The New York Times Article  “Towers of Dreams: One Ended in Nightmare” explored the reasoning as to which the Pruit-Igoo housing complex failed while the Penn South housing complex thrives. On the news, it is apparent that public-housing has always been an issue and never seems to be particularly thriving. There always seems to be an issue with NYCHA’s maintenance of these buildings, crime, and lack of amenities due to underfunding. This New York Times Article elaborately delved into the decline of the Pruitt Igoe housing beyond that of architectural issues. It had never occurred to me that two buildings could be constructed similarly and yet endure different fates due to social and economic issues. For a brief period of time, Pruitt Igoe provided happiness and security to its earliest tenants. Ruby Russel described the housing complex as a resort until it was all gone one day.  It is heartbreaking to learn that the outcome of the Pruitt Igoe complex that once provided happiness for families quickly became a dismay, and I wonder how exactly this comes to happen.

The Public Housing Myths explain the various reasons that the Pruitt Igoe housing declined in depth. I think one of the earliest detrimental factors of Pruitt Igoe’s decline is that it was segregated. Allocation of resources and the flight of capital and people coupled with the segregation of the housing complexes crippled the population of St. Louis and thus the vacancy rates of the housing complex as well. The shift in housing programs from the SLHA  to HUD meant a shift in policy directives in public housing and may have had a detrimental effect on Pruit Igoe as well as other housing complexes. Another impact that led to the decline of Pruit Igoe housing was the decline of the city of St. Louis itself. The displacement of people and capital led to shifts in funding and priorities within the city. I believe that the decline of Pruit Igoe and public housing is more affected by housing policies and state politics than the architectural design of the buildings. However, the even bigger question of how can these issues be addressed on the policy level arises. It seems that this is still a prevalent question today and will continue to be for a long time.