Queshire
Istar
Perhaps this mostly comes from my fondness for animation where it's generally easier to get away with, but I think there's something to be said about using the fantasical or the exaggerated in order to communicate the themes you're going for.
Is your story about the essential dignity of humanity and how no one is too far gone to start taking steps to improve themselves? Well, you could certainly have the story take place in a modern day city, but you could also have it take place in Hell. After all, if the theme holds true in some place as extreme as Hell then doesn't it follow that it'd also hold true in someplace less extreme? Say, Earth?
Is your story about the essential dignity of humanity and how no one is too far gone to start taking steps to improve themselves? Well, you could certainly have the story take place in a modern day city, but you could also have it take place in Hell. After all, if the theme holds true in some place as extreme as Hell then doesn't it follow that it'd also hold true in someplace less extreme? Say, Earth?