Introduction
The 19th and early 20th century witnessed a rapid economic growth of the United States. During that time, federal government largely supported laissez-faire policies to provide a free-market environment for large corporations. What was even more advantageous for them is that both internal and external migrations fulfilled the large requirement for cheap labor. The populations in industrial cities was never more concentrated, which created a serious problem --- housing. Low-income working class gathered in cheap tenement houses and these areas are called “the slums”[ Von Hoffman, Alexander. The Origins of American Housing Reform. 2002,. Accessed August 16, 2016. https://www.innovations.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/von_hoffman_w98-2.pdf. …show more content…
Though over 40 years have passed, Pruitt-Igoe remains an important lesson for city planners to learn.
“Dumping grounds for the poor”
The Pruitt-Igoe project replaced Desoto-Carr, a run-down black neighborhood, with 33 11-floor high-rise apartment buildings. While the SLHA cleared the land to construct public housing for former slum dwellers[ Bristol, Katharine G. “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth.” Journal of Architectural Education 44, no. 3 (1991): 163–71. Accessed August 16, 2016. doi:10.1080/10464883.1991.11102687. http://www.pruitt-igoe.com/temp/1991-bristol-pruitt-igoemyth.pdf.
], the overall plan to revitalize St. Louis inner ring was to stimulate commercial growth and to bring back middle-class people. Therefore, besides low-income people, Pruitt-Igoe was also intended for middle-class blacks and …show more content…
Additionally, middle-class people are often attached to families, but family life is not common scene in Pruitt-Igoe. According to the federal assistance program Aid to Family with Dependent Children, families with a male householder could not receive welfare; therefore, fathers would leave the state (or pretended to) in order to support the family[ Freidrichs, Chad. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth. September 18, 2012. Posted August 15, 2016.
The 19th and early 20th century witnessed a rapid economic growth of the United States. During that time, federal government largely supported laissez-faire policies to provide a free-market environment for large corporations. What was even more advantageous for them is that both internal and external migrations fulfilled the large requirement for cheap labor. The populations in industrial cities was never more concentrated, which created a serious problem --- housing. Low-income working class gathered in cheap tenement houses and these areas are called “the slums”[ Von Hoffman, Alexander. The Origins of American Housing Reform. 2002,. Accessed August 16, 2016. https://www.innovations.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/von_hoffman_w98-2.pdf. …show more content…
Though over 40 years have passed, Pruitt-Igoe remains an important lesson for city planners to learn.
“Dumping grounds for the poor”
The Pruitt-Igoe project replaced Desoto-Carr, a run-down black neighborhood, with 33 11-floor high-rise apartment buildings. While the SLHA cleared the land to construct public housing for former slum dwellers[ Bristol, Katharine G. “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth.” Journal of Architectural Education 44, no. 3 (1991): 163–71. Accessed August 16, 2016. doi:10.1080/10464883.1991.11102687. http://www.pruitt-igoe.com/temp/1991-bristol-pruitt-igoemyth.pdf.
], the overall plan to revitalize St. Louis inner ring was to stimulate commercial growth and to bring back middle-class people. Therefore, besides low-income people, Pruitt-Igoe was also intended for middle-class blacks and …show more content…
Additionally, middle-class people are often attached to families, but family life is not common scene in Pruitt-Igoe. According to the federal assistance program Aid to Family with Dependent Children, families with a male householder could not receive welfare; therefore, fathers would leave the state (or pretended to) in order to support the family[ Freidrichs, Chad. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth. September 18, 2012. Posted August 15, 2016.