History Main / EarthThatUsedToBeBetter

* ''Roleplay/MassEffectAlteredHumanity'': As a part of the quest's ForWantOfANail premise, due to total ecosystem collapse and nuclear war Earth has essentially been turned into a DeathWorld. Once Humanity developed spaceflgiht capable of leaving their world they expanded rapidly just to get away from Earth. Earth was eventually no longer considered the homeworld of the Terran Dominion, which had declared Eden Prime Humanity's new homeworld.

-->-- '''The Psyker''', ''[[VideoGame/DarkTide Warhammer 40,000: Darktide]]''

->''"My Beloved thinks we're all better off out here. Terra isn't what it was."''
-->-- '''The Psyker''', ''VideoGame/DarkTide''

* In ''Literature/OldMansWar'', Earth has become a [[strike:half-forgotten]] backwater compared to [[spoiler:and by the sinister machinations of]] the Colonial Union. It's centuries behind the technological curve (particularly medically) and under permanent quarantine following a plague that caused mass infertility [[spoiler:and was created by the Colonial government just to justify said quarantine]]. Average quality of life is not worse than today, but it could be ''so'' much better.

* Mentioned a few times in ''Literature/{{Strata}}'', although we never go to Earth. Much of the human population was killed by the Mindquakes, a phenomenon when the population grew too large and dense to the point where the psychic pressure caused people to spontaneously die. The main character Kin Arad grew up on the planet in the aftermath of this --a s a child, she saw a small crowd of humans watching robots dance, and this motivated her to grow up to help rebuild the planet and ensure robots never outnumbered humans there. By the time the story is set, Earth is still considered a backwater by the human colony worlds, but its population is back up to three-quarters of a billion.

* In ''But What of Earth?'' by Creator/PiersAnthony, after {{teleportation}} is developed, a huge amount of people leave Earth to settle other planets. Society breaks down both technologically and culturally, since there's not enough people left to maintain a complex economy. By the end, most remaining Earthlings live medieval-esque lives [[FeudalFuture under tribal governance]], save a few isolated cities that are centered around maintaining the teleportation machines-- all this chaos just fuels further desire to leave. Notably, the decline starts almost immediately after the colonization, which Anthony comments on in an author's note (below). The protagonists also contemplate the idea that losing "most of the healthiest, soundest, motivated people" has especially hurt Earth, but are ultimately optimistic about the remaining population. They eventually destroy the colonization machines, and Earth begins to recover and resume progress.

-->--'''The Psyker''', ''VideoGame/DarkTide''

* ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' has Earth relegated to this position thanks to having used up its own resources during humanity's spread to other worlds. Earth was still okay for a while, since those worlds were indentured colonies, until [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression a bloody war of independence]] turned it into an impoverished backwater that's only visited by the members of some obscure religion. The old Imperial Capital is a far more popular tourist destination.

* A large part of ''{{Fanfic/Everqueen}}'' as of early 2023 is Isha helping the Emperor to heal the war-ravaged Terra.
* ''Roleplay/MassEffectAlteredHumanity:'' As a part of the quest's ForWantOfANail premise, due to total ecosystem collapse and nuclear war Earth has essentially been turned into a DeathWorld. Once Humanity developed spaceflgiht capable of leaving their world they expanded rapidly just to get away from Earth. Earth was eventually no longer considered the homeworld of the Terran Dominion, which had declared Eden Prime Humanity's new homeworld.

* ''Film/BladeRunner'': Overcrowded and rainy. The book goes into more detail on the damaged biosphere; real animals are rare enough that owning one (as opposed to a replicant animal) is a status symbol.
* By the time of ''Film/BladeRunner2049'' things are even worse. Total environmental collapse has occurred, virtually no life but humanity remains and what food there is consists of slimy genetically modified worms that are implied to taste about as good as they look. Meanwhile environmental damage has triggered an ice age that causes snow to occur in Los Angeles in late June/early July, and Los Angeles itself is even more of a hellhole than the first film, with civilization on the brink. Needless to say the only remaining option is to try to get off that rock, and for most that simply isn't an option...
* Blomkamp's ''Film/{{Elysium}}'' has the Earth overpopulated where entire Los Angeles looks like one giant slum and human life has essentially no value. The wealthy live on titular Elysium, a space station orbiting Earth.

* ''Film/AlitaBattleAngel'' is set in the 26th century, 300 years after a war called "The Fall" which saw the fall of the great sky cities of Earth, except one. Technology has regressed and ranges from diesel and solar punk scavenging and jacking to high tech cyborgs, practical immortality, and commonplace full-body mods.

* ''Literature/Aeon14'': After the Earth colony ship ''Intrepid'' is [[TimeDilation time-dilated]] 5,000 years further into the future, they learn that the Sol system they left has fallen on hard times due to the advent of FasterThanLightTravel (which enabled interstellar warfare): [[LostTechnology a lot of technology from their time has been lost]] and most of the orbital megastructures, e.g. docking rings, other than High Terra have been destroyed. On the other hand, by the ''present day's'' standards, Earth is still fairly important, as it's now part of a major power bloc that serves as TheEmpire.
* ''Subspace Explorers'', by Creator/EEDocSmith, has an Earth that is still the biggest economic powerhouse, but overcrowded with [[ScienceMarchesOn seven billion people]], short on resources, and falling technologically behind the colony worlds. Furthermore, a big theme of the story is how the colonies have attracted all the ambitious, independent-minded, and freedom-loving workers, leaving Earth full of the passive, lazy, or corrupt. The inhabitants of the colonies do try to stop Earth from destroying itself in civil war, but they wouldn't want to live there.
* In some of Creator/IsaacAsimov's stories, Earth becomes a world of overcrowded, domed cities, where [[PlanetOfHats everyone has]] agoraphobia and [[FantasticRacism hates those darn job-stealing robots.]] In some other Asimov stories set hundreds or even thousands of years later, Earth is radioactive, but not so much that people can't live here; it's just very very very unpleasant. Other people moved to the stars. (After [[ScienceMarchesOn Science Marched On]] and it was discovered that it wouldn't be possible to live on a planet with much radiation, Asimov said that if he could go back and fix the stories he would, but it was so much a part of the setting he couldn't.)

** Played with in ''Nemesis''. The 'Best and brightest left Earth, leaving the dregs behind' view dominates the space-born Settlements, and it's not ''entirely'' wrong — even the poorest Settlement have a GDP per capita significantly above Earth's, and the Settlements dominates technological development. What they tend to forget is that GDP per capita isn't ''everything'', and Earth still holds the majority of humanity... [[spoiler: meaning Earth, once properly motivated, is the best suited to a 'throw resources at it' project to develop actual FTL travel — they're still the largest economy in the Solar system, after all]].
** Despite the name this is actually the only real plot element connecting the ''Empire''/''Galactic Empire'' trilogy[[note]]as a retroactive name for the series, both variants saw use[[/note]] — only one of the novels featured a Galactic Empire, and only two featured states referred to in their names as Empires, but all three has the radioactive, backwater but still inhabited Earth touch on the plot in some way (and a decay can be plotted over the chronological course of it. In ''Literature/TheStarsLikeDust'' Earth boasts a university respected enough to attract more than a few students from other worlds (including the protagonist, at the beginning), and the radioactivity is more of a passing notice implying an explanation why Earth lost importance. In ''The Currents of Space'' one of the characters is a respected scientist from Earth, but he apparently got a fair bit of his education elsewhere, and when Earth comes up, the idea of evacuating the population is floated as a possible solution to the radioactive thing. In ''Pebble in the Sky'', Earth [[WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture mandates euthanasia at sixty or if you are no longer able to work]], large areas of the planet are completely uninhabitable, there is a theocratic strain to its (subjected to Imperial oversight but unruly) government, [[spoiler: and elements in it is plotting a mass viral genocide of other worlds]]).

