It has happened over and over for centuries.
The best example of that is just east across the river from St Louis ,Cahokia, a thousand or so years ago. A great city, larger than many European cities at the time (including London)
Bert’s rule: The kids move away,the old folks die
Looking at the life span of a city as if it were a time-lapse movie, it could be compared to a specimen on a petri dish. Growing from a microscopic start to a full-blown circle and then as the circle increases, the center begins to rot. The edges are still ‘healthy’ but if the ‘specilmen’ is as rotten as Detroit, it has to collapse and go back to nature.
The demise of old Cahokia is still something of a mystery. Present-day Cahokia, where I grew up, is rapidly going the way of Detroit.