Tell me about living/working in Pruitt-Igoe, Cabrini-Green or any large public housing development..

In My Humble Opinion
1

Just watched a documentary about the failure of Pruitt-Igoe and curious if any Straight Dopers grew up there or in any other large public housing developments during the 60s-80s…

2

I saw a documentary about a rash of murders in Cabrini Green; killed with a hook. Shocking really.

3

I lived in a housing project (Holly Park) in Seattle from 1967-1970. It was large, but it wasn’t a high-rise. It was one and two-story units, lots of green space. More congested than an ordinary neighborhood but not as congested as a high-rise. Holly Park started as military housing in the 40’s. The units weren’t bad – not fancy (no doors on kitchen cabinets) but the rooms were a decent size.

The population was nice mix of ages and ethnicities. Lots of college students, VISTA workers, senior citizens, a few singles but mostly families, some working, some on AFDC. There was a community center (Neighborhood House), day care (Seattle Day Nursery), a branch of Seattle Public Library, a newspaper (The Grapevine), and a community council. When Johnson’s War on Poverty started pouring in some funds, we got a free clinic, a Child Advocate program, another child care center, HeadStart, a free breakfast program, and a clothes closet – all accomplished by volunteers from the community.

Seattle Housing Authority built a high-rise (Greenwood) near Holly Park in the 70’s, but it failed miserably and most of it was torn down within a short time, and converted to senior housing.

4

I saw the same doc.