It's not supposed to flake, or rust. They're signs of damage -- often of deep neglect.
buildings change hands, no one thinks about maintenance -- real estate investment means it changes hands before that ever matters, up until it does.
I was thinking today about bus stop rain shelters, as one does, and how a lot of people don't seem to realize that advertising ate the world a long time ago, not twenty years ago.
It's easy to tune out. But the bright colors of the cities are just ads, when you bother to look at them, and not the ads on your phone.