Pruitt Igoe Now
Re-Grow Pruitt-Igoe
DANIEL LIGGETT
3/4/2012
From the footprints of Pruitt-Igoe’s destruction, something new grows. Food. One in seven St. Louis families is food insecure, and the number is likely higher in Pruitt-Igoe’s context. RE-GROW PRUITT-IGOE seeks to create an urban agriculture development which provides jobs, food, and revitalizes the community of St. Louis. Food routes are created to distribute food to local farmer markets, community centers, and retailers. The site becomes a catalyst for future development.
The approach of this project considers the psychological and physical issues with the current day site. What makes a new proposal any different from the original Puritt-Igoe? A new proposal should improve the lives of people beyond the site boundary, become a catalyst for future development, and become a place people are proud to call their own. A quality of life experienced by Pruitt-Igoe’s former residence cannot be repeated.
Most urban design proposals will not address these imperative issues in the same way urban food development does. Furthermore, how can we be certain future proposals will not repeat the failure of Pruitt-Igoe?
I first learned Pruitt-Igoe’s history in academia research. I was instantly intrigued with how Puritt-Igoe could be regarded as a success but fail so quickly. The physical destruction of the site had an obvious end, but psychological issues continue to impact the site. Visitors, locals, and past residents drive by the site and know what once existed there. This negative nostalgic feeling will be unfairly placed on any new proposal.
It is the goal of RE-GROW PRUITT-IGOE to remove this connotation to restore pride to the site and neighborhood beyond. Furthermore, this proposal seeks to lower food costs and provide locals cheaper, locally grown food. Pruitt-Igoe can become a site remembered for what grew there, not what fell.
Re-Grow Pruitt-Igoe
DANIEL LIGGETT
3/4/2012
From the footprints of Pruitt-Igoe’s destruction, something new grows. Food. One in seven St. Louis families is food insecure, and the number is likely higher in Pruitt-Igoe’s context. RE-GROW PRUITT-IGOE seeks to create an urban agriculture development which provides jobs, food, and revitalizes the community of St. Louis. Food routes are created to distribute food to local farmer markets, community centers, and retailers. The site becomes a catalyst for future development.
The approach of this project considers the psychological and physical issues with the current day site. What makes a new proposal any different from the original Puritt-Igoe? A new proposal should improve the lives of people beyond the site boundary, become a catalyst for future development, and become a place people are proud to call their own. A quality of life experienced by Pruitt-Igoe’s former residence cannot be repeated.
Most urban design proposals will not address these imperative issues in the same way urban food development does. Furthermore, how can we be certain future proposals will not repeat the failure of Pruitt-Igoe?
I first learned Pruitt-Igoe’s history in academia research. I was instantly intrigued with how Puritt-Igoe could be regarded as a success but fail so quickly. The physical destruction of the site had an obvious end, but psychological issues continue to impact the site. Visitors, locals, and past residents drive by the site and know what once existed there. This negative nostalgic feeling will be unfairly placed on any new proposal.
It is the goal of RE-GROW PRUITT-IGOE to remove this connotation to restore pride to the site and neighborhood beyond. Furthermore, this proposal seeks to lower food costs and provide locals cheaper, locally grown food. Pruitt-Igoe can become a site remembered for what grew there, not what fell.