Certainly TV is not thriving merely because it is a private business. Too many businesses fail for it to be that simple. They have a successful business model for sure, attracting and retaining villagers with the array of amenities and lifestyle, and that contributes to its success. That array of amenities, coupled with an aging, active adult population, makes TV developers sort of umbrella salesmen in the rain.
IMHO, the reason cities have a tough go is fairly simple (and summed up well above by K2AT); politicians / greed / corruption coupled with a decreasing tax base because everyone is moving to TV.
