The true allure of Big Cities is status. Once basic needs are met, humans (and chimpanzees) want status more than anything else.
In our modern dysfunctional society, consuming is high status, and producing is low status. The highest status comes from maximizing consumption
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in the most conspicuous - and most expensive - of all places, which is the large population centers.
Of course, over time a society that prioritizes meaningless consumption over production will get weaker & weaker, and that is true of the US & Europe.
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Now, the funny - and deeply human - part is that people determine self-worth on the basis of status, and the people who are the largest drains on the rest of society - the conspicuous Big City consumers - genuinely believe they are better than everyone else.
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A society governed by people with this mentality, the so-called "elites" can take over a society that was built by their betters.
They cannot, however, maintain this society, and it will steadily degrade until there is a replacement of the "elites".
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