** ''Literature/PebbleInTheSky'': The [[TheTheocracy Society of Ancients rules the local government]], and is founded upon the idea that Earth was the origin world of humanity. Part of their teachings is that [[EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse Earth will again be the most important world in the galaxy]]. Meanwhile, they [[DystopianEdict mandate]] [[WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture euthanasia at sixty]], large areas of the planet are completely uninhabitable, and [[spoiler:rebel elements are plotting a mass viral genocide of other worlds]].
* Averted by the ''Bio of a Space Tyrant'' series, in which interplanetary colonization allows Earth to revert to nature. The only nation ''not'' to migrate wholesale to another planet is India, which has become the caretaker to what is rapidly becoming a planet-sized nature preserve.

* Creator/PiersAnthony's ''But What of Earth?''. After {{teleportation}} is developed, a huge amount of people leave Earth to settle other planets. Society breaks down both technologically and culturally, since there's not enough people left to maintain a complex economy. By the end, most remaining Earthlings live medieval-esque lives [[FeudalFuture under tribal governance]], save a few isolated cities that are centered around maintaining the teleportation machines-- all this chaos just fuels further desire to leave. Notably, the decline starts almost immediately after the colonization, which Anthony comments on in an author's note:
-->But what of the initial stage, when fewer than a million were gone, yet things seemed to be falling apart? That I perceive as more an effect of the huge energy strain on the nation, to support the [colonization] effort. The society contracted rapidly, leaving the fringes to wither. To save power, electricity was cut off first from the less-economic farm regions ... Had Scot resided in a big city, he would have noted relatively little change. [[RuleOfDrama Since it is my purpose as a novelist to dramatize the situation]], I have him out in the country where the cutback and depopulation are most apparent."
The protagonists also contemplate the idea that losing "most of the healthiest, soundest, motivated people" has especially hurt Earth, but are ultimately optimistic about the remaining population. They eventually destroy the colonization machines and Earth begins to recover and resume progress.

* In James Blish's ''Cities in Flight'' series, all of Earth's major cities literally fly away using antigravity devices. The planet they leave behind is referred to as "the sleepy capital of the Galaxy" and it's mentioned that other than old bureaucrats "nobody went there at all."
* Creator/CliffordSimak's ''City''. By the end of the series the most human population left for idyllic transhuman life on Jupiter, the few remaining "websters" living in the isolated communities decide to either leave Earth to or go to cryogenic sleep, and the Earth is left for the post-human sentient ants and dogs (who also eventually leave).
* Earth becomes this in the later books of Allen Steele's ''Literature/{{Coyote}}'' series - [[spoiler: to the point that the alien league encountered in the last two books deliberately disallows starbridge travel back there.]]
* In Creator/VladimirVasilyev's ''Literature/DeathOrGlory'', it's mentioned that Earth and the core colonies are suffering from overpopulation and pollution, while the outer colonies are, for the most part, tiny and isolated, where law and order don't really matter as much as the power of your blaster. By the time of the third and fourth novels, the influx of alien technology has revitalized humanity, and Earth and the colonies are actually not a bad place to live anymore.
* In ''Literature/TheDemonPrinces'' series by Creator/JackVance, Earth has become a tired backwater. Birth rates are low, culture is stagnant and all the energy has moved out the colonies.
* Creator/PhilipKDick's science fiction often runs with this as a background element. ''Literature/DoAndroidsDreamOfElectricSheep'' is probably the best-known example. In some of his stories, this is a probable future rather than presently the case.
* In ''Literature/EarthGirl'', after PortalNetwork tech was discovered most people, yearning for the stars, left Earth to settle the new frontier during the [[HomeworldEvacuation Exodus Century]]. They left in such a hurry that vital technology was lost because [[NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup half of Earth's extensive databases and digital libraries were corrupted when someone royally screwed up the global data library back-up after a huge system crash]]. [[GhostCity All the megacities were deserted and are now humongous ruins]] the handicapped protagonist Jarra digs up artifacts from with her archeology class, hoping to rediscover [[LostTechnology lost tech]]. The only ones left on Earth now are mostly the handicapped (people who have an rare deadly allergy to all other planets and thus unable to leave), their families and staff, huddled together in new small settlements. People from Earth are seen as backwater primitives and pejoratively called ''apes''. They don't get to vote in sector parliament elections, but get a lifelong Unconditional Basic Income as a consolation for being stuck on Earth for life.
** Also explored in ''Literature/EarthAnd'', a prequel trilogy following Jarra's summer before the main trilogy.
** Seen in more detail in the prequel series ''Literature/ScavengerAlliance'', set during the Exodus Century.
** Creator/JanetEdwards is fond of this trope. In ''Literature/Reaper2016'', when Hawk is put in charge of investigating the bombing, he's shocked by how much Earth has changed in the four hundred years since he last paid it any attention. He's especially shocked by the way children leave school to work at ten, every aspect of their lives is based around entering [[ArtificialAfterlife Game]] and they're casually treated as if they're not people until they do. Meanwhile, vast areas have been turned into long-term storage areas for the [[HumanPopsicle Human Popsicles]] who are in Game.
* In Mikhail Akhmanov's ''Literature/EarthsShadow'', Earth has long ago been mostly abandoned due to the discovery of interstellar portal technology. Entire cities have been moved to other planets, leaving a planet full of giant holes in the ground. Only the poorest countries couldn't afford to move. The remaining powers in the world are the Central-European Republic of Ukraine and a state in South America, populated mostly by the escaped Russian population of Ukraine. During the final days of the exodus, the warring factions activate a jamming device, blocking portal travel to and from the planet.

* The Earth in Creator/PeterFHamilton's ''Literature/FallenDragon'' is heading this way. As a result of poverty, economic stagnation and industrial stagnation, most the planet is covered in {{Dying Town}}s. Colonization and CasualInterstellarTravel is creeping to a halt due to mounting costs and the {{Megacorp}}s inhabiting Earth are plundering their own distant colonies before returning to Earth to hole up.
** That said, environmentally, it is mentioned to be doing ''much'' better. Many of the old forest lands have not only been reclaimed but actually expanded beyond an ecologist's wildest dreams.
* In Creator/MichaelZWilliamson's ''Literature/{{Freehold}}'' series, Earth is a PRT that ''doesn't'' have the sense to just keep to itself. The first book in the series is a blatant invasion of the titular colony, primarily as an excuse to raid the economically and scientifically advanced culture for resources and technology. Notably, the invasion isn't repelled easily, as it has less than a tenth of the population and resources that Earth does - and all the other colonies have even ''less.'' [[spoiler:So once the Freeholders take back their world, they prevent a re-invasion with a Hiroshima-level counterattack that knocks Earth's capabilities below ''everyone'' and slaughters billions of people who had nothing to do with the war. The other colonies gets the message; "You didn't want to get involved? Okay, keep doing that. '''Forever.'''"]]
* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Future History'', once faster-than-light travel was discovered, the top 1% of each generation left Earth to colonize space. Run this forward two thousand years, and the people left on earth aren't the brightest bunch.
* Played with in Creator/IvanYefremov's ''Literature/GreatRing'' cycle, where the Earth is first implied, and then outright stated to be a postapocalyptic world. [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas Its current idyllic state]] shouldn't deceive anyone, as it was obtained only by the relentless toil of innumerable generations, repairing the damage of the previous wars — where only the Himalayas were said to remain more-or-less untouched. Furthermore, while there are numerous colonies ''not'' controlled by the Earth and its government (the second novel explicitly deals with one of them, founded by the refugees from the aforementioned wars), by its FramingStory, the Earth does have its own small colonial empire, though it's working as TheFederation in practice.

* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': A big war known as the Final War (about as final as UsefulNotes/WW1) darn near ended the planet for good, but it got back on its feet as the capitol of the largest human polity (based in Chicago, presumably one of the few major cities not destroyed). Nevertheless, things are implied to really suck for a decent percentage of the population. The undocumented population doesn't officially exist and lives in ghetto and squalor, while the average citizen does pretty well compared to even Manticore and is thus very complacent and apolitical.
** We get a look at Earth a couple hundred years after the diaspora begins (about 1700 years before current time in most of the series, or 2300 AD to us), in the short story "By the Book" when a world government of Greens and Neo Luddites has taken control and is being generally oppressive and suppressive of free thought and realistic history or scientific development. Spacers elsewhere in the Solar System innovate and Outbounders go colonize. Nation-states still exist with applicable and respected laws, significantly including the US Constitution and the Fifth Amendment.

* In Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Isle of the Dead'' the Earth is a dying backwater dictatorship and anyone with any drive emigrates.
* In Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' series, Earth is an over-crowded police state populated by arrogant xenophobes. However, for the most part they are happy, content, well-tended arrogant xenophobes to whom the constant surveillance by the government considered the normal state of affairs (and why not... they've had nearly 500 years to get used to it, and all the "malcontents" simply move off-world.)
* In Creator/TerryPratchett and Creator/StephenBaxter's ''Literature/TheLongEarth'' series, [[spoiler:Datum Earth ([[AlternateUniverse the only Earth where Humanity evolved]]) becomes this after the Yellowstone event devastates the Americas and puts the world into a [[EndlessWinter volcanic winter]].]]
* In ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' series, the ancestor-worshiping characters note that Earth is irrelevant to the galaxy now economically, but still extremely important culturally, and if it were destroyed - which they have just found out is potentially possible - it would stir all humanity to unite in a genocidal rage against the attackers.
** Later in the series the plot brings us to the planet, where extensive note is made of the damage done, ranging from global warming to orbital strikes to someone setting autonomous walking tanks to destroy Stonehenge, which was only barely averted. It's also noted that the planet is slowly healing, with Lyons, Kansas held up as an example- the buildings are disintegrated and the land a desert, but plants and people are starting to resettle.
** ''Literature/TheGenesisFleet'' prequels show this only starting to happen, largely thanks to the invention of the jump drive. Previously, all interstellar travel and colonization was done via sublight, and the colonies were relatively close to Old Earth. This meant that Old Earth could exert its will and protection on the colonies. However, with the discovery of FTL travel, journeys between systems now take weeks at most, and the second wave of expansion is underway, with the new faraway colonies no longer able to count on Old Earth or the old colonies. As such, Earth's SpaceNavy is being decommissioned, with the still-existing nation-states no longer willing to foot the bill. Instead, they are willing to sign a deal with one of the old colonies for protection. The mothballed ships (and their crews) are now in demand by the new colonies, seeking to protect themselves from pirates, slavers, and aggressive neighbors. It's heavily implied that the need for mutual protection is largely what triggers the formation of TheAlliance on the outskirts of human space, with the earliest form of such cooperation being Lieutenant Robert Geary of the Glenlyon SpaceNavy helping to drive off a hostile destroyer from Kosatka space. The Kosatka government later reciprocates and sends a hastily-armed freighter to assist Glenlyon. A former Earth SpaceNavy officer reveals that the mighty Earth fleet, which the other fleets have used as a yardstick, has gotten so mired in bureaucracy that could barely do anything. Initiative is frowned upon, everything has to be done in accordance with checklists, and any situation not covered by a checklist first has to be added to a checklist before acting on it.
* In E. M. Forster's "Literature/TheMachineStops", some unspecified catastrophe has rendered the surface of the Earth almost barren, with cold, thin, poisonous air. Humanity lives [[BeneathTheEarth beneath the surface]] in a vast complex of cells controlled by the titular Machine.

* ''Literature/TheNightsDawnTrilogy'' by Creator/PeterFHamilton. Earth suffers from devastating mega-cyclones (Armada storms) and so the entire population lives inside giant arcologies. Colonists heading to new colonies are a mixture of desperate people who've paid to go and petty criminals who've been sentenced to indentured servitude to the paying colonists.
* In Creator/JohnScalzi's ''Literature/OldMansWar'' series, Earth has become a [[strike:half-forgotten]] backwater compared to [[spoiler:and by the sinister machinations of]] the Colonial Union. It's centuries behind the technological curve (particularly medically) and under permanent quarantine following a plague that caused mass infertility [[spoiler:and was created by the Colonial government just to justify said quarantine]]. Average quality of life is not worse than today, but it could be ''so'' much better.

* In the ''Literature/RevelationSpaceSeries'', Earth is stated to have been abruptly dethroned as [[EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse the hub of human civilization]] when it went into a second ice age, where the title then went to Yellowstone, a Demarchist planet with one massive DomedHometown and thousands of orbital habitats. It's not clear what happened to the rest of the Sol system; Mars used to have a [[TransHuman Conjoiner]] colony in 2200 before they fled following persecution and war, and the Demarchist colonies on Europa were damaged around the same time, [[spoiler: though the whole system is destroyed when either the Inhibitors precursor killers or the Greenfly rogue terraformers show up some time after 2700.]]
* In Creator/HBeamPiper's ''Space Viking'', the main character worries about his home planet's civilization declining, and a historian agrees: "That's what happened to the Terran Federation, by the way. The good men all left to colonize, and the stuffed shirts and yes-men and herd-followers and safety-firsters stayed on Terra and tried to govern the Galaxy."
** In Piper's story "The Keeper", set ''much'' later in the same [[StandardSciFiHistory future history]], Earth is a backwater world of the Fifth Galactic Empire, and relatively few people know or care that it was the original home of humanity.
* Mentioned a few times in ''Literature/{{Strata}}'' by Creator/TerryPratchett, although we never go to Earth. Much of the human population was killed by the Mindquakes, a phenomenon when the population grew too large and dense to the point where the psychic pressure caused people to spontaneously die. The main character Kin Arad grew up on the planet in the aftermath of this--as a child, she saw a small crowd of humans watching robots dance, and this motivated her to grow up to help rebuild the planet and ensure robots never outnumbered humans there. By the time the story is set, Earth is still considered a backwater by the human colony worlds, but its population is back up to three-quarters of a billion.
* In Creator/GeorgeRRMartin's Thousand Worlds ScienceFiction setting, Old Earth still retains highly advanced technology and some cultural significance for humans, but its political influence has declined drastically since the end of the Double War hundreds of years before most of the short stories take place: humanity faced two separate alien races bent on conquest at once, and on top of already being [[UngovernableGalaxy too large to govern effectively]], this caused the Old Earth Empire to break up.

