I don’t venture into the bad areas of Chattanooga, but there are some. Unfortunately, I do have to go downtown once in a while for work (which despise, as parking is not free), but for the most part, I stay in the nicer areas or completely out of the city.
Don’t get me wrong - Downtown is pretty nice, at least during the day, but things do happen even there from time to time. When I was getting PT for my back issues last year, the therapist’s office was in a marginal neighborhood, but very close to one of the hospitals.
My first real job at 17 was working for Bell South in downtown Chattanooga on 9th street. When I turned 18 they put me on night shift. I quit. That was a really bad area during the day and not a good place for an 18 year old white farm girl after dark.