Pruitt-Igoe Housing development
After World War II, St. Louis was among four cities in the United States to observe a decline in its’ population. In an effort to attract more inhabitants to the city, the urban planners, whilst coordinating with the federal public-housing program, designed the Pruitt-Igoe project to be an affordable place to live. With costs being the main concern, the design of the infrastructure turned out to be high-rise buildings filled with many small units. While the initial plan imagined buildings to be two or three stories tall, the final product turned out to be 33 eleven-story buildings. The project was completed in 1956. [2]
The years that followed the completion of the Pruitt-Igoe buildings deviated from expectations. What was meant to be a diverse and low-cost place to live turned out to be dominated by low-income African American families. The high rate of poverty led to higher crime rates. Inevitably, the Pruitt-Igoe housing became vandalized and trashed—comparable to that of a ghetto neighborhood. The community was deteriorating. Despite the government’s efforts, the Pruitt-Igoe community failed to meet expectations. Thus, in 1972, without much hesitation, the government ended the public housing project—and with it the negative byproducts—by demolishing all the Pruitt-Igoe apartments. [2]
The aftermath of the Pruitt-Igoe project was a bad one for the federal government’s housing program. Because of its highly publicized destruction, many people saw no good in large-scale public housing—arguing that it’s a waste of the government’s resources. Policymakers learned from this experience and hence shifted to “mixed income developments and townhouses”—housing geared towards the middle class. [3]
References:
1. "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth – a Documentary." Urban History « The Pruitt-Igoe Myth – a Documentary. Missouri History Museum, n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2014. <http://www.pruitt-igoe.com/urban-history/>.
2. Hoffman, Alexander Von. "Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project." Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project. Joint Center for Housing Studies, n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2014. < http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/PruittIgoe.html>.
3. Lawson, Benjamin Alexander. The Pruitt-Igoe Projects: Modernism, Social Control, and the Failure of Public Housing, 1954-1976. N.p.: n.p., 2007. Print.
4. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth Documentary Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CAfACI7LBY