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Old 12-27-2010, 08:42 PM
 
98 posts, read 145,592 times
Reputation: 83

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I'm sort of fascinated with the building and demolishing of these two public housing projects. They were so large and in some ways intimidating, so they remind me of popular cities that rose quickly and slowly slid back into smaller, more troubled versions of themselves. I was wondering if anyone here in the forum has read any good books concerning either site?

Also, I want to make sure I got the story right. It seems that both were built to give some of the less fortunate "opportunity" but really it concentrated all the problems of poor urban communities into really small areas. Then, they were ignored, lots of tragedy, and now they're large swaths of demolished land? What's going on with the land now? I know Cabrini is sort of in a very...prime location, but I'm not sure about the former site of the Robert Taylor Homes.

Really ANY info, experiences, or comments would be welcomed
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Old 12-27-2010, 08:54 PM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,445,845 times
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Default Try the UIC libraries...

The folks that work as lib rains at UIC have great deal of experience helping the Urban Planning grad students with material about CHA. I suspect you need a student I'd as the budget cutbacks mean that theyndomnot let just anybody use the facility anymore, but ifnyou are serious about it register for a class tom get acces ...
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Old 12-28-2010, 09:36 AM
 
211 posts, read 395,202 times
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A black woman's lawsuit against the City of Chicago (Chicago Housing Authority), which she won in Federal Court, is the reason, the "projects" have been demolished. The lawsuit has a name: "The Gautreaux Ruling". Here is a link, which I believe is accurate history: Segregation City | Feature | Chicago Reader


Quote:
Originally Posted by 7Millionaire7 View Post
Also, I want to make sure I got the story right.
Really ANY info, experiences, or comments would be welcomed

Last edited by doublenickels; 12-28-2010 at 09:51 AM..
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Old 12-29-2010, 01:21 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
77 posts, read 171,929 times
Reputation: 34
Quote:
Originally Posted by 7Millionaire7 View Post
I'm sort of fascinated with the building and demolishing of these two public housing projects. They were so large and in some ways intimidating, so they remind me of popular cities that rose quickly and slowly slid back into smaller, more troubled versions of themselves. I was wondering if anyone here in the forum has read any good books concerning either site?

Also, I want to make sure I got the story right. It seems that both were built to give some of the less fortunate "opportunity" but really it concentrated all the problems of poor urban communities into really small areas. Then, they were ignored, lots of tragedy, and now they're large swaths of demolished land? What's going on with the land now? I know Cabrini is sort of in a very...prime location, but I'm not sure about the former site of the Robert Taylor Homes.

Really ANY info, experiences, or comments would be welcomed
Here are my recommendations for books about Chicago Public Housing:

There Are No Children Here- Follows kids that grew up in the Henry Horner homes. Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America

Gang Leader for a Day- A sociologist from the University of Chicago befriends a gang leader and the residents of the Robert Taylor Homes. Amazon.com: Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets (9780143114932): Sudhir Venkatesh: Books

I found both of these books at the library.
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Old 12-29-2010, 01:25 PM
 
Location: Wicker Park/East Village area
2,474 posts, read 4,172,099 times
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There is a good film on the Cabrini Green project.... it's called "Candyman" and I believe is pretty historically accurate.
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Old 12-29-2010, 01:36 PM
 
Location: Tower Grove East, St. Louis, MO
12,063 posts, read 31,646,457 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jwaiter View Post
There is a good film on the Cabrini Green project.... it's called "Candyman" and I believe is pretty historically accurate.
It was Cabrini Green and poverty in general that scared the heck out of me when I watched that movie as a kid, not, you know, this part:

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Old 12-29-2010, 01:59 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
77 posts, read 171,929 times
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Ahhhhhh, Candyman scarred me for life in 5th grade. SO SCARY.
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Old 12-30-2010, 07:25 AM
 
Location: Nort Seid
5,288 posts, read 8,891,775 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by faintlyamused View Post
Here are my recommendations for books about Chicago Public Housing:

There Are No Children Here- Follows kids that grew up in the Henry Horner homes. Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America

Gang Leader for a Day- A sociologist from the University of Chicago befriends a gang leader and the residents of the Robert Taylor Homes. Amazon.com: Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets (9780143114932): Sudhir Venkatesh: Books

I found both of these books at the library.
Get American Pharoah about Daley senior. Other interesting developments are that it was apparently the Feds that pushed the high-rise, high-density housing, not Daley (this came out with some FOIA documents a few years back, story got barely a mention).
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Old 12-30-2010, 11:57 AM
 
98 posts, read 145,592 times
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THanks a bunch.

Umm, I think I watched Candyman about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I'm still scared by that movie. And Freddy. haha.
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Old 01-03-2011, 01:08 AM
 
14 posts, read 26,309 times
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There weren't just two housing sites demolished. THEY ALL WERE! Cabrini, Robert Taylor, Ida B Wells, Stateway Gardens, ABLA, etc. Each and every unit of old style public housing will either have been demolished and is slated to be replaced with mixed-income apartments and homes or have been rehabbed.

Amazon.com: Blueprint for Disaster: The Unraveling of Chicago Public Housing (Historical Studies of Urban America) (9780226360850): D. Bradford Hunt: Books

Amazon.com: Making the Second Ghetto: Race and Housing in Chicago 1940-1960 (Historical Studies of Urban America) (9780226342443): Arnold R. Hirsch: Books

Last edited by LikeTheBank; 01-03-2011 at 01:16 AM..
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