* Creator/FPaulWilson's science fiction has the same theme, and the PRT actively encouraged it; all groups of political deviants were simply put in giant spaceships and told, "If you think you can do any better than us, go ahead and try." The colonies came to be known as "Out Where All The Good Folks Go." Centuries later, Earth is a world state that puts ''Literature/TheDraka'' to shame; once population levels rose too high, the government not only set up PopulationControl laws, but started sterilizing anyone with genetic diseases, real or imagined. And once they believed they had a suitably healthy, pliable population, they started TheWarOfEarthlyAggression.

* Subverted in Elizabeth Bear’s ''Literature/JacobsLadderTrilogy'': In the last book it's revealed that the GenerationShip that had been the setting of the series so far had indeed set out with what we would today consider "the elite" – but more in the financial and power sense of the word. The rich and powerful abandoned the Earth for a new planet once Earth's environment was ruined, and they left everyone else behind. Then their ship got stranded for a few hundred years, with a badly damaged drive and just circling a star to survive, and due to their Evangelist-, Social Darwinism- and "Meritocracy"-based attitude, their society turned on itself and devolved into the neo-feudalist, [[{{Transhumanism}} transhumanist]], BioPunk, "survival of the fittest" hellhole that the books start with, before the protagonists take over the government and make peace between the warring factions. In the third book, they finally meet up with the descendants of those that were left behind on Earth, though we only see them in the form of another colony planet and don't find out about the state of Earth itself. It turns out the poor masses found themselves having to pick up the pieces on the ravaged Earth, and they did so by developing a form of eco-socialism that is as close as humanly possible to real democratic communism. Granted, to achieve this, they had to remove all urges towards religion and greed from their population.[[note]]They had identified religious zealotry and sociopathic selfishness as the causes for wars and ecological destruction, and eventually decided to get rid of even the mildest forms of these socially destructive personality disorders.[[/note]] This involves education and cultural values instilled in children, but also [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood mandatory therapy, drugs and if necessary even brain surgery]] for those who cannot conform. And kids have to spend their teenage years collecting "social points" by doing things like baby-sitting or other helpful stuff in order to gain full adult citizenship rights like being able to vote. (Unusually for American sci-fi literature, this outcome is not presented as dystopian or particularly oppressive – the society seems pleasant to live in and it works well for most people, who all genuinely care about working together for the common good - kind of like in Star Trek. But the characters through whose eyes we see this society do feel somewhat alienated because one has a form of incurable epilepsy that gives him hallucinations – and even though he knows it’s not God talking to him, and this disability does not prevent him from being elected to a high political office, he still can’t find anyone willing to have children with him. The other viewpoint character is a woman who works in the security forces and as such has to retain a certain capacity for violence, which is considered somewhat sociopathic by civilians and so she doesn't really have friends.) The space-faring characters that we read about so far in the series find that they really cannot re-integrate into this new human society because they are very individualistic and too ready to solve problems with violence, and because they are unwilling to undergo the "rightminding" procedure. Also, the left-behind people think the GenerationShip people are creepy and barely still human, due to their extensive body augmentations. So most of them decide to fully embrace the [[BrainUploading transhumanist]] route instead and upload into their ship’s nanotechnology to keep travelling the universe in that form. In terms of technology levels, the GenerationShip society seems far more advanced – but that was mainly because their ship's A.I. developed sentience and because their weird mix of [[{{Nanomachines}} nanotechnology]] and OrganicTechnology kept evolving on its own during their centuries of being stranded as an isolated mini biosphere. It's not clear whether the left-behind people lost this technology in the chaos and wars of the disintegrating society on Earth, or if they intentionally outlawed it, or if the GenerationShip colonists really developed it themselves after they left – or if their sentient A.I. did mot of the innovation work, applying the laws of evolution to its own tools to see how they could be improved. In any case, the eco-socialist society obviously still had or re-developed the spaceships they needed to colonize many new planets, but once there, they seem to have decided to live somewhat simply and with a standard of living much like developed countries have today, except that everything is powered by renewable energy and they try to affect the ecosystem of the colonized planet as little as possible, limiting each colony to the population size of a small city.

* On ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'', the galaxy isn't too pleasant after the fall of the Systems Commonwealth, but Earth is even worse off than everywhere else, first getting raided by [[HordeOfAlienLocusts the Magog]], then being conquered by [[NietzscheWannabe the Drago-Kazov pride]]. And in the series finale [[spoiler:it's blown up]]. Also, Earth just isn't that important, despite being the homeworld of the galaxy's most prevalent species.

* In ''Literature/{{Refugees}}'', seven generations of humans have lived on the new planet; they don't understand why the new arrivals are so homesick for Earth.
* The colony on ''Series/TerraNova'' apparently has enough people for an acceptable genetic mix, but it's still dependent on Earth for technology. Meanwhile, Earth has gotten so crappy the night sky can't be seen and is considered by its occupants to be a dying world.

* ''TabletopGame/FadingSuns'' moved the capital of the Empire to Byzantium Secundus, but Holy Terra (or "Urth") is still the center of the Urth Orthodox church.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' earth is known as the homeworld of the "Solomani" and was capital of the Terran Federation and Second Imperium. But by the time of the Third Imperium earth is a backwater planet that many people have forgotten and the Solomani have interbred with other [[TransplantedHumans Humaniti]].
* ZigZagged in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''. On one hand, Holy Terra is a dirty, miserable place to live for the average person, it's too heavily polluted for any agriculture, and it even no longer has any oceans. On the other hand, it's still the highly regarded and ''extremely'' heavily populated capital of the [[TheEmpire Imperium of Man]], and it holds the headquarters of most major Imperial institutions, making Terra the nerve center of most of the galaxy. Agriculture is also not really necessary for Terra, as it imports all food from specially-dedicated agri-worlds. Essentially, Terra is only bad below a certain height, as above the ghettos and poverty Terra is a massive shrine dedicated to the Emperor and the Ecclesiarchy.

* In the ''Manhunter'' RPG setting (which has a ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}: Manhunters'' world book as well) the aliens that created the titular manhunters terraform an entire planet into a replica of Earth dubbed New Earth to which they transplant all the Earth's monuments and historical structures where the best go and the Earth is left a backwater hive stripped of its history.
* Zig-Zagged in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''. For a long time, Terra was important, as the center of the Terran Hegemony and later the Star League. It was the most highly developed world in the Inner Sphere (full name: Inner Sphere of Worlds Surrounding Terra). But once that fell, Terra became simultaneously insignificant and vital. It was insignificant because Terra had no (known) military in an age of near constant interstellar warfare. It was completely neutral and not particularly politically active (that was known about). However, it was important because it was owned by [=ComStar=], who ran the interstellar SubspaceAnsible network. If you screwed with them, they cut you off, which meant that your star-spanning empire would be defenseless to everyone who hates you (and ''all'' of your neighbors hate you). Also, [=ComStar=] had a hidden military and was responsible for lots of political meddling that helped lengthen the wars and speed up the slow degeneration of civilization.\\\
Terra regained some (public) prominence when the Clans showed up with the expressed purpose of conquering it (they were the descendants of the Star League's army, so they saw Terra as the capital of the League). Then, after a series of wars and badness, Terra rose up to full stature at the head of the Republic of the Sphere. This nation only lasted about 60 years before it collapsed in on itself, becoming a small, isolated "fortress" of worlds that nobody dared invade, yet was too weak to actually hurt anyone else.

