Calling fellow city dwellers

[Ranger]

Been an interesting thread, this one. From my perspective, I think surviving a shtf in the city is survivable, but it would take a lot of very specific prepping and, probably, no small amount of luck. Over the last fifteen years I've done deliveries, home and industrial, all over the inner and greater London area; every leafy borough and every filth infested, shithole estate. London is not a single monotonous estate of tower blocks and burnt out cars, it is a patchwork of lots of types of areas: the aforementioned leafy boroughs and shithole estates. In amongst them all there are a lot of green spaces:- parks, nature reserves, large graveyards, private communal gardens, railway lines, old rivers/streams, ponds/lakes ETC. I think all cities in Britain are the same, just on a smaller scale than London. Two of the first things a city prepper should get is a master atlas and OS map of the city and study them. These will show where the green spaces, water courses, railway lines are. You can then mark and annotate them to show other resources:-garden centers, builders merchants, industrial estates, ETC.
If you're living on one of the crappier estates start looking at where you could bug out to that would be more sparsely populated, i.e. industrial estates, workers huts at railway sidings.
As for food, stockpile enough to see you through the shortish term problem or to get you through the initial exodus/die off. Then all those bushcraft books on foraging,hunting and trapping that you've bought and practised with will really come into there own. You would be surprised at what mother nature has to offer, even in the midst of a necropolis.
Water:-rainwater harvesting, streams, ponds. It's why they invented water filters. Stock up!
Cooking:-again, use bushcraft techniques and also, longer term, rocket stoves, made with materials easily scavenged i.e. air con ducting and other materials from builders merchants. Camping stoves for short term.
Heating/keeping warm:-no excuse for not having lots of layers of clothing, hats, gloves ETC. All available before shtf at charity shops, Primark ETC. It's not a fashion parade so don't worry how you'll look. Proper wool socks are definately worth the investment. Rocket mass heaters will heat a room efficiently with minimal amounts of wood and can be built with scavenged materials. There is an abundance of seasoned wood in the cities; it's called pallets and furniture and all you need do is nip into an abandoned b+q for the tools to process it into sticks.
With any kind of heating and cooking always make sure there is adequate ventilation.
City survival is possible but you need to prep, think laterally and research, research, research.
Anyway, it's late and I must to bed, but one last thought. BP, like you I hanker after the post die off, rural lone wolf approach, but from reading your posts, I'm guessing you're a big lad and no spring chicken. What happens if, the first winter after tshtf, you slip on some ice and break your hip. Your missus might not be able to get you indoors: you're a gonna! If you're part of an msg, then your knowledge and skills would make it well worth while saving you. We all have to adapt to changing circumstances, including old age. Just a thought.