And that other, less savory park may well have just been an undeveloped lot that someone had tried to make the best of, really. At night it wasn't safe to be out, and not just because of the people; there was some pretty unsavory wildlife too, to go with the unsavory maybe-park.
He was fortunate that he lived on the edge of that mess though, and within a little while he came into the neater, more respectable stretch of houses and apartment buildings.