* In ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'', [=SolForce=] moved their HQ to Mars, which is now become the administrative and governmental centre for humanity. Earth is still populated and is the headquarters of the Catholic Church (the other major world power), but has been devastated by years of war and a Hiver bombardment and has lessened in significance on a political level. Note that in nearly all scenarios each faction's homeworld is ''not'' their species' planet of origin.

* ''[[{{Videogame/Starcraft}} Starcraft]]'' doesn't give the player a whole lot of information on the subject, since the series takes place in and near colonies that are very far from Earth, but it is clear that Earth is controlled by a fascist world government and very overpopulated and messed up at the time the colony ships left carrying hard criminals, twisted minds, budding psychics, and other undesirables. Those undesirables founded the human civilization in the Koprulu sector, where the main plot takes place, beginning several hundred years after the exile from Earth. When Earth makes contact with the Koprulu sector again, a [[FullCircleRevolution similarly fascist government is in power]].
** In the sequel, [[spoiler: Stukov]] makes references to rolling hills and the general beauty of Earth and expresses the longing to return even as he expresses awareness that [[YouCantGoHomeAgain it is no longer possible for him to do so]]. It could be either that [[spoiler: Stukov]] is wearing nostalgia goggles or that Earth has (at least somewhat) recovered from the early days of the [[RepressiveButEfficient United Powers League]].
* It's unclear how true this trope is for most of the ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' series, but it was certainly true for a while due to the [[AIIsACrapshoot Terraformers]] [[ColonyDrop bombarding the planet with comets]] back in 2146. The trope can be inferred to be true in ''X3: Albion Prelude'' due to the aftereffects of [[ApocalypseWow the destruction]] of the [[RingworldPlanet Torus Aeternal]] that once wrapped around Earth.
* Earth in ''VideoGame/SpacePiratesAndZombies'' is a low-level backwater. [[JustifiedTrope Justified in-universe]] as Rez, the lifeblood of galactic society, is found in increasing amounts as you head closer to the galactic core.
* Right there in the title of ''VideoGame/CivilizationBeyondEarth''. After [[NoodleIncident an unspecified incident]] known as the "Great Mistake", Earth was basically thought to be in an irrevocable downward spiral that would, someday, lead to EarthThatWas. Therefore, the Seeding project sent a number of colony ships out to other planets in the dim hope that they might be able to carry on the species. In the Purity ending, the colonists reestablish contact and build a CoolGate to resettle humanity in their new "promised land"; in the Supremacy ending, they do the same thing, except with the intention of ''conquering'' Earth and turning the residents into cyborgs.
* The [[AllThereInTheManual manual]] for ''VideoGame/PandoraFirstContact'' explains that humanity has been steadily moving off Earth into orbital habitats and other colonies in the Solar System, while [=AIs=] are assigned to attempt to restore the planet to habitability. At some point, those [=AIs=] ban humans from returning to Earth and close it off. All anyone knows is that some strange seismic activity has started on the planet.
* ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'': The ending reveals that [[spoiler:the characters are on the Moon in the year 2074. Civilization on Earth was shattered by [[ThePlague Radical-6]], and a large portion of surviving humans now live on the Moon. Although certain characters-including the protagonist-thought it was still their present year of 2028, many others actually came from the true present day, but were keeping it to themselves for various reasons. This goes on to explain various odd-sounding lines of dialogue regarding Earth and various things about it.]]
* ''VideoGame/HardspaceShipbreaker'': While Earth is still the capital of the Solar System, it is largely seen as a backwater. The ecosystem has been ravaged by climate change, including rising sea levels, and most of Earth's wildlife is extinct.

* Roleplay/MassEffectAlteredHumanity: As a part of the quest's ForWantOfANail premise, due to total ecosystem collapse and nuclear war Earth has essentially been turned into a DeathWorld. Once Humanity developed spaceflgiht capable of leaving their world they expanded rapidly just to get away from Earth. Earth was eventually no longer considered the homeworld of the Terran Dominion, which had declared Eden Prime Humanity's new homeworld.

UsefulNotes/{{Earth}} just ain't what it used to be, running low on resources and [[OverpopulationCrisis living space]], and pollution really taking a toll on it. Humanity has started to [[HomeworldEvacuation move out in a significant way]]. There's at least one genetically sustainable population in the ColonizedSolarSystem or elsewhere, enjoying benefits such as lots of new resources to exploit and opportunities for advanced urban planning and social engineering. This can lead to the colonies' power and quality of life outstripping that of Earth. Many people still live on Earth, but it's implied or stated to have declined significantly in health and prestige. Essentially, it's become an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet even by humanity's standards.

The two variables are what percentage of the species is offworld, and what the standard of living is for the remaining Earthlings, both of them related to how far down the road from now the story is. Sometimes the story takes place after the low point, when Earth has undergone some healing but still bears scars on the land or in memories. The important things are that the planet is much worse off (even if only due to increased numbers) and no longer home to the only viable human society.

A pervasive idea within this trope is that, once space colonization begins, [[BrainDrain the best and brightest people will venture forth]] and leave the dregs of humanity on Earth. A common thread within ''that'' idea is that said dregs are [[ApatheticCitizens passive enough]] to submit to an absurdly [[FascistButInefficient repressive and bureaucratic]] OneWorldOrder. The idea that colonists are "the best" as opposed to, say, mostly malcontents and exiles -- or even that malcontents and exiles ''[[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority are]]'' the [[UnderdogsNeverLose best]] -- and that non-colonists are passive in the face of amoral authority, are notions mostly put forth by Americans, for [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution obvious reasons]]. Combine the ideas, and one can easily find stories that serve as a RomanAClef for how (some) Americans view Europe, with a free, prosperous UnitedSpaceOfAmerica versus an Earth that represents everything the author doesn't like about Europe. Of course, it's entirely possible that the colonists and Earthopeans will each have their prejudices against the other.

Earth That Used To Be Better is often suffering a self-inflicted GaiasLament. It's also prone to starting TheWarOfEarthlyAggression out of greed or envy towards the colonies. It may become EarthThatWas if things get even worse.

* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': Due to an unfortunate gate accident that split the moon, the Earth is surrounded by a brand-new asteroid belt and most of the atmosphere the asteroids would normally burn up in was blown off, so it is constantly being bombarded by pieces of moon raining down on it. Most of the Earth's surface now consists of ruined cities, craters, and various parts of nature reclaiming the urban sprawl and industrial zones. While Earth is considered something of a meaningless backwater, only known for its budding hacker culture, many people still live there in underground areas. An old self-aware military satellite that survived the moon explosion grew lonely once Earth's surface grew largely uninhabited, setting up the plot for an episode.

* In Creator/HarryHarrison's ''Literature/BrionBrandd'' duology, it's established that Earth is overpopulated and polluted. At the same time, it's still an important planet.
* Creator/PiersAnthony's ''But What of Earth?''. After {{teleportation}} is developed, a huge amount of people leave Earth to settle other planets. Society breaks down both technologically and culturally, since there's not enough people (especially advanced technicians) left to maintain a complex economy. By the end, most remaining Earthlings live medieval- or early-modern-esque lives under tribal governance, save a few isolated cities that are centered around maintaining the teleportation machines-- all this chaos fuels further desire to leave Earth. Notably, the decline starts almost immediately after the colonization, which Anthony comments on in an author's note:
-->But what of the initial stage, when fewer than a million were gone, yet things seemed to be falling apart? That I perceive as more an effect of the huge energy strain on the nation, to support the [colonization] effort. The society contracted rapidly, leaving the fringes to wither. To save power, electricity was cut off first from the less-economic farm regions, and that caused the residents there to vacate rapidly. Had Scot resided in a big city, he would have noted relatively little change. [[RuleOFDrama Since it is my purpose as a novelist to dramatize the situation]], I have him out in the country where the cutback and depopulation are most apparent."
The protagonists eventually destroy the colonization machines and Earth begins to recover and resume progress.

