apparently youve never been to a war torn country where buildings have been demolished, streets are full of rubble, and there are no identifiable terrain features because everything has been destroyed. So your comment is fairly worthless.

As the food and energy runs out the looters will move on. A semi-auto 12ga. with buck and ball set-up for combat will be a good deterrent. Peppper spray, baseball bat or a shovel are good if you are fit to deal with pesky people, remember the lights might go back on some day.

So now What? When I get up in the morning the first thing I have to do is feed the cat…have a months wet food on hand. Next light up a smoke. Next take a dump now you need a portable toilet with bags that gel the waste. Also Shut off your sewer line (make plans before hand) and throw dodo bag out window or bury in yard. Of course you have food I like cans they last for ever and don’t need water. Exercise, read, listen to the radio, and reconnect with your wife. I can tell you I did. During 9/11, black outs, Irene and Sandy and never felt closer to my old lady. Good luck on our next adventure the coming pandemic!

What absolutely essential skills will be necessary to establish a tenable working basic society after a complete breakdown of our world?

Personally I’d be dubious of advocating raiding gardens or farms it sounds like a good way of getting shot, however all resoucres should be noted and exploited if safe to do so.

To say one doesn’t need a compass in an urban environment is naive. If you’ve ever seen the destruction left by a tornado in a neighborhood, you know there are many people who can’t find their own homes because the homes are a pile of rubble blown into another area of town. Streets are covered with debris and everything, landmarks and all, are sometimes, totally unrecognizable.