Purpose: the world famous high school softball tournament for teams that practice in countries where grass doesn't grow easily and where nobody has heard of sports where you hit a little ball with a wooden stick and then run around in circles.
I spent most of the time in the neighborhoods around the local american high school. I would guess that this area was not representative of the city. The houses were spectacular, and the streets were wide and clean. Still, once in a while the local kids would point out a site where a scud missile had landed not too long ago.