when traveling throughout the countryside, one may notice that many houses and structures are still very much so intact. However, for rural industry, and especially agricultural centers such as farms, the same cannot be said. With the advancement of computer technology and the swelling of urban areas, much of rural industry and all its hard labor were impacted dramatically. In addition, thanks to lessening profits and higher costs of operations, many smaller to moderate farms have closed over time. What remains are either massive titans of farming and agriculture, or essentially what translate to million dollar companies, or empty shells of residential farms that served the immediate area. Having been raised in upstate New York, the presence of deteriorating barns was all too common of a sight. Only rarely would one notice a farm or rural industrial center that was not only fully functional, but profiting. What are provided here are images from around the web, all of which showcase rural decay.