Thorough and well-written. There are Pruitt-Igoes all over this country. Detailing their stories and the communities they(dis)serve would make a fascinating book. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and I'd love to read a piece like this on the housing projects built on Ebbets Field Baseball Stadium. Thank you for the chance to learn more.
Going to give this the full read it deserves later today, but what I've read thus far is fascinating, Jackie. They echoed the worst mistakes of British public housing (which was mostly fantastic after the War) by knocking down neighborhoods and building high rises, and for the worst, most corrupt, most repellent reasons. Such initiatives always depend on authenticity and goodwill to be what they should be. Without it, awful.
Excellent article Jackie. I too saw the documentary some years ago, and had forgotten about the laws and stipulations of tenancy. What an atrocity to be not allowed telephones, among others.
Jackie, I just found your website today and I'm fascinated. I've already read several of your articles. I went to school at Pruitt School (at the time, renamed Pruitt Military Academy) in the late 1980's and was always fascinated by staring out the window at the rubble and remains of the housing project which at that time were still very clearly visible. When I got older, I did a lot of the same research that you likely did and came to many of the same conclusions. And while I certainly agree that this is arguably a terrific summary, you either left out or disregarded another important element which only further serves to prove just how awful our government was at that time. That element is that the US Army actually mounted automated sprayers on the rooftops of these buildings which sprayed zinc cadmium sulfide on the residents of this community (including the school). Basically showered them in the stuff for years. This wasn't limited to Pruitt-Igoe, either. This was a large-scale operation, so much so, in fact, that it was actually named "Operation Large Area Coverage" with the Army spraying the country's own citizens with this garbage which effects the kidneys, bones, and respiratory tract, resulting in kidney impairment, osteoporosis, and chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract. The EPA has also recently labeled ZCS a carcinogen. Beyond that, it has been suggested (though not proven) that since this was a cold war-era experiment, certain "other chemicals" may have been mixed with radioactive particulates. The bulk of this has been proven through declassification of documents related to the experiment. So essentially, the United States government was using the poorest of the poor as human guinea pigs in their cold war science projects. With all that said, however, your article and the others which I have read really do shed light on a lot of our history and I'm grateful to have found your site!
Thorough and well-written. There are Pruitt-Igoes all over this country. Detailing their stories and the communities they(dis)serve would make a fascinating book. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and I'd love to read a piece like this on the housing projects built on Ebbets Field Baseball Stadium. Thank you for the chance to learn more.
Fascinating read, thank you
Amazing work on this. I can appreciate how much time and effort you put into this. Worth another read for sure.
This is very interesting Jackie.I learned something new today.Thanks for sharing.
Going to give this the full read it deserves later today, but what I've read thus far is fascinating, Jackie. They echoed the worst mistakes of British public housing (which was mostly fantastic after the War) by knocking down neighborhoods and building high rises, and for the worst, most corrupt, most repellent reasons. Such initiatives always depend on authenticity and goodwill to be what they should be. Without it, awful.
Excellent article Jackie. I too saw the documentary some years ago, and had forgotten about the laws and stipulations of tenancy. What an atrocity to be not allowed telephones, among others.
Jackie, I just found your website today and I'm fascinated. I've already read several of your articles. I went to school at Pruitt School (at the time, renamed Pruitt Military Academy) in the late 1980's and was always fascinated by staring out the window at the rubble and remains of the housing project which at that time were still very clearly visible. When I got older, I did a lot of the same research that you likely did and came to many of the same conclusions. And while I certainly agree that this is arguably a terrific summary, you either left out or disregarded another important element which only further serves to prove just how awful our government was at that time. That element is that the US Army actually mounted automated sprayers on the rooftops of these buildings which sprayed zinc cadmium sulfide on the residents of this community (including the school). Basically showered them in the stuff for years. This wasn't limited to Pruitt-Igoe, either. This was a large-scale operation, so much so, in fact, that it was actually named "Operation Large Area Coverage" with the Army spraying the country's own citizens with this garbage which effects the kidneys, bones, and respiratory tract, resulting in kidney impairment, osteoporosis, and chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract. The EPA has also recently labeled ZCS a carcinogen. Beyond that, it has been suggested (though not proven) that since this was a cold war-era experiment, certain "other chemicals" may have been mixed with radioactive particulates. The bulk of this has been proven through declassification of documents related to the experiment. So essentially, the United States government was using the poorest of the poor as human guinea pigs in their cold war science projects. With all that said, however, your article and the others which I have read really do shed light on a lot of our history and I'm grateful to have found your site!