T
he Pruitt-Igoe public housing project in St. Louis, Missouri was designed by Minoru Yamasaki in the mid-1950s. It was named for two public figures, one black, one white, and the housing was intended for a segregated population. When city laws desegregated public housing, the project became primarily occupied by blacks. It was intended to be a solution for inner city housing problems, following the vision of modern architects like Le Corbusier, and was given a lot of publicity as a positive way to address urban renewal. Its construction and design was constrained by the fact that it was a publicly funded project, with specifications set by the government. Residents of the project were extremely poor and there was a very high crime rate, two issues that were often highlighted in the news, locally, nationally and even internationally. The project was a failure from early on and demolition began in the early 1970s, less than 20 years after it was built. Pruitt-Igoe's demise was likely due to a combination of architectural, social, economic, and economic factors. (content from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruitt%E2%80%93Igoe )
he Pruitt-Igoe public housing project in St. Louis, Missouri was designed by Minoru Yamasaki in the mid-1950s. It was named for two public figures, one black, one white, and the housing was intended for a segregated population. When city laws desegregated public housing, the project became primarily occupied by blacks. It was intended to be a solution for inner city housing problems, following the vision of modern architects like Le Corbusier, and was given a lot of publicity as a positive way to address urban renewal. Its construction and design was constrained by the fact that it was a publicly funded project, with specifications set by the government. Residents of the project were extremely poor and there was a very high crime rate, two issues that were often highlighted in the news, locally, nationally and even internationally. The project was a failure from early on and demolition began in the early 1970s, less than 20 years after it was built. Pruitt-Igoe's demise was likely due to a combination of architectural, social, economic, and economic factors. (content from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruitt%E2%80%93Igoe )Image from the USGS (US Geological Survey) in the public domain.
Yamasaki later designed the World Trade Center.
Public housing projects to compare: Cabrini-Green and Robert Taylor Homes both in Chicago; Lafayette Park in Detroit.
Yamasaki later designed the World Trade Center.
Public housing projects to compare: Cabrini-Green and Robert Taylor Homes both in Chicago; Lafayette Park in Detroit.
posted by theresa rohlck
I do not understand how segregation laws influenced the demise of Pruitt-Igoe.
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