Downgrade Cities to Outposts

yes, although razing a city opens up the option later in the game to use a settler to build a new (replacement) city with prebuilt infrastructure

NOTE - I had been playing the game for weeks and did not even realize a city could be razed. I had been razing admin centers and outposts of a foe to isolate the foe and raise their war support to enable more time for razing their districts. it turns out a city has to be ransacked to be razed and hence is a decision to be made BEFORE the force surrender war resolution dialog