US city street is special, and survives (5)
I believe the answer is:
lasts
'survives' is the definition.
('last' can be a synonym of 'survive')
'us city street is special' is the wordplay.
'us city' becomes 'LA' (short for Los Angeles).
'street' becomes 'st' (abbreviation).
'is special' becomes 'S' (common abbreviation as in Special Air Service).
'la'+'st'+'s'='LASTS'
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for lasts that I've seen before include "Holds out" , "Goes on" , "Keeps on" , "Cobblers' tools" , "Endures" .)