backstreets
Quieter urban routes
Backstreets are the smaller, quieter roads away from a town's main thoroughfares.
The term often carries connotations of seediness or poverty—the parts of town tourists don't see: He grew up in the backstreets of Naples.
Backstreet as an adjective suggests something hidden or illicit: a backstreet abortion, a backstreet deal.
Narrow urban passages
- grimeIngrained surface dirt
- urban decayCity infrastructure deterioration
- underbellyVulnerable lower surface
- povertySevere lack of resources
crime · squalor · graffiti · concrete · pavement · dumpsters · gutters · cracked walls
People living somewhere
- neighborhoodResidential area nearby
- communityCollective of connected people
- marketsTrade gathering places
- vendorsThose who sell goods
locals · corner shops · cafes · pubs · apartments · tenements · stoops · laundromats
Illicit liquor establishments
- boutiquesSmall fashionable stores
- muralsLarge wall paintings
- bookshopsRetail stores for literature
- bistrosSmall informal restaurants
galleries · artisan workshops · vintage shops · antique stores · jazz clubs · courtyards · patisseries · rooftop bars
Obscured by darkness
- noirHard-boiled film genre
- covertIntentionally concealed
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- furtiveSecretive and sly
undercover · rendezvous · dead drops · smuggling · black market · informants · safe houses · escape routes
Rounded paving stones
- yesteryearTime not long past
- memoriesStored past experiences
- vintageQuality from past eras
- bygone eraPeriod no longer current
childhood · sepia-toned · heritage · timeless · history · generations · immigrant stories · stickball
alleyways
Narrow urban passages
- grimeIngrained surface dirt
- urban decayCity infrastructure deterioration
- underbellyVulnerable lower surface
poverty · crime · squalor · graffiti · concrete · pavement · dumpsters · gutters · cracked walls · stray cats
residents
People living somewhere
- neighborhoodResidential area nearby
- communityCollective of connected people
- marketsTrade gathering places
vendors · locals · corner shops · cafes · pubs · apartments · tenements · stoops · laundromats · delis
speakeasies
Illicit liquor establishments
bistros · galleries · artisan workshops · vintage shops · antique stores · jazz clubs · courtyards · patisseries · rooftop bars · record shops
shadowy
Obscured by darkness
- noirHard-boiled film genre
- covertIntentionally concealed
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
furtive · undercover · rendezvous · dead drops · smuggling · black market · informants · safe houses · escape routes · illicit
cobblestones
Rounded paving stones
- yesteryearTime not long past
- memoriesStored past experiences
- vintageQuality from past eras
bygone era · childhood · sepia-toned · heritage · timeless · history · generations · immigrant stories · stickball · clotheslines
backstreetsmain drag
Town's central commercial street
high street · main road · thoroughfare · arterial road · boulevard
backstreetsdowntown
Central business district
city center · town center · central district · urban core · central business district