Beyond Ghetto Walls? An Inquiry Into the Role of Design in the Past Failure and Current Revitalization of America's Severely Distressed Public Housing Projects

Date of Award

2003

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Brain, David

Keywords

Public Housing, Urban Planning, Social Capital

Area of Concentration

Urban Studies

Abstract

This thesis began out of a concern for the fast growing 'ecologies of inequality' symptomatic of American urbanism, and how architectural design and planning practices over the past fifty years have both contributed to and reinforced these patterns. Largely segregated, and socially, economically, and politically isolated, public housing projects across the nation are salient symbols of this process and the considerable hardships it bestows upon the lower classes. In this thesis I draw from a broad range of secondary sources such as history, ethnography, sociological theory, and case studies to examine the role of architectural and urban design in the public housing program in America dating from the Housing Act of 1949 to -the authorization of the HOPE VI program in 1993. Specifically, the ways in which design contributed to, and reflected, the decline of what are now deemed 'severely distressed' public housing projects. Recognizing that design is only part of the problem, in chapter 2 1 look into what should realistically be expected from design as an intervention tool. Therein I focus on the issue of social capital, or instrumental social relations, and demonstrate that, at its best, the principles of New Urbanist design and the resident engagement it promotes may be important factors for creating increased levels of social capital, and also, higher self-esteem for residents, and positive working relationships with outside institutions. In the last chapter I issue a final evaluation of the HOPE VI program and how it uses New Urbanist design as a means to revitalizing public housing projects across the nation. While recognizing the program's considerable weaknesses, I argue that the design principles and other mechanisms used by HOPE VI represent a new social role for public housing and an important step in the right direction for the general rethinking of how to better confront the pressing problems issuing from the 'ecologies of inequality'.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS