POVERTY AND CRIME
The obscure part of the town is described as having a bad reputation, with foul and narrow ways, wretched shops and houses, and people living in poverty and misery. The area is said to 'reek with crime, with filth, and misery,' indicating a high prevalence of poverty and criminal activity.
OBSCURE PART OF THE TOWN
They left the busy scene, and went into an obscure part of the town, where Scrooge had never penetrated before, although he recognised its situation and its bad repute. The ways were foul and narrow; the shop and houses wretched; the people half naked, drunken, slipshod, ugly. Alleys and archways, like so many cesspools, disgorged their offences of smell and dirt, and life upon the straggling streets; and the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth, and misery.