At the edge of a dream : the mismanagement of Pruitt-Igoe, 1950-1980

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Scholars often study the Pruitt-Igoe housing project for its failure and concentrate almost solely on the project's demise. This work expands the scope of study surrounding Pruitt-Igoe and extends focus from the project's development to its demolition. The public housing officials who controlled Pruitt-Igoe claimed ignorance of the problems developing in the facility and only cared once the project was beyond repair. This work argues that public housing officials attempted to change the people living in the project instead of taking tenants' concerns into consideration when trying to alter Pruitt-Igoe. Housing officials were aware of issues in Pruitt-Igoe as early as 1959-1960, but neglected to address the problems that tenants and appointed committees identified. Housing officials attempted to change the behavior of people living in the high-rise instead of cooperating with the tenants. Residents formed organizations to better the image of Pruitt-Igoe, though they did not have the resources to promote extensive change.Abstract from public.pdf