Well in D.C. there was a building in what is the "nice" part of town that I would walk by on occasion and think "damn this looks just like a Chinese tenement (i.e. projects). Turns out it was a Chinese Embassy building. I was in San Fran not to long ago staying in Chinatown and that was "Chinese Poor" for sure. Not severe neglect, but definitely run down and with no aggressive upkeep.

Phoenix Arizona has run down Hispanic hoods for days.

I'd have to disagree about us not coming from that culture. Obviously not all black folks, but many nowadays do. To use the analogy-- Big Mamma had kids who had grand kids not all her kids kept the tradition. I think the ills that have plagued or population have played a role in the loss of said habits. Crack, prison, poor money management so you use sheets instead of curtains, being near unemployable as an ex-convict, etc. So by the time you actually get a place you neither have the means nor interest in keeping it up. Especially if it's surrounded by the same run down housing.

Patrice O'neal had some insight on it via the O and A show. Talking about folks in the projects don't really give a shit about their housing-- so what happens when you get moved out due to gentrification or something? You end up bringing that mind-state with you I speculate. I feel I've seen this in the burbs I grew up in. They bring folks from the lower earning counties or inner city into our neighborhoods but the condition of the housing ends up reflecting (or continuing to reflect) their previous surroundings.