Stories set in wastelands or ruined cities have long been popular, whether the source of the catastrophe lies in science fictional speculation, such as nuclear war or environmental collapse, or in supernatural occurrences, such as zombie uprisings or even end-times revelations. What are the sources of this appeal? In other words, why are stories of post-apocalypse (wasteland) so popular? 

Wastelands are a popular sub genre in science fiction. They follow the template of a world that has been destroyed and usually cover how humanity has declined and recovered from the disaster. I think the genre is so popular because it covers topics that people have a lot of fear and anxiety over like nuclear war and environmental collapse. The idea that the world you’re so used to can be gone in a second brings fear into everybody and this genre helps some people to cope with the fear. Wastelands can also be a way for people to somewhat prepare for the disaster as it makes us look at the problems they will face and how they will fix them. In some way everybody can connect to a wasteland story, you have either watched one, read one, or thought about a scenario like one, that is why I think wastelands are so popular.