In the article, “Tower of Dreams: One Ended in Nightmare,” Michael Kimmelmen attempts two compare and contrast 2 different public housing projects. The first is Penn South, a high rise housing cooperative development built in the Chelsea area of New York City in 1962. It was built to house the low to moderate-income workers who lived in the area. The second was Pruitt-Igoe, the St. Louis public housing project, which was destroyed in 1972. In the article, Kimmelman attempts to compare the 2 projects and demonstrate why although similar, one was highly successful while the other was a great failure.
The first thing that came as a surprise to me was the fact that two, almost identical projects, or as Kimmelman describes them, “Aesthetic cousins,” could have such opposite fates. Penn South would go on to be a successful and thriving housing complex with a sense of community between its residents, while Pruitt-Igoe became a “breeding grounds” for violence and vandalism. Although it may have started off as a thriving community and “paradise”, as is evident in the testimony of Valerie Sills, it eventually turned into an area filled with crime and poverty. It really goes to show you that every project has its risks and that no matter how much research you put into a project or how hard you plan, there is no absolute guarantee of success.
Throughout his article, Kimmelman provides the testimonies of former residents of the Pruitt-Igoe complex, and one which truly stood out to me belonged to Ruby Russell, an early resident of the housing project. She stated that when she first moved into the complex, it was a beautiful place and even went so far as to compare it to a “big hotel resort.” She moved to the complex from the slums and never believed that she would live in such an area. However, as she mentions, the beauty disappeared in a flash and as she stated, “one day we woke up and it was all gone.” It went from being a dream come true to an abandoned, distressed area, filled with drug dealers, murderers, crime and violence.
As I continued reading, I noticed that Kimmelman points out a few suggestions as to why the Pruitt-Igoe complex failed, while Penn South became highly successful. The first that caught my attention was the location of the complexes, and in real estate location is everything. While Penn South was located in an affluent part of New York City, filled with shops and a diverse and chic mix of people, Pruitt-Igoe was located in an “isolated and impoverished” area in St. Louis. Another reason why Pruitt-Igoe went on to become a failure was the fact that it was poorly maintained and handled. Opponents of public housing blocked federal money that would have been set aside to improve its conditions and an inadequate amount of money was set aside to take care of the grounds. This would eventually lead to the crime and poverty that would arise in the area surrounding the complex.
Public Housing is very important, especially in dense cities such as New York, to ensure that all residents have a place that they can call “home.” However, one of the most important factors that contributes to the success of a housing project is perceived safety and I believe that this is the main reason why Pruitt-Igoe collapsed and deteriorated. Due to poor maintenance, violence and crime arose in the area and the safety conditions were inadequate. When people buy homes the first question that they ask is “how is the neighborhood?” because safety is a very important factor when choosing an area to live in, and that was Pruitt-Igoe’s main fault and the reason as to why it failed miserably. On the other hand, due to the fact that Penn South was located in a dense and safe neighborhood, people weren’t afraid to live there and the quality of life was much greater. After reading this article, I would like to look at other housing complexes to see whether or not they share the characteristics inherent in these complexes.
