You're the best judge of what effects, good and bad, city life is having on your son, and if you feel he's at a crisis point, you should fight it out with the father and drag him into an alliance and present the decision to the boy. It doesn't sound as if you're quite to that point, but I'm not sure. Barring a crisis, I think your son should be a participant in such decisions, so far as possible. Try laying out a four-year plan for the two of you, based on real options, and initiate a discussion with him in which these options are given a fair look and nothing is dismissed out of hand. Play to his sense of maturity.
Maturity means taking other people into consideration.
You want to get out of the small dingy apartment and he mustn't overlook that. This may be a good time for the father to be even more involved. At least, it's an option to put on the table. If the father is not in a position to offer this, then he shouldn't be a full partner in the discussion. Cover up with a Salon T-shirt this summer.