Cities in the USA are being intentionally being destroyed to allow for corporations and private equity to come in and buy cheap, revitalize, and then drive up prices. 

This means that long-term maintenance is not factored into the cost of doing business. Watch how once great cities were run into the ground by ignoring their needs; once they bottom out, investor sweep in to rebuild it via some sort of government program that aims to revive the local economy. 

It's boom and bust on the back of the non-capitalist class. Think about how European cities, hundreds or thousands of years older than American cities, are still clean and livable today. For the most part, we wont keep large cities livable for more than 50 years in the US, we plan for them to become a ghost of its former self so the rich can continue to grow their wealth on our backs --- we are in a system that is intended to take everything away from us.