urban blight

urban blight (countable and uncountable, plural urban blights)

1. (urban studies) Urban decay consisting of the deterioration of part of a town or city due to ageing, neglect, and lack of financial support for maintenance.
   • 2006 August 20, Paul Harris, “Invasion of high-fliers ends Bowery's low life”, in The Observer:

     Walking around SoHo's glamorous bistros and boutiques it is difficult to imagine that a few decades ago the area was urban blight that the city wanted to knock down and build a freeway through.