The film “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” really helped me understand the trials and tribulations of the public housing development. The most memorable of these, in my opinion, was the video clip of the Caucasian woman. She’d said that she had originally moved to the neighborhood because it was a ‘white neighborhood,’ but that she no longer wanted to live there because of all the black people in Pruitt-Igoe. This did not sit well with me at all, and the racism in the North still shocks me even though I’ve heard of it time and time again. I wonder what she’d have said if Pruitt-Igoe was successful. Had it not been ridden with crime—which had nothing to do with the race of the residents anyway—would she have gotten past her issues?
The documentary offered a lot of insight to the development that had only ever been described to me as a complete failure. The interviews with former residents certainly showed me different perspectives. For example, one man recounted how his brother was killed there while a woman reminisced about the happy childhood she had there. I suppose this one woman’s pleasant memories don’t cancel out all of the negative experiences others had, but it was nice to hear that Pruitt-Igoe wasn’t a horror for everyone. At least there is someone who can look back on it fondly and remember something other than constant criminal activity. Had it not been for this documentary, I would have continued to believe that Pruitt-Igoe did nothing but ruin countless lives. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to sway my opinion entirely.
Seeing the buildings being blasted with dynamite gave me a sense of relief, and I actually felt happy that it happened. Once things took a turn for the worse and tenants began to leave, there was no going back. Vacancies led to break-ins by drug addicts, which led to even more crime. In addition, the low rent generated even less funding for maintenance. Everything was spiraling down, and Pruitt-Igoe could no longer be saved. If the government had left it there, it’d just serve as a breeding ground for crimes, drugs, violence, etc. As wasteful as it was to destroy something that had cost so much money and served as a form of stable housing for many, it had to be done. I would imagine that the development today, were it still standing, would have an awful connotation in the local area and just attract more trouble. It’d be known for its dark history, which would inevitably repeat itself.
On the other hand, I don’t think that the land should be vacant anymore. Surely by now, the housing authority of St. Louis has perfected a method of building public housing. I don’t see why they aren’t building more public housing unless it’s actually not needed whatsoever. If that’s true, why not make a nice public recreational area, like a park or a mall? Developers in NYC would kill for an open piece of land like that, so I’m surprised it hasn’t been grabbed up to be used to its full potential. Pruitt-Igoe was already such a waste, and I can’t believe that the lot has remained untouched. If used correctly, whatever gets built could reap great profits along with benefits for the community. It doesn’t make any sense to do absolutely nothing with it.
“The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” makes me wonder if the development was just destined to fail from the very beginning. In an effort to create decent housing, safety and maintenance were ignored. That might have been acceptable at first, but definitely not over a long period of time. Was that never considered? The large amount of children residing in the development couldn’t really be reduced, but they were a main source of the havoc wreaked throughout. As a family destination, was this not considered either? Whose fault was it that Pruitt-Igoe failed so miserably? It could be argued that it was not planned for accordingly in terms of funding and security, but could the residents have counteracted that in any way? Especially as a community of families, could they have banded together with a goal of general safety and no crime? Had that happened, maybe the myth we’re hearing about today would be drastically different.