* In Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' series, Earth is an over-crowded police state populated by arrogant xenophobes. However, for the most part they are happy, content, well-tended arrogant xenophobes to whom the constant surveillance by the government considered the normal state of affairs (and why not... they've had nearly 500 years to get used to it, and all the "malcontents" move off-world to the other planets).

** ''Literature/TheGenesisFleet'' prequels show this only starting to happen, largely thanks to the invention of the jump drive. Previously, all interstellar travel and colonization was done via sublight, and the colonies were relatively close to Old Earth. This meant that Old Earth could exert its will and protection on the colonies. However, with the discovery of FTL travel, journeys between systems now take weeks at most, and the second wave of expansion is underway, with the new faraway colonies no longer able to count on Old Earth or the old colonies. As such, the Earth SpaceNavy is being decommissioned, with the still-existing nation-states no longer willing to foot the bill. Instead, they are willing to sign a deal with one of the old colonies for protection. The mothballed ships (and their crews) are now in demand by the new colonies, seeking to protect themselves from pirates, slavers, and aggressive neighbors. It's heavily implied that the need for mutual protection is largely what triggers the formation of TheAlliance on the outskirts of human space, with the earliest form of such cooperation being Lieutenant Robert Geary of the Glenlyon SpaceNavy helping to drive off a hostile destroyer from Kosatka space. The Kosatka government later reciprocates and sends a hastily-armed freighter to assist Glenlyon. A former Earth SpaceNavy officer reveals that the mighty Earth fleet, which the other fleets have used as a yardstick, has gotten so mired in bureaucracy that could barely do anything. Initiative is frowned upon, everything has to be done in accordance with checklists, and any situation not covered by a checklist first has to be added to a checklist before acting on it.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Very overcrowded with all attendant issues, though things are getting better. Growing up in the slums is one of Shepard's optional backgrounds. According to the Codex, the colonization of other worlds has lead to a wealth of resources being sent back to Earth, and new technology has resulted in the elimination of most genetic diseases and pollution. There's also environmental problems, but those have been getting better.

UsefulNotes/{{Earth}} just ain't what it used to be, running low on resources and [[OverpopulationCrisis living space]], and pollution really catching up to it. Humanity has started to [[HomeworldEvacuation move out in a significant way]]. There's at least one genetically sustainable population in the ColonizedSolarSystem or elsewhere, enjoying benefits such as lots of new resources to exploit and opportunities for advanced urban planning and social engineering. This can lead to the colonies' power and quality of life outstripping that of Earth. Many people still live on Earth, but it's implied or stated to have declined significantly in health and prestige. Essentially, it's become an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet even by humanity's standards.

A pervasive idea within this trope is that, once space colonization begins, [[BrainDrain the best and brightest people will venture forth]] and leave the dregs of humanity on Earth. A common thread within ''that'' idea is that said dregs are [[ApatheticCitizens passive enough]] to submit to an absurdly [[FascistButInefficient repressive and bureaucratic]] OneWorldOrder. The idea that colonists are "the best" as opposed to, say, mostly malcontents and exiles -- or even that malcontents and exiles ''[[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority are]]'' the [[UnderdogsNeverLose best]] -- and that non-colonists are passive in the face of amoral authority, are notions mostly put forth by Americans, for [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution obvious reasons]]. Combine the two ideas, and one can easily find stories that serve as a RomanAClef for how (some) Americans view Europe, with a free, prosperous UnitedSpaceOfAmerica versus an Earth that represents everything the author doesn't like about Europe. Of course, it's entirely possible that the colonists and Earthopeans will each have their prejudices against the other.

Earth That Used To Be Better is often suffering a self-inflicted GaiasLament. It's occasionally prone to starting TheWarOfEarthlyAggression out of greed or envy towards the colonies. It may become EarthThatWas if things get even worse.

* Creator/PiersAnthony's ''But What of Earth?''. After mattermission (technological teleportation) is developed, a large percentage of the population leaves Earth for extrasolar systems and civilization goes to hell in a handbasket.

** That said, environmentally, it is mentioned to be doing ''much'' better. Many of the old forest lands have not only been reclaimed but actually expanded beyond the wildest dreams of an environmentalist.

* In ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' series, the ancestor-worshiping characters note that Earth is irrelevant to the galaxy now economically, but still extremely important culturally, and if it were destroyed - which they have just found out is potentially possible - it would stir all of humanity to unite in a genocidal rage against the attackers.

UsefulNotes/{{Earth}} just ain't what it used to be, running low on resources and [[OverpopulationCrisis living space]], and that pollution really catching up to it. Humanity has started to [[HomeworldEvacuation move out in a significant way]]. There's at least one genetically sustainable population in the ColonizedSolarSystem or elsewhere, enjoying benefits such as lots of new resources to exploit and opportunities for advanced urban planning and social engineering. This can lead to the colonies' influence and standard of living quickly outstripping that of Earth. Many people still live on Earth, but it's implied or stated to have declined significantly in health and prestige. Essentially, it's become an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet even by the standards of humanity.

A pervasive idea within this trope is that, once space colonization begins, [[BrainDrain the best and brightest are the ones who will venture forth]], leaving behind the dregs of humanity for Earth. A common thread in ''that'' idea is that said dregs are [[ApatheticCitizens passive enough]] to submit to an absurdly [[FascistButInefficient restrictive and bureaucratic]] OneWorldOrder. The idea that colonists are "the best" as opposed to say, mostly malcontents and exiles -- or even that malcontents and exiles ''[[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority are]]'' the [[UnderdogsNeverLose best]] -- and that non-colonists are passive in the face of amoral authority, are notions mostly put forth by Americans, for [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution obvious reasons]]. Combine the two ideas, and one can easily find stories that serve as a RomanAClef for how Americans view Europe, with a free, prosperous UnitedSpaceOfAmerica versus an Earth that represents everything the author doesn't like about Europe. Of course, it's entirely possible that the colonists and the Earthopeans will each have their prejudices against the other.

* ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' has Earth relegated to this position thanks to having used up its own resources during humanity's spread to other worlds. Earth was still okay for a while, since those worlds were indentured colonies, until a bloody war of independence turned it into an impoverished barely populated backwater that's only visited by the members of some obscure religion. The old Imperial Capital is a far more popular tourist destination.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Very overcrowded with all attendant issues, though things are getting better. Growing up in the slums is one of Shepard's optional backgrounds. According to the Codex, the colonizations of other worlds has lead to a wealth of resources being sent back to Earth, and the current technology has resulted in the elimination of most genetic diseases and pollution. There's also environmental problems, but those have been getting better.
** Furthermore, aside from the token facilities located in most major cities on Earth, the Alliance actually maintains their base of operations and parliament from aboard a massive space station in the Arcturus System. The reason for this is due to it being located at the strategic intersection of several Mass Relays, including the ''only'' one leading directly to Earth, making this the last line of defense.
** Worthy of note is that while many humans have no connection with the Earth personally, most homeworlds are still seen as the symbolic "heart" of their personal species. Also, unlike the other spacefaring races who have had centuries to spread out, the ''vast'' majority of humans still live on Earth (Earth has 11.4 billion people; the largest human colony boasts 4.4 million). Thus, when the Reapers attack Earth in the third game, many human characters become ''[[DarkestHour exceptionally desperate]]'' to save it, leading to extraordinary acts of heroism, [[WellIntentionedExtremist and villainy]].

* The [[AllThereInTheManual manual]] for ''VideoGame/PandoraFirstContact'' explains that humanity has been steadily moving off Earth into orbital habitats and other colonies in the Solar System with [=AIs=] being assigned to attempt to restore the planet to habitability. At some point, those [=AIs=] ban humans from returning to Earth and close it off. All anyone knows is that some strange seismic activity has started on the planet. Then again, the game takes place on an extrasolar planet called Nashira 667 Cc (or Pandora), and the settlers are too busy trying to survive there to worry about Earth.

* ''Webcomic/RoninGalaxy'': Taylor [[http://www.roningalaxy.com/comics/chapter-1/page-43/ tells Cecil about her difficulties getting to the Moon,]] given that her native Earth is in a warlike state. Cecil retorts that Earth is an "antique".

UsefulNotes/{{Earth}} just ain't what it used to be, running low on resources and [[OverpopulationCrisis living space]], and the pollution really catching up to it. Humanity has started to [[HomeworldEvacuation move out in a significant way]]. There's at least one genetically sustainable population in the ColonizedSolarSystem or elsewhere, enjoying benefits such as lots of new resources to exploit and opportunities for advanced urban planning and social engineering. This may lead to the colonies' influence and standard of living quickly outstripping that of Earth. Many people still live on Earth, but it's implied or stated to have downgraded in health and prestige. Essentially, it's become an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet even by the standards of humanity.

The two variables are what percentage of the human population is offworld, and what the standard of living is for the remaining Earthlings, both of them related to how far down the road from now the story is. Sometimes they take place after the low point, when Earth has undergone some healing but still bears scars on the land or in memories. The important things are that the planet is measurably worse off (even if only due to increased numbers) and no longer home to the only viable human society.

A pervasive idea in this trope is that, once space colonization begins, [[BrainDrain the best and the brightest will venture to the colonies]], leaving behind the dregs of humanity for Earth. A common thread in ''that'' idea is that said dregs are [[ApatheticCitizens passive enough]] to submit to absurd amounts of regulation -- many such Earths are ruled by [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny a highly restrictive and bureaucratized one-world state]]. The idea that colonists are "the best" as opposed to being, say, malcontents and exiles -- or even that malcontents and exiles ''[[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority are]]'' [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority the best]] -- and that non-colonists are passive in the face of amoral authority, are notions mostly put forth by Americans, for [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution obvious reasons]]. Combine those two ideas, and one can easily find stories that serve as a RomanAClef for how Americans see Europe, with a free, prosperous UnitedSpaceOfAmerica versus an Earth that represents everything the author doesn't like about Europe. Of course, it's entirely possible that the colonists and the Earthopeans will each have their prejudices against the other.

* In some of Creator/IsaacAsimov's stories, Earth becomes a world of overcrowded, domed cities, where [[PlanetOfHats everyone has]] agoraphobia and [[FantasticRacism hates those darn job-stealing robots.]] In some other Asimov stories set hundreds or even thousands of years later, Earth is radioactive, but not so much that people can't live here; it's just very very very unpleasant. Other people moved to the stars. (After [[ScienceMarchesOn Science Marched On]] and it was discovered that it wouldn't be possible to live on a planet with much radiation, Asimov said that if he could go back and fix the stories he would but it was so much a part of the setting he couldn't.)

* Living on the Earth of ''VideoGame/ColonyWars'' is little more than a status symbol, as the entire planet is a sickly brown color. The eponymous war happens because the government on Earth and the upper-class it represents expect the colonies to exist solely for the purpose of funneling resources back to them, until the colonies rise up against the abuse and declare independence. In the first game's best ending, most of the people of Earth simply leave to make new lives for themselves on the colonies.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Very overcrowded with all attendant issues, though things are getting better. Growing up in the slums is one of Shepard's optional backgrounds. According to the Codex, the colonizations of other worlds has lead to a wealth of resources being sent back to Earth, and the current technology has resulted in the elimination of most genetic diseases and pollution. There's also some environmental problems, but those have been getting better.

UsefulNotes/{{Earth}} just ain't what it used to be, running low on resources and [[OverpopulationCrisis living space]], and the pollution really catching up to it. Humanity has started to [[HomeworldEvacuation move out in a significant way]]. There's at least a genetically stable offworld population in the ColonizedSolarSystem or elsewhere, enjoying benefits such as whole new planets to exploit and opportunities for advanced urban planning and social engineering. Plenty of people still live on Earth, but it's implied or stated to have downgraded significantly in health and prestige. Essentially, it's become an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet even by the standards of human society.

The two variables are what percentage of total humanity is offworld and what the standard of living is for the remaining Earthlings, both of them related to how far down the road from now the story is. Sometimes they take place after the low point, when Earth has undergone some healing but still bears scars on the land or in memories. The important things are that the planet is measurably worse off (even if only due to increased numbers) and no longer home to the only viable population of humanity.

A pervasive idea in this trope is that, once space colonization became possible, [[BrainDrain the best and the brightest will set out]] for the colonies, leaving the dregs of humanity behind on Earth. A common thread in ''that'' idea is that said dregs are [[ApatheticCitizens passive enough]] to submit to absurd amounts of regulation -- many such Earths are ruled by [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny a highly restrictive and bureaucratized one-world state]]. The idea that colonists are "the best" as opposed to being, say, malcontents and exiles -- or even that malcontents and exiles ''are'' [[LovableRogue "the best"]] -- and that non-colonists are passive in the face of amoral authority, are notions mostly put forth by Americans, for [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution obvious reasons]]. Combine the two aforementioned ideas, and one can easily find stories that serve as a RomanAClef for how Americans see Europe, with an space colony that represents a free, prosperous UnitedSpaceOfAmerica versus an Earth that represents everything the author doesn't like about Europe. Of course, it's entirely possible that the colonists and the Earthopeans will each have their prejudices against the others.

Sometimes goes hand in hand with GaiasLament. Occasionally prone to starting TheWarOfEarthlyAggression out of jealousy or selfishness. May become EarthThatWas if things get even worse.

* Right there in the title of ''VideoGame/CivilizationBeyondEarth''. After [[NoodleIncident an unspecified incident]] known as the "Great Mistake", Earth was basically thought to be in an irrevocable downward spiral that would, someday, lead to EarthThatWas. Therefore, the Seeding project sent a number of colony ships out to extrasolar planets in the dim hope that they might be able to carry on the species. In the Purity ending, the colonists reestablish contact and build a CoolGate to resettle humanity in their new "promised land"; in the Supremacy ending, they do the same thing, except with the intention of ''conquering'' Earth and uplifting the residents into post-human beings.

