Mole people

Mole people are those who live in groups in the subterranean world of major cities in abandoned subway lines, sewer tunnels, flood channels, or heating ducts. They are unhoused, but they have created for themselves a makeshift society to survive the harsh conditions. The exact count of individuals living in these conditions is unknown, due to the difficulty in locating them, but it is estimated that in New York alone, several thousand live under the streets.

For many years, fictional literature and fantasy movies have stimulated readers’ imaginations with depictions of rogue societies or mutant life forms dwelling in underground worlds. Mole people are not limited to fiction, however. Documentary films and several books that gained critical acclaim have garnered public attention by revealing the secret lives of some of the mole people living under the busy streets in New York City and Las Vegas—but they are not limited to these cities. Most major cities with an underground structural system have residents who dwell in forgotten underground locations.

Background

Human societies have existed in underground colonies since ancient times. However, they have done this only briefly during extreme emergencies or to conceal themselves from danger. Life underground typically cannot support a civilization, although it can provide respite from harsh temperatures and protection from enemies. Many places have underground structures large enough to shelter people. For example, an intricate labyrinth of catacombs exists under the streets of Paris that were used by the early Romans, and countless caves beneath European cities and villages were once home to secretive ancient societies. While people did not typically spend more than a few days or weeks, they successfully survived underground life.

Throughout the world, unhoused people find themselves in cities with nowhere to go, so they look for underground shelters to provide them with protection. Many cities have hidden underground worlds long forgotten by others where the unhoused find refuge. Although the population of these communities peaked in the 1980s and 1990s and has since declined, it is estimated that nearly one thousand people live in mole communities in subway tunnels in New York City, and hundreds of individuals live in underground flood control channels in Las Vegas.

In New York City, the economic upheaval of the Great Depression in the early part of the twentieth century forced many people into homelessness. Disused subway tunnels presented a relatively safe option that provided at least basic protection from the elements. Over the decades, the population of mole people grew as a loose-knit community emerged under the streets. Other major cities, especially those with harsh climates and cold winters, force unhoused people to find some sort of shelter to survive, and also have communities of mole people.

The economic situation and governmental assistance programs have a large impact on the number of unhoused individuals. For example, in the 1980s, New York City saw an increase in unhoused individuals, so underground shanty towns and makeshift homes sprung up in subway tunnels. The population of mole people soared, although it has declined since the 1980s. Likewise, underground catacombs and recesses of cities all around the world experience shifts in mole-people populations as the rate of people dealing with being unhoused fluctuates.

The mole people of New York City have long fascinated US journalists and authors. In 1993, journalist Jennifer Toth published the book The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City. In 1996, Dutch anthropologist Teun Voeten published Tunnel People, a book that chronicled the life of New York's unhoused people who lived in the subway system in a place called Freedom Tunnel. Voeten lived amongst the community of people for five months to better understand their situation and published Tunnel People, another book about the subject, in 2010. In 2000, the film documentary Dark Days followed a group of mole people in the same area. Many other books and films have delved into this world.

Along with New York City, other US cities also have mole communities. A 2007 book, Beneath the Neon, by Matthew O’Brien, a writer, editor, and teacher, discusses the life of mole people in Las Vegas. O’Brien brings to light the dangers of living in the flood control channels of the storm drain system and how some taking refuge there have drowned. O’Brien also founded a charity program called Shine a Light Foundation to assist these people by providing supplies and resources to help them find safer places to live.

Overview

Mole people are often within the realm of affluent areas of cities. They can live in some of the most restrictive and expensive parts of a city under the feet of businesspeople, tourists, and some of the wealthiest residents. Traveling at night, they use the cover of darkness to prevent police and other authorities from evicting them from their home. Food or other necessities can also be more easily scavenged from city trash at night and by day, begging on the streets provides a source of support.

Many cities have decommissioned or unused subway or train lines underground. In other cases, cities may have other tunnel infrastructure that has been forgotten and disused. These areas not only have space but also often house old railway cars and other structures. In some cases, these abandoned areas feature ornate and beautiful architecture and even provide some comforts of home to mole people. Natural light may enter tunnels through ventilation grates, although many prefer the darker sections of tunnels for security and to prevent discovery.

