Michael Kimmelman, after visiting the Penn South housing cooperative in Manhattan and reflecting on the new film "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth", questions the role that design has in determining success or failure for tower in the park housing type.
A companion piece in some ways to the story we linked to earlier this week, Kimmelman considers the much maligned housing type that held such promise for providing a high quality-of-life for its residents when built en-masse in the 1950s and 1960s. Not all developments designed following the same Corbusian philosophy as Pruitt-Igoe shared its, now symbolic, fate. And Penn South is just one of Pruitt-Igoe's architectural cousins that thrived.
"Alienating, penitential breeding grounds for vandalism and violence: that became the tower in the park's epitaph. But Penn South, with its stolid redbrick, concrete-slab housing stock, is clearly a safe, successful place. In this case the architecture works. In St. Louis, where the architectural scheme was the same, what killed Pruitt-Igoe was not its bricks and mortar."
FULL STORY: Towers of Dreams: One Ended in Nightmare
More Cities and Counties Arming Renters Against Source of Income Discrimination
St. Louis County is considering fair housing legislation that would prevent source of income discrimination, as many cities in the region have already done, and many more are also considering.
How Federal Housing Programs Built Segregation in St. Louis
St. Louis Public Radio details the work of a local researcher who says the segregation of today's St. Louis is the result of deliberate, decades-long federal housing policy.
The Massive Redevelopment Plans for North St. Louis Failed—What Next?
Detroit has Dan Gilbert, and for a few years, it looked like St. Louis had Paul McKee. Now that McKee's massive plans for the redevelopment of North St. Louis have failed expectations, what has been lost and what, potentially, can still be gained?
Eugene Ends Parking Minimums
In a move that complies with a state law aimed at reducing transportation emissions, Eugene amended its parking rules to eliminate minimum requirements and set maximum parking lot sizes.
How Paris, Texas Became a ‘Unicorn’ for Rural Transit
A robust coalition of advocates in the town of 25,000 brought together the funding and resources to launch a popular bus service that some residents see as a mobility lifeline—and a social club.
San Diegans at Odds Over ‘Granny Towers’
A provision in the city’s ADU ordinance allows developers to build an essentially unlimited number of units on single-family lots.
San Francisco Approves Zoning Reforms to Avoid ‘Builder’s Remedy’
The county board of supervisors voted to approve zoning changes that bring it closer to compliance with state housing mandates.
Where Are Millennials Moving to?
As the housing crisis rages on, four U.S. states are seeing high levels of new migration from young and middle-aged workers.
California Cities Cite Historic Preservation to Block Development
Are some cities using historic designations disingenuously?
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Park City Municipal Corporation
National Capital Planning Commission
City of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