UsefulNotes/{{Earth}} just isn't what it used to be, running low on resources and living space, and humanity has started to [[HomeworldEvacuation move out in a significant way]]. There's at least a genetically stable offworld population in the ColonizedSolarSystem or elsewhere, but plenty still live on the planet. Contact is maintained, but the planet is generally implied or stated to have downgraded, sometimes significantly, in health from today. Essentially, it's become an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet even by the standards of human society. The two variables are what percentage of total humanity is offworld and what the standard of living is for the remaining peoples, both of them related to how far down the road from now the story is. Sometimes they take place after the low point, when Earth has undergone some healing but still bears scars on the land or in memories. The important things are that the planet is measurably worse off (even if only by our increased numbers) and no longer home to the only viable population of humanity.

A pervasive idea in this trope is that, once space colonization became possible, [[BrainDrain the best and the brightest will leave]] Earth for the colonies, leaving behind the dregs of humanity. A common thread in ''that'' idea is that said dregs are [[BystanderSyndrome passive enough]] to submit to absurd amounts of regulation -- many such Earths are ruled by [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny a highly restrictive and bureaucratized one-world state]]. The idea that colonists ''are'' "the best", as opposed to being, say, malcontents and exiles -- or even that the ''malcontents and exiles'' are [[LovableRogue "the best"]] -- and that non-colonists are passive in the face of amoral authority are notions mostly put forth by Americans, for [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution obvious reasons]]. Combine the two aforementioned ideas, and one can easily find stories that serve as a RomanAClef for how Americans see Europe, with an extrasolar colony that serves as a free, prosperous UnitedSpaceOfAmerica versus an Earth that represents everything that the author doesn't like about Europe. Of course, it's entirely possible that the colonists and the Earthopeans will each have their prejudices against the others.

Sometimes goes hand in hand with GaiasLament. Occasionally prone to starting TheWarOfEarthlyAggression out of jealousy or selfishness. May become EarthThatWas.

* In the ''Series/RedDwarf'' novels Earth has had all its mineral resources stripped from it, is afflicted by comically high levels of pollution, and is home only to "a few hundred thousand people too poor, too scared or too stupid to leave" — the rest of humanity is spread throughout the Solar System. Lister still loves Earth and considers it home, even though it's a dump.
** In the second novel it's revealed that a few hundred years after Red Dwarf left the solar system, it became a case of EarthThatWas in an incredibly beyond-the-impossible fashion.
** Earth is rarely seen or described in the TV series, but it doesn't appear to be quite as far gone as in the novels. However, it is still said to have a giant artificial "toupee" hanging over it to cover the hole in the ozone layer.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' does this repeatedly. By 2059 ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars The Waters of Mars]]") Earth is overpopulated and horribly polluted; in the 22[[superscript:nd]] century the Daleks occupy the planet for a whole decade ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]"); in the 29[[superscript:th]] century the environment is ravaged by solar flares and humanity flees on giant refuge ships, country by country ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E2TheBeastBelow The Beast Below]]"); in the 51[[superscript:th]], World War VI triggers another wave of colonization ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"]]); in 6067, it's solar flares again, and Earth is evacuated for ''10000'' years ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkinSpace The Ark in Space]]"). In the year 5-billion-or-so Planet Earth, long since abandoned, is engulfed by the sun ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld The End of the World]]"). We assume it was a relief. There's also [[spoiler:[[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E3Orphan55 Orphan 55]]]], where the Doctor and Earthling companions don't even ''recognize'' it for most of the episode.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' does this repeatedly. By 2059 ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars The Waters of Mars]]") Earth is overpopulated and horribly polluted; in the 22[[superscript:nd]] century the Daleks occupy the planet for a whole decade ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]"); in the 29[[superscript:th]] century the environment is ravaged by solar flares and humanity flees on giant refuge ships, country by country ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E2TheBeastBelow The Beast Below]]"); in the 51[[superscript:th]], World War VI triggers another wave of colonization ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"]]); in 6067, it's solar flares again, and Earth is evacuated for ''10000'' years ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkinSpace The Ark in Space]]"). In the year 5-billion-or-so Planet Earth, long since abandoned, is engulfed by the sun ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld The End of the World]]"). We assume it was a relief.
** There's also [[spoiler:[[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E3Orphan55 Orphan 55]]]], where the Doctor and Earthling companions don't even ''recognize'' it for most of the episode.

** In "Hearts and Minds", Earth suffered energy shortages for decades, leading to numerous wars, until an energy source called pergium was discovered.
** In "Relativity Theory", Earth's natural resources are almost completely depleted. Earth-like planets are strip mined to meet its needs. "Final Appeal" dates this episode to the 24th Century.
** In "Stasis", Earth's resources are severely depleted to the point that half of the population is placed in stasis for 72 hours at a time.
** In "Think Like a Dinosaur", Earth is overpopulated and the rampant pollution in the atmosphere leads to thousands of deaths every year.
** In "The Human Factor", the Free Alliance and the Coalition of Middle Eastern and Pacific States have been at war for years and large parts of Earth are irradiated as a result.

* ''Series/TheArk2023'': The entire reason that the ''Ark 1'' has been sent off to colonize a new world is because Earth has degraded to the point that it's estimated to have only about 70 years of life sustainability left. A lot of people seem convinced it doesn't even have that long. [[spoiler: "A Slow Death Is Worse" reveals that the doubters were right -- in the years after ''Ark 1'' left, Earth's biosphere collapse accelerated faster than the government could handle, and society broke down. It's speculated that the few arks that were successfully launched are all that's left of humanity.]]

* ''Series/TheArk2023'': The entire reason that the ''Ark 1'' has been sent off to colonize a new world is because Earth has degraded to the point that it's estimated to have only about 70 years of life sustainability left. A lot of people seem convinced it doesn't even have that long.

** Despite the name this is actually the only real plot element connecting the ''Empire''/''Galactic Empire'' trilogy[[note]]as a retroactive name for the series, both variants saw use[[/note]] — only one of the novels featured a Galactic Empire, and only two featured states referred to in their names as Empires, but all three has the radioactive, backwater but still inhabited Earth touch on the plot in some way (and a decay can be plotted over the chronological course of it. In ''The Stars, Like Dust'' Earth boasts a university respected enough to attract more than a few students from other worlds (including the protagonist, at the beginning), and the radioactivity is more of a passing notice implying an explanation why Earth lost importance. In ''The Currents of Space'' one of the characters is a respected scientist from Earth, but he apparently got a fair bit of his education elsewhere, and when Earth comes up, the idea of evacuating the population is floated as a possible solution to the radioactive thing. In ''Pebble in the Sky'', Earth [[WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture mandates euthanasia at sixty or if you are no longer able to work]], large areas of the planet are completely uninhabitable, there is a theocratic strain to its (subjected to Imperial oversight but unruly) government, [[spoiler: and elements in it is plotting a mass viral genocide of other worlds]]).

** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'', Earth House at the Asticassia School of Technology is mostly filled with students from Earth, which are looked down upon by the "spacians".

* Averted by the ''Literature/BioOfASpaceTyrant'' series, in which interplanetary colonization allows Earth to revert to nature. The only nation ''not'' to migrate wholesale to another planet is India, which has become the caretaker to what is rapidly becoming a planet-sized nature preserve.

* Earth in ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' is still the center of humanity but the ecosystem is or has been destroyed and the planet is covered with a towering urban sprawl. Extraterrestrial colonies primarily serve as resource gathering outposts.

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'', Earth House at the Asticassia School of Technology is mostly filled with students from Earth, which are looked down upon by the "spacians".