"...a turbulent, impoverished neighbourhood dominated by tenements hired on leases not exactly short or long term. Recent arrivals to the Cities who have yet to work their way upwards shelter in Astor Square. Families who find the Cities' golden promises to be made of pyrite become trapped in it. And, Marcas supposed, visitors with more nefarious aims hide in it. The building where Jed Wierton lived was entirely typical of the district. It was a bleak and hideous seven-story tower of cracking stone which looked as if it would sway in every breeze. Thick grills covered half its myriad of windows and had apparently either fallen or been wrenched off the remainder. Several windows were boarded up - not necessarily denoting an empty apartment behind, Marcas guessed - and one on the ground floor was a freshly gaping hole."
(from The Innocents)