The Sewer that Ate Birmingham
Actually, it was the banks that ate Birmingham, Alabama, as documented by Matt Taibbi in “Looting Main Street: How the nation’s biggest banks are ripping off American cities with the same predatory deals that brought down Greece”.
Essentially, Birmingham decided it needed an expensive new sewer system, and its officials completely screwed the city by making awful financing deals with major Wall Street banks. The approach used by the banks is apparently one they’ve been using in many places, so the article might end up being informative about the troubles of a district near you.