Post-industrial Buddhism is what it is. Yeah like it'd be great to do that in a cave or forest or open prairie but who the fuck can afford those things?
Abandoned buildings are free as long as you don't fuck with the native inhabitants' meth.
I'm not doubting there are abandoned buildings in cities. I'm doubting any city within the US with the exception of the southwest is more than a few miles from a forest.
Oh ok. But to refute your forest idea, while there are forests a few miles outside those cities, you can't easily walk to them. There also aren't any forests near those major cities where you wouldn't immediately be noticed by park rangers if you tried setting up a random tent. Abandoned buildings don't get daily police sweeps whereas parks do get sweeps because of lost/injured at nightfall when the parks close to everyone without a camping permit. And legal camp sites are very popular so you wouldn't be getting away from people- like those who have their playlists blasting out their phone while hiking.
That's still going to be a problem living in an abandoned building though. That part doesn't change regardless of where their friend goes to meditate (unless that place is work I guess)
Actually the larger parks near me (the only places that have enough trees to qualify as something close to a forest) do cost money (american city metro area)