Why do they not build standard houses in the USA, as in the USSR

What didn't work out in the USA has become a reality in The Soviet Union. The only American quarter built according to the principles of standard housing construction was demolished due to inhumane living conditions.

In the mid-1950s, a social housing complex was built in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, one in one similar to a typical block in any city of the Soviet Union. The residential complex "Pruitt-Igoe" (Pruitt-Igoe) was then called the most ambitious residential construction project in the United States in the postwar period. In the press, the area was dubbed a high-rise suburb, the quarter received the first prize at the prestigious Architectural Forum competition.

"Pruitt-Igou" consisted of thirty-three 11-storey typical residential buildings. The area was designed to accommodate 12 thousand people. According to the photos, it seems that you are not in an American state, but somewhere in Moscow Cheryomushki... The architect, by the way, was Minoru Yamasaki, who later built, among other things, the New York towers of the World Trade Center.

Architect Minoru Yamasaki.

As a result, the US Treasury allocated $ 36 million for the construction of a typical block in St. Louis.

The opening of the complex took place in 1956, and everything looked rosy. The concept of the quarter was planned to be scaled throughout the United States. However, a year later, the quarter began to turn into a ghetto, and the residents of that "middle class" — move to other areas.

The residential complex got its name in honor of the hero of the Second World War, black pilot Oliver Pruitt and white congressman from Missouri William Igoe. According to the 50/50 principle, the block was inhabited by both white and black families. Over time, there were fewer and fewer white families in the neighborhood. And with the abolition of segregation, they disappeared altogether.

See the history of the first and last quarter of typical housing in the USA in our photo essay.

On the site of the future model quarter, the slums of the poor were huddled.

Compared to the neighboring slums, Pruitt-Igoe was a paradise for local residents — electricity, water supply, green parks… Residents called their homes "poor people's penthouses."

The project was built in 1956 and cost the state $36 million.

The block was divided between Black and white families.

At first, the quarter was prosperous.

People regularly paid for rent.

The new settlers rejoiced in their bright rooms with all amenities.

The apartments were small, but separate.

In the courtyards, residents arranged joint holidays.

However, already in the mid-1960s, the quarter turned into a ghetto.

The janitors stopped cleaning up the garbage.

No one was glazing the windows.

I had to install vandal-proof doors and lamps.

The police began to refuse to come to the area on call.

During 1969, due to the high cost of maintenance, the city authorities raised the cost of renting housing in "Pruitt-Igou" three times.

Massive non—payment of bills eventually led to a communal tragedy - in one of the houses, due to lack of repair, the sewer broke through.

In 1970, the city declared the quarter a disaster zone and began evicting residents. The authorities decided that it was easier to evict people than to repair the infrastructure.

Abandoned buildings were filled with drug addicts and homeless people.

In 1972, the demolition of the district began. Three buildings were blown up first.

The demolition of the first houses was shown on national television. The footage reflected the failure of the public housing program.

Demolition was completed in 1974.