The “Pruitt-Igoe Myth” is a documentary directed by Chad Freidrichs, that brings you back to St. Louis in the 1950-1970’s. It takes you through the construction, to the deconstruction of Pruitt-Igoe with the help of a few of its former residents. Pruitt-Igoe, short for the Wendell O. Pruitt Homes and William Igoe Apartments, were made up of 33, 11-story buildings on 57 acre on the north side of St. Louis (Bristol). The former tenants recall their excitement about first moving into Pruitt-Igoe and take you through the slow decline of the complex, to its inevitable demolish in 1972. The film talks about a few different reasons why Pruitt-Igoe failed, the decline of population in St. Louis after World War II, being the main culprit. There have been a lot of questions as to what caused the destruction of Pruitt-Igoe. Was it the economy of St. Louis in the 1950’s, the government and
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Louis, public housing was used as a segregation tool and played a huge role in the decline of Pruitt-Igoe. (sounds like the film) The Housing Act of 1949, Title I, the federal urban redevelopment program, was created to get rid of the slums and build better living conditions; however, most of the slum areas demolished, were in high demand locations. This meant those spaces were hardly ever replaced with affordable housing, forcing former residence to flee into areas of high poverty throughout the city. (put attribution here) “Given the high correlation between poverty and race, the combination of racial discrimination and the limited availability of affordable housing has had the effect of thrusting the poor into (or creating) neighborhoods with concentrated pockets of extreme poverty. Many commentators have claimed that this concentration of poverty has produced enormously negative societal consequences.” Written by Michael R. Diamond, these two sentences describe perfectly how public housing was used as a tool for segregation and aided in the failure of
Louis, public housing was used as a segregation tool and played a huge role in the decline of Pruitt-Igoe. (sounds like the film) The Housing Act of 1949, Title I, the federal urban redevelopment program, was created to get rid of the slums and build better living conditions; however, most of the slum areas demolished, were in high demand locations. This meant those spaces were hardly ever replaced with affordable housing, forcing former residence to flee into areas of high poverty throughout the city. (put attribution here) “Given the high correlation between poverty and race, the combination of racial discrimination and the limited availability of affordable housing has had the effect of thrusting the poor into (or creating) neighborhoods with concentrated pockets of extreme poverty. Many commentators have claimed that this concentration of poverty has produced enormously negative societal consequences.” Written by Michael R. Diamond, these two sentences describe perfectly how public housing was used as a tool for segregation and aided in the failure of