Analysis of the Pruitt- Igoe Myth Documentary
Introduction
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth is a documentary film that was released in 2011, which comprehensively detail the history of the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex in St. Louis, Missouri. The documentary is directed by Chad Freidrichs (Eric, 2015). The firm argues that the extensive external social forces such as deteriorated economic factors of St. Louis were the cause of collapse within the Pruitt-Igoe complex. The demographic composition of the resident did not play any critical role in the violent social breakdown in the complex.
The film starts with a formers resident of the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex repatriating to the site of the building in the north area of St.Louis. The former resident realizes that since the planned demolition of the buildings, the region remains vacant. The film continues to detail the plan grounded by the city to replace 19th-century tenement housing with high-rise public housing (Caramellino, 2012). The film primarily highlights issues and explanations for the failure of the Pruitt-Igoe complex, which has developed since its demolition. The fault is imposed on the modernist theory of architecture itself or the overall concept of public housing. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The structural and Architectural Factors that shaped the lives of Pruitt-Igoe Residents
Minoru Yamasaki was the architect behind the housing project of 11-storey slabs block of Putt-Igoe complex. The architect, Minoru Yamasaki, was the pioneer who designed the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. The structures of the complex initially were met to target middle-class workers after two decades of use; the place turned into a decrepit warehouse that was inhabited by poor, African-American residents (Eric, 2015). At the time of coming up with a mixed-rise cluster building, the Public Housing Administration proposed on a cost-saving homogeneous tower of 11-storeys in hat57-acre land.
Although the complex was established for the middle class, Pruitt-Igoe later turned to an economic and racial ghetto after decades when the demolition happened the blocks became premises for violence, vandalism, chaos and squalors (Jenkins, 2012). Initially, Pruit-Igoe was placed according to the best principles of modern housing movement to offer a conducive environment after two decades due to failure to renovate and maintain the area attracted illegal activities. The films chart the degeneration with dysfunction lifts, rubbish incinerators failed to function, pipes busted during winter, the bullying by the gangs massively increased, among other social related-problems. The structural and the architectural aspect they formulated the grounds that impacted the life of Pruitt-Igoe residents through the provision of an environment that permitted all sort of social issues.
The political and financial factors
The political affiliation and financial factor had more influence in shaping the lives of Pruitt-Igoe residents. Behind maintenance politics seemed to clinch, public housing projects were regarded misgiving, as un-American and socialist. They portrayed a bad image in conducting business, in that they deprived private landlords and real estate firms of opportunities without making maintenances (Jenkins, 2012). Alongside politics, the racial segregation emerged, Pruitt-Igoe’s residents were dominated by blacks where most of them were first immigrants who settled in St. Louis from the depression-hit countryside. In the film it displays how the slums were appallingly overcrowded, nine people living in three rooms.
Apart from the impact of policy and reduced maintenance, Pruitt-Igoe portrayed events that were unpredictable in the future. In the striking part of the film, no one mention about Yamasaki’s structural and architecture factor in Pruitt-Igoe’s catastrophe instead praises the quality of the complexes. According to the film, the project is influenced by financial status and the capability to build and maintain Pruitt-Igoe (Jenkins, 2012). The flats were established with the primary aim of targeting middle-class that lacked to maintain the standards and the poor blacks after two decades dominated the area. The setting continues to be inferior, urban housing management was unable to renovate due to the low amount of revenue collected, and the area remained vulnerable due to insecurity.
Conclusion
The documentary The Pruitt-Igoe Myth by director Chad Freidrichs and wife Jaime wrote and produced a movie t portray the current state of Pruitt-Igoe, which has been wooded for decades. Also, they have used snippets of new footage and archival films to show project deformities prospects.
The construction of the Pruitt-Igoe complex was a proud symbol of St. Louis rebirth; however, after two decades, the site turns into a national symbol of failure. The failure was triggered by several factors that also significantly shaped the life of former and current residents. Ranging from structural and architectural done designed by Minoru Yamasaki to the socio-economic factors were the primary cause of calamity in Pruitt-Igoe
The film has also significantly shown how urban housing failed the project due to political, financial constraints that were associated with failure to maintain and renovate the flats, and incompetence in rent collection, and the issues of architectural-design that shaped the lives of Putt-Igoe residents.
References
Caramellino, G. (2012). Planning Note: Negotiating Modern Architecture during the New Deal. Journal of the American Planning Association, 78(4), 376-377. doi:10.1080/01944363.2012.737975
Eric, M. (2015). Review: The Pruitt-Igoe Myth by Chad Freidrichs. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 74(3), 388-389. doi:10.1525/jsah.2015.74.3.388
Jenkins, M. (2012, January 19). In St. Louis, and Urban Renewal Experiment Gone Bad. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2012/01/19/145343942/in-st-louis-an-urban-renewal-experiment-gone-bad