What are the myths of Pruitt-Igoe?
Instead, The Pruitt-Igoe Myth argues that factors such as structural changes occurring in St. Louis, public welfare policies, racial segregation, and flawed assumptions made by the project’s planners better explain what happened.
Why is it called the Pruitt-Igoe Myth?
Initially lauded as a promising new frontier for urban housing, they quickly fell into disrepair and became hot beds of criminality. When the buildings were demolished in 1972, the very name “Pruitt-Igoe” became a kind of talismanic curse, a symbol of everything not to do in public housing.
What was the Pruitt-Igoe and what was its significance?
Pruitt–Igoe was one of the first demolitions of modernist architecture; postmodern architectural historian Charles Jencks called its destruction “the day Modern architecture died”. Its failure is often seen as a direct indictment of the society-changing aspirations of the International school of architecture.
What was the goal of Pruitt-Igoe?
By the early 1970s, Pruitt-Igoe had come to symbolize municipal indifference to African American poverty, budget constraints for affordable housing, and cutbacks in social programs and education that service African American communities. Some tenants and civil rights groups attempted to address these issues.
Who built Pruitt-Igoe?
Minoru YamasakiPruitt–Igoe / Architect
What was life like for residents of Pruitt-Igoe in its early years?
Heaters, toilets, garbage incinerators and electricity all malfunctioned, and at one point the faulty plumbing let loose floods of raw sewage through the hallways. Though built for the middle class, Pruitt-Igoe became an economic and racial ghetto soon after it opened, in large part due to bad timing.
Who is the architect of the Pruitt-Igoe housing development?
Who was Pruitt-Igoe named after?
LOUIS — It was considered a masterpiece of urban planning when it was built in the mid-1950s. Named for African American fighter pilot Wendell O. Pruitt and a former U.S. Congressman, William L. Igoe, the Pruitt-Igoe Apartment Complex was one of the largest public housing complexes in the country.
When were the Pruitt-Igoe built?
The Captain WO Pruitt Homes and William L Igoe Apartments, a racially segregated, middle-class complex of 33 11-storey towers, opened to great fanfare on the north side of St Louis between 1954 and 1956.
What did the Housing Act of 1949 do?
Components of the legislation aimed at reducing housing costs, raising housing standards, and enabling the federal government for the first time, to aid cities in clearing slums and rebuilding blighted areas. The program emphasized new construction.
Does the FHA still exist today?
Today, the FHA continues to work to improve housing standards and conditions, provide adequate home financing through mortgage loans, and to stabilize the mortgage market. The FHA is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and is the only government agency that is completely self-funded.