Arson: Mass Bombing

Arson destroys neighborhoods as surely as mass bombing. Only a few people commit the crime, but all residents must suffer the consequences.
Decaying buildings are torched by their owners to collect insurance money. Most arsonists escape punishment. Burnt-out structures are, in turn, a haven for gangs and drug traffickers, who cause even more arson.
Once several blocks have been gutted, a kind of collective hopelessness grips those who can't afford to move. The young may continue to set fires from hatred or from despair or ever escaping their crumbling prison. The old and sick because the prey of robbery or random violence, their final years drawn into a whirlpool of fear. The end comes when the municipal government gives up, curtails most services,