The Pruitt-Igoe Experiment
Summary
TLDRThe Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis was an ambitious mid-20th century urban development intended to be a model for public housing. However, it quickly became a symbol of failure due to architectural flaws, lack of maintenance, and social issues. Despite initial optimism, the complex faced rapid decline, with rising crime, poor living conditions, and a rent strike that highlighted financial struggles. By 1976, the entire development was demolished, leaving a legacy of lessons on the importance of community engagement and comprehensive urban planning.
Takeaways
- đą The Pruitt-Igoe housing project was designed in the mid-20th century as a model for urban housing in the United States.
- đïž Originally, the area was known as DeSoto Car, a neighborhood with overcrowded and substandard living conditions, which led to the push for redevelopment.
- đ The project aimed to provide modern facilities and housing for both black and white residents, but quickly became predominantly occupied by African-Americans.
- đ Occupancy rates declined rapidly, and the area was soon seen as a 'dumping ground' for society's unwanted, leading to a spike in crime and social issues.
- đ Maintenance and repair were neglected due to budget cuts, which further deteriorated the living conditions and contributed to the project's failure.
- đ The residents of Pruitt-Igoe were forced to live in a failing environment without having consented to be part of the social experiment.
- đ Financial problems, including a rent strike by residents, exacerbated the issues and led to the decision by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to close the project in 1972.
- đ By 1976, the entire Pruitt-Igoe development was demolished, leaving only memories and lessons learned from its failure.
- đ€ Debates continue over the reasons for the failure of Pruitt-Igoe, with arguments ranging from architectural flaws to social indifference and racial tensions.
- đïž The site of Pruitt-Igoe has remained largely undeveloped, with multiple failed plans for its use, reflecting the lasting impact of the project's failure.
- đ The story of Pruitt-Igoe serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of considering the voices of marginalized communities in urban planning and development.
Q & A
What was the original purpose of the Pruitt-Igo project?
-The Pruitt-Igo project was intended to be a model for other urban housing projects, providing modern and affordable housing for residents.
What was the initial public reaction to the design of Pruitt-Igo?
-When the plans for Pruitt-Igo were first drawn, they were met with critical acclaim from magazines, which called it a model for the rest of the country.
Why did the Pruitt-Igo project fail to meet its mission?
-Pruitt-Igo failed due to a combination of factors including architectural flaws, lack of maintenance, location issues, social problems, and financial problems.
What were the conditions like for the residents of Pruitt-Igo after it opened?
-The conditions deteriorated quickly with a spike in crime rate, broken infrastructure like elevators, rodent infestation, and a general lack of supervision and maintenance.
How did the demographic changes in the area contribute to the failure of Pruitt-Igo?
-Demographic changes, such as white flight and the apathy of white residents towards the poverty of inner-city blacks, led to the area being considered unsafe and undesirable.
What was the impact of financial problems on the Pruitt-Igo project?
-Financial problems led to budget cuts, which in turn resulted in a lack of necessary repairs and maintenance, contributing to the decline of the project.
What was the role of the architecture in the failure of Pruitt-Igo?
-The architecture was criticized for being large, tall, and crowded, potentially causing a 'prisoner mentality' among residents and contributing to the project's failure.
What were the initial plans for the Pruitt-Igo site after the project was closed?
-The site has had multiple failed development plans over the decades, with the most recent being the development of a hospital, which also fell through.
What lessons can be learned from the Pruitt-Igo failure?
-The failure of Pruitt-Igo teaches us that housing alone does not solve social problems and that the voices of the marginalized must be considered in decision-making processes to prevent such failures.
What was the final outcome for the residents of Pruitt-Igo?
-The residents were scattered in many directions after the project's closure, with many of their stories and experiences remaining untold.
What is the current status of the Pruitt-Igo site?
-As of the script's knowledge cutoff, the site has sat empty for decades with plans to build a medical school by Ponce Health Sciences University, although there is uncertainty about the success of this endeavor.
Outlines
đïž Pruitt-Igo: The Rise and Fall of a Housing Project
The script discusses the failure of the Pruitt-Igo housing project, initially designed as a model for urban housing in the mid-20th century. It started with the Desoto Car development and aimed to provide public housing for African-American residents in St. Louis. The project was praised for its modern facilities and design, but it quickly became an embarrassment due to issues like broken infrastructure, crime, and social neglect. The script also touches on the broader implications of such urban development failures and the suffering of the residents involved.
đ ïž Pruitt-Igo's Decline: Neglect and Social Experiment
This paragraph delves into the decline of Pruitt-Igo, highlighting the city's lack of commitment to maintaining the quality of life for its residents. Financial reforms led to budget cuts, which in turn resulted in a lack of repairs and a strike by maintenance workers. The script describes the living conditions, including broken elevators, rodent infestations, and a general sense of disrepair. It also mentions the demographic shifts and white flight that contributed to the project's failure, as well as the social indifference towards the plight of inner-city blacks.
đïž Aftermath of Pruitt-Igo: Lessons and Reflections
The final paragraph reflects on the aftermath of the Pruitt-Igo project, discussing the scattered fate of its residents and the site's continued emptiness. It raises questions about the reasons for the project's failure, including architectural flaws, location issues, and financial problems. The script emphasizes the need to listen to the voices of marginalized people and to make decisions with their well-being in mind to prevent such failures in the future. It concludes with a call for a more inclusive and empathetic approach to urban development.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄPruitt-Igo
đĄUrban Renewal
đĄSlum Clearance
đĄPublic Housing
đĄArchitecture
đĄOccupancy Rates
đĄCrime Rate
đĄBudget Cuts
đĄRent Strike
đĄDemolition
đĄCommunity Disinvestment
đĄWhite Flight
đĄBlight
Highlights
Water lines in Pruitt-Igo apartment buildings broke, causing a flow of water that turned into ice, and residents had to deal with the mess when it thawed.
A broken sewer line at 2311 Dixon resulted in raw sewage bubbling out of the ground.
Pruitt-Igo was initially designed with the mission of being a model for other urban housing projects but ultimately failed.
The development of Pruitt-Igo began as a response to overcrowding and poor living conditions in the DeSoto Car neighborhood.
Pruitt-Igo was designed with modern facilities and was initially met with critical acclaim.
The project was racially segregated, with Pruitt for black residents and Igo for white residents, but most residents were black.
Occupancy rates in Pruitt-Igo began to fall as the area became associated with crime and social issues.
Residents of Pruitt-Igo experienced broken infrastructure, rodent infestations, and a lack of supervision for children.
Financial reform attempts at Pruitt-Igo led to budget cuts, which in turn resulted in a lack of repairs and maintenance.
A rent strike by residents exacerbated the financial problems of the development.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development decided to close Pruitt-Igo in 1972 due to its failure.
The last tenant of Pruitt-Igo, Miss Lillian Towns, had lived there for 18 years and raised 10 children.
Pruitt-Igo was completely demolished by 1976, and its legacy lives on only in memory.
Debate surrounds the reasons for Pruitt-Igo's failure, with arguments focusing on architecture, location, and social problems.
The site of Pruitt-Igo has remained empty for decades with multiple failed development plans.
Ponce Health Sciences University has announced plans to build a medical school on the former Pruitt-Igo site.
The story of Pruitt-Igo emphasizes the importance of considering the voices of marginalized people in urban development.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Music]
water lines in several of the pruidigo
apartment buildings broke in a
subsequent flow of water turned into ice
today as temperatures warmed the ice
thawed and residents continued to battle
a resultant mess
at 2311 dixon a sewer line is broken and
now raw sewage bubbles out of the ground
like a malevolent spring temperature's
dropping as nightfall the residents here
in pruitica will probably be frozen in
again
then tomorrow should the temperatures
warm up the water will come back
and so it'll go until somebody comes in
to remedy the situation
pruitico it was a development design
with the mission of being a model for
other urban housing projects as time
went on however pruitt igo failed in
that mission it became an embarrassment
to st louis and a place of suffering to
the people who live there the residents
of pruitt i go unknowingly and
unwillingly participated in a human
social experiment as the world watched
and in 20 years it was all erased as
though it never happened
what was pruitt i go what caused this
historic failure and what lessons can we
take from this experiment gone wrong
[Music]
in the middle of the 20th century city
planners around the united states
started to consider how they would best
mold their cities into places where
people were more likely to establish
businesses live and spend their money
prudigo was born out of this concept
prior to the construction of this
complex the area started as a
development known as desoto car
the desoto car development was built in
the late 19th century and featured some
single-family dwelling units but many
multi-family units that were considered
tenements or slums
many of the residents of desoto car
neighborhood were african-american
as is the case of most of the slum
neighborhoods that made a ring around
the city of san luis de soto car as well
as saint louis itself had become
overcrowded and city officials knew they
had to make room for the residents of
the city that needed public housing
by 1908 city leaders were targeting de
soto carr for reform citing the lack of
services and sanitation in the area
in 1916 restrictive new laws led to the
forced segregation of the city and
desoto carr became further overcrowded
as the cries for redevelopment became
louder
[Music]
by the end of world war ii city planner
named harlem bartholomew was responsible
for designating a ring of slums around
the central business district of saint
louis which contained desoto car for
redevelopment and a massive slum
clearance project
around this time st louis was beginning
to expand their highway system this
really helped set the stage for plans
for pruitt i go in motion in 1951 ground
broke for the new pruitt igo project
officially known as the wendell o pruitt
homes and william igo apartments which
were bounded by cass on the north
carolina south 20th on the east and
jefferson on the west
all this newness i never thought i would
live in that kind of a surrounding
when the plans for pruitt ago were drawn
magazines met the architecture with
critical acclaim and called it a model
for the rest of the country there were
2700 apartments in the development
throughout 33 buildings there were 11
stories each the price the city paid to
develop each unit was equal to the price
of a three-bedroom ranch home at the
time
the facilities were modern and many of
the residents were proud to live in such
a nice place there were schools churches
and recreational facilities that were
created in and around peru at igo the
plans call for pruitt to be developed
for the black residents and i go to be
for the white residents but in a short
period of time most of the residents
that lived in pruitigo were black
[Music]
the first tenants moved into pruitt aigo
in 1954 and occupancy rates began to
fall only four years later prudaigo was
often seen as a dumping ground for
people that society did not have any
other place for
not long after the project opened there
was a spike in the crime rate in peru i
go in the surrounding neighborhoods
broken glass and trash scattered outside
elevators it did not work rodent
infestation and things being thrown from
windows children had little supervision
and were often causing damage to the
property people were drinking in the
stairwells these descriptions of life at
pruitigo help explain how the city
wanted credit for making a grand plan in
urban redevelopment but did not actually
want to follow through in ensuring the
quality of life of the people living in
pruitt igo was impacted in a positive
and meaningful way
the people who were forced to live here
had no control over the conditions that
existed at the development having been a
model for other urban renewal projects
the world watched as new methods were
tested at pruitt igo and these methods
were usually met with failing
financial reform was attempted at
pruitigo and this led to budget cuts
budget cuts led to lack of repairs being
made and lack of repairs led to a wrench
strike
the people who live there were forced to
live with this cycle and the rest of the
nation watched what worked and what
didn't work over and over until the
development failed
korea's food i go project is now
one-third down the rest of it should be
leveled by the end of this year once and
for all we ought to get rid of it it's
been an eyesore and a cancer to the city
and i think in that respect it's
positive that we are getting rid of
the problem
along with the social problems of the
development the rent strike added fuel
to the fire of financial problems that
led to the department of housing and
urban development making the decision to
close prudaigo in 1972
remaining tenants of the project were
moved to 11 of the original 33 buildings
and in that same year three buildings in
the middle of pruitt i go were
demolished
the last 2 000 tenants moved out of the
project by may 1974 just 20 years after
the first tenant moved in the final
tenant was named miss lillian towns she
lived at pruitt igo for 18 years and
raised 10 children there
she said that the development was
beautiful when she moved in and that
leaving hurts real bad
by 1976 the entire development was gone
and pruitt i go lives on only in memory
[Music]
there is much debate and myth that
surrounds the question of why puridago
failed many people argue that it was the
architecture that caused the
disadvantages of crude i go others say
it was lack of maintenance location and
social problems
many have argued that the architectural
flaws doomed pruitt i go from the start
the buildings are large and tall crowded
in a complex that could cause a prisoner
mentality in the people who had to live
there initial plans were not followed
through that would improve the complex
because they were considered too
expensive
the failure to improve the architectural
problems was central to the demise of
the project and so was the location
pruitigo was centered around other
public housing areas of st louis
disinvestment and deindustrialization
undermined the economic vibility of the
city's neighborhoods and severely
compromise its ability to sustain the
delivery of urban services
this type of community disinvestment
coupled with a cold modern architecture
that just didn't feel like a home led to
the failure of the
project with uh
public housing the problem that we
find the most uh pressing is one i've
talked about for quite a while publicly
the fact that
we simply do not have enough
money
to operate
as well as we should
author elizabeth birmingham and many
others argue that as the project
population was increased money for
landscaping and any services such as
gyms playgrounds a proposed grocery
store or additional public bathrooms
disappeared
the only public structure left was a
community center where housing authority
offices were set up to collect rent and
administrate the project
financial problems at the complex we're
also blamed by many st louis city
leaders and many people who study the
project we have our home here
and if the colors move in and run real
estate values down it's bound to create
tension and you will have
well i think their aim is mixed
marriages and
becoming people with the whites well i
just could not live beside them i don't
feel that they should be oppressed
but i moved here
one of the main reasons was because it
was a white community
and that's the only place i intend to
live
[Music]
along with architecture location and
financial problems many blame
demographic changes in the area such as
the apathy of white residents of saint
louis and a social indifference to the
poverty of inner city blacks white
flight contributed to this and most of
the white residents approved igo left
early and turned their backs on the
problem of their project once they were
gone demographic shifts in the inner
city and st louis led to the area be
being considered unsafe undesirable and
blighted
planners argue that pruitt i go yielded
pathological environments of crime fear
poverty and despair furthering their
perception of blight and fueling the
fire of calls for redevelopment and the
ultimate failure of the project
[Music]
the pruitt igo site has sat empty for
decades plans have been drawn and failed
every time with the most recent failure
coming through the development of a
hospital on the site and that plan fell
through
ponce health sciences university has
announced plans to build a medical
school on the site and has even broken
ground but if history is to repeat
itself there should be doubt over
whether these plans will be carried out
or if we'll go into the stack of failed
development plans of the former pruitt
igo site
[Music]
for the people who lived at pruitt i go
the end of the experiment saw them
scattered in many directions
peru diego is infamous for its failures
but the people that live there will
never know their names their stories
their experiences at pruitt i go they
were filled with disrepair community
apathy and an experiment that i hope is
never repeated
[Music]
housing by itself and of itself does not
solve all the social problems of our
community and i think that's the one
lesson i've learned out of this
pruitt i go was an experiment
it was an experiment that the people
that were forced to live there did not
give consent to participate in
it was an experiment to solve social
ills and to house people but housing
alone does not solve social ills
in the future
we need to listen to the voices of the
marginalized people
we need to listen to what will most
effectively make their life better
and we need to make decisions with them
in mind
and that is how we prevent another
pruitt i go
[Music]
you
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