Underground areas in cities are often more easily accessible than most people realize, although it is usually illegal to enter these areas. Many times, city or government property is poorly secured or patrolled, and many officials turn a blind eye to trespassers since enforcement would cause other social issues to surface, such as how to find adequate care and housing for the unhoused.

Within a mole community, a loose hierarchy often develops, usually based on seniority and influence with other residents. Mole people often become territorial about their living spaces to provide a semblance of security. Since communities may house individuals who are also wanted for crimes or engaging in illegal activity, such as substance abuse, protection may be found from authorities through the efforts of fellow mole people.

Sometimes, entire families live in mole people communities, although in many cities with enforced child protection laws, parents are at risk of losing custody of their children. In some cities throughout the world, such as Bucharest, Romania, populations of orphaned children, for which there are no government resources available, survive a tumultuous childhood in underground shelters being cared for by relatives or slightly older children. Unfortunately, many of these children are recruited by gangs, organized criminals, or child traffickers who prey on their vulnerable circumstances.

Although mole people find some shelter in underground areas, these spaces are not by any means safe. Many of the structural supports are outdated and unmaintained, and no means of sanitation exists. Flooding also poses a risk, especially in sewer and storm drainage tunnels, and deaths due to drowning have been reported. Also, some mole people use active subway tunnels and risk being hit by high-speed trains in the dark.

Humans are not the only inhabitants of mole communities. Rodents and other pests that carry disease live amongst human inhabitants, and some of the mole people bring pets or take in street animals to ease their loneliness. However, due to living conditions, they often struggle to properly care for pets. Garbage and other debris, including human and animal waste, litter dark corners, and the smell sometimes reaches above-ground city residents as generations of mole people come and go. This can cause hazards for the safety and infrastructure, not only of the mole community but also the city above.

In addition, hazards from other residents are a reality. Individuals with substance abuse disorder, individuals without mental health treatment, and criminals who find themselves unwelcome in other places, are among those who take refuge under the streets. Even though within a mole community there is a hierarchy and a code of conduct, mole people are constantly on guard against personal attacks or having what little possessions they own stolen from them by those who do not follow the rules. It is a difficult life because of the physical conditions and emotional turmoil that comes with being unsettled.

Bibliography

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Dymski, Gary. “‘I Wanted to Turn to Dust:’ Las Vegas Homeless Tell of Primal Life Underground in 600 Miles of City’s Tunnels.” 8 News Now, 28 Aug. 2022, www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/primal-life-escape-from-las-vegas-tunnels-starts-with-volunteer-visits. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

Gilmore, Amy. “20 Secrets About the Mole People Living In New York City's Tunnels.” The Travel, 6 Aug. 2023, www.thetravel.com/20-secrets-about-the-mole-people-living-in-new-york-citys-tunnels. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

Meyer, David. “Hundreds of People Are Living in NYC Subway Stations and Tunnels, MTA Says.” New York Post, 24 Feb. 2022, nypost.com/2022/02/24/hundreds-of-people-are-living-in-nyc-subway-stations-and-tunnels-mta-says. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

Preitz, Shay. “Mole People Are Known to Inhabit These 15 Places Around the World.” The Travel, 29 Mar. 2020, www.thetravel.com/mole-people-inhabit-places-around-world. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

Sandhu, Sukhdev. “Dark Days: Going Underground with New York’s Tunnel-Dwellers.” The Guardian, 26 Jan. 2014, www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/26/dark-days-marc-singer-new-york. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

Santora, Tyler. “Have Any Human Societies Ever Lived Underground?” Live Science, 16 Aug. 2021, www.livescience.com/humans-living-underground.html. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

“What We Do.” Shine A Light Foundation, www.shinealightlv.com/what-we-do. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

Williams, Terry. Life Underground: Encounters with People Below the Streets of New York. Columbia University Press, 2024.