Introduction
The Housing Act of 1949 had a serious impact on the mid-twentieth century American cities; the public regards this Act as a controversial project, which turned into success for some and failure for others. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth is a documentary shot by Chad Freidrichs that analyzes the history of St. Louis’ public housing complex that goes by the name Pruitt-Igoe. Seen by many as a failure of modernist architecture, the Pruitt-Igoe represents a story of a typical mid-twentieth century housing project, which, with all good intentions, turned from an affordable place to a ghetto. Although the failure of this project is obvious, the opinions as to why happened what happened, differ. Some experts regard the modernist theory of architecture as a key issue in Pruitt-Igoe’s story, while others criticize the overall concept of public housing or even mention the race or social status of the residents. To draw a real picture of these events, the author interviewed the ex-residents of this housing complex. Thus, the author of this film issues the previously mentioned assumptions and instead thinks that St. Louis’ declining population, crumbling industry and the quality of the housing itself are the key factors of Pruitt-Igoe’s decay.
Discrimination, Inequality, and Tenants’ Response
Segregation
Since this housing complex was built to provide low-income citizens with available housing, unfortunately, the residents themselves were the discriminated community, especially those of African-American origin. Pruitt-Igoe’s tenants’ oppression began in 1954, just when the complex was opened. The people were segregated according to their skin color; this means that they were separated and lived in different buildings. Although in 1956-1957, a law was acted against segregation, the tenants remained divided since the majority of the apartments were already occupied. However, the story of a white fraction of the housing population is quite short. From the end of the 1950s, the level of welfare in Pruitt-Igoe went only downhill; therefore, the major part of white people could afford to move away from this place. Moreover, the expert in the film says that “every project was imagined as black or white project, preventing African-Americans from moving to other districts” (The Pruitt-Igoe Myth 00:39:04 – 39:22) As a result, the African-American population of the complex was unintentionally put in another ghetto, which they intended to move away from in the 50s.
Restrictions
Apart from being segregated from the parts of St. Louis with higher levels of welfare, tenants were controlled by social services; they were allowed to occupy the housing only if they followed certain rules. These rules left serious marks on the lives of the residents. For example “no able-bodied man could live in the house if a woman received Aid to Dependent Children” (The Pruitt-Igoe Myth 00:33:30 – 33:40). The welfare service then sent special workers to verify that a supposed single mother lives without her partner. However, even these regulations were not where the control ended. “We could not have a telephone, we could not have a television, and we were left at the mercy of the system” – that is what one of the housing residents said about these stipulations (The Pruitt-Igoe Myth 00:35:23 – 35:33). The welfare services wanted to have direct control over low-income families’ life; this is a result of a conservative American society of these times – the government wanted people to be uniform and controlled.
Response
The response, which was inevitable due to the inhumane conditions in which the tenants had to live, expressed their desire to improve their lives by any means; in some cases, they just wanted to survive. For example, a mother of one of the residents painted the wall in the house black so that her children “could study at home without using the unaffordable paper” (The Pruitt-Igoe Myth 00:45:20 – 45:30). Another response was tenants’ associations; the main goal of these organizations was to bring at least some sense of the community to the decaying district. This was the way the residents were able to socialize, work or solve acute community problems. Therefore, despite the declining number of tenants, unemployment, and segregation, Pruitt-Igoe’s population was trying to imply various measures to keep the community afloat.
The Myth of Pruitt-Igoe
Far-Fetched Assumptions
The so-called “Myth of Pruitt Igoe” consists of various assumptions; instead of analyzing the real reasons mentioned events, many experts blamed the modernist architecture, race, or tenants’ low income, thus creating the “myth.” The images of total decay, such as photos of polluted halls and broken windows, create the picture of a dysfunctional neighborhood. The main claim of the supporters of this myth is that an anthill-like modernist design of the neighborhood depresses its tenant and results in widespread crime, violence, and substance abuse. According to them, the monotonous picture of these buildings is the main factor of overall decay. In addition, some people state that the idea of creating housing for low-income people leads to the concentration of poverty and dysfunction, thus creating a criminogenic environment. Thus, the more dominant historical interpretations lead to a conclusion that public housing leads to negative, sometimes disturbing, results.
Refutation
The author of this film claims that the quality of housing, lack of proper employment and funding, and post-war deurbanization in St. Louis are the reasons that led to that situation. He notices that many personal experiences were ignored during the assessment of these events. First of all, the quality of materials, from which the houses were built, was disappointing, to say the least. Thus, the houses required constant renewal, leaving a gaping hole in the community’s budget. In addition, judging by the community’s income, the people were not able to provide the maintenance of such housing. Secondly, the industry of St. Louis was in the process of moving away from the city borders. The creation of working places in the suburbs led to the “mismatch between those who needed the jobs and the jobs themselves” in the city (The Pruitt-Igoe Myth 00:43:15 – 43:27). If to compare Pruitt-Igoe with Jewish or Italian ghettos in America from the earlier times, people there lived near the industrial workplaces, which allowed them to gain working places. Finally, as mentioned prior, the local authorities themselves projected Pruitt-Igoe as a “black” neighborhood. As a result, the government created an unfavorable climate that led to the decay of this micro-district.
Conclusion
The unfair stigmatization of Pruitt-Igoe’s African-American population combined with traditionalism created the myth of a tragic failure; the district was viewed as a threat to the whole city. Although the government, through the attempts of constant stipulation and racial segregation, oppressed the residents of this neighborhood, they still tried to survive and respond to the unfair situation. The essential lesson of this story is that one cannot ignore the context of the events, such as national mentality and cultural or historical background. In addition, the socio-economic situation often has a strong influence on forming communities. The experience of Pruitt-Igoe’s tenants is crucial in understanding how to approach low-income communities and how important it is to provide them with employment and education.
Works Cited
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth. Directed by Chad Freidrichs, Netflix, 2011