[dennis in se pa]

I see lots of stories about this effort. I live near a city that is a poster child for this. It seems to me a lot of people have good intents, but the money gets basically spent with no positive result = wasted. New civic centers that can't pay their way. New hotels built when the existing hotels have low occupancy rates. New housing that is quickly destroyed by the occupants.
Is there any hope of reviving these cities?