How can a city survive in which you can't walk or drive from one end to the other without harm? Only through the combined efforts of the residents of that city.
But what if even in such an aggressive environment, conflict is ripening between the residents? They have given each other a head start to get back on their feet, but now they have gained enough strength to start blaming each other.
What if this conflict is caused by the environment itself? It wants one part of the inhabitants to wipe out the other part of the town already and be able to lead things its own way, instead of hanging on in this perpetual tug-of-war and weak state of peace.
What if the city's the villain here?