Basic HTML Version
January
1972
blacks. Most of the families entering
the project were headed by women;
most subsisted on welfare or sorne
other form of public assistance; most
had many children. As a whole, the
families were vastly under-educated,
with no hope of acquiring the economic
means to eventually leave.
Soon, conditions began to worsen
throughout the project. Instead of
enjoying finer buildings and a peacefuJ
environment, the residents found them–
selves tr.apped in a social and economic
nightmare. The brand-new, freshly
painted apactments rapidly deteriorated.
Broken glass and trash littered the prem–
ises, inside and out. The elevators
became repositories of human waste.
Many areas of the project were
turned into scenes of vast devastation.
Electrical wiring was ripped out of wall
conduits. Exteriors were smashed open
by scavengers seeking valuable pipe Jit–
tings. Windows were broken faster than
they could be replaced. Children fell to
their deaths through open windows or
elevator shafts.
Murder, rape, robbery and vandalism
became rife. Gunfire was reported to
sound regularly from the project's half–
abandoned upper-reaches. BurgJars,
dope pushers, and street gaogs roamed
at will through the buildings.
It
soon became obvious that in at–
tempting to eliminate one slum, the city
had created aoother. Only this one was
a Frankensteio mooster. Famil ies, sorne
payiog ooly
$20
per month, left en
masse. One departing man commeoted
that living in a dilapidated hut was bet–
ter than having to endure Pruitt-Igoe's
conceotrated misery.
The real tragedy of Pruitt-Igoe is
that it is not an isolated example, except
possibly in degree. Perhaps other hous–
iog failures in the United States are not
quite as monumental. Perhaps Pruitt–
Igoe housed a special concentration of
the problems aod difficulties of low-io–
come, urbao blacks. But the seeds that
produced Pruitt-Igoe have been plaoted
in virtually every
city
in America.
On the following pages, Thomas P.
Costello, Executive Director of the St.
Louis Housing Authority discusses
what
happened at Pruitt-Igoe,
why
it hap–
pened, and
how
it can be avoided in
the future.
The
PLAIN TRUTH
17
WhJ the Pruitt-l&oe
Bousin& Projeet Failed
The apparent failure of one of Ameri–
ca's largest housing pro¡ects, Pruitt–
Igoe, has caused many to wonder
about the future of large publíc hous–
ing proiects for low-income families.
About 2.5 million Americans live in
such proiects. PLAIN TRUTH staff
members went to St. Louís to find out
why Pruitt-Igoe had become a syno–
nym for public housíng disaster.
Thomas P. Coste/lo, St. Louis Housing
Authority, Executive Director, e.xplains
the reasons in this exclusive interview.
Q.
It was recently reported that most
of the Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project
was going to be closed clown. Has
any of that taken place yet?
A.
Yes. Recently this office went
through a reorganization which in–
cluded the dosing down of two thirds
of Pruitt-Igoe. There are sorne 600
families still there. We have considered
tearing the whole development clown
and replacing it with something more
viable, for example, a garden-type
village.
Q.
What was the main reason for
the dosure?
A.
It
was the result of many factors,
but primarily, the rising vacancy situ–
ation caused by vandalism and delin–
quency. In most cases, at least in the
beginning, it was caused by nontenaots,
which in turn brought about a lack of
funds. The lack of mooey eventually
made it impossible to keep up with or–
dinary maintenance, let alone repairs due
to vandalism. In view of the high va–
caney rate it made better sense, espe–
cially business sense, to consolidate the
occupancy of the development and
dose down at least two thirds of the
development, thereby reducing oper–
atiog costs.
Q.
What kind of an area is the proj–
ect in?
A.
It was built in a very bad area, one
of the worst in the
city.
Q.
Could this partially explain why
the project has had so many prob–
lems?
A.
Most deiinitely. This is one of the
biggest causes of tbe deterioration, but
~ome
still blame it on poor design. l'm
sure design had something to do with
it, but I think the lumping of so many
families with the same socio-ecooomic
problems into one small area was the
chief factor. For example, the Pruitt–
Jgoe site consists of 57.28 acres of
which 10.80 acres are covered by build–
ings.
In 1966, the "knownn poprdation
had reached 10,564- 72.5 percent of
which were minors. F11rther, 67.2 per-
St Louis
Post·Disf)ltch
Thomas P. Costello
Executive Director of the
St. Louis Housing Authority.
cent of Jhe families were withottt ma/e
heads;
20.8 percent of the family heads
were 62 years of age or over; 40.0 per–
cent of the families had gross incomes
under $2,500.00 per year.
Q.
How bad off is the average oc–
cupant economically in the project?
Are many unemployed?
A.
Yes. The unemployment cate for
residents of Pruitt-Igoe has always been