Historic Urban Planning Failures

Planners and stakeholders for Bristol's urban renewal project are struggling to usher in a planning and financing finalization scheme for Depot Square. According to the The Institute for Truth in Accounting, Connecticut “may be more likely than others to be taking on higher risk to address their debt problems.” With Depot Square'a financing reliant on public debt for proprietary smartgrowth infrastructure (and possibly much more) and many homeowners struggling, we must remember what happens to a community when housing construction forges far ahead of economic activity.






Pruitt Igoe was praised as "the best apartment of the year" by the "Architectural Forum", but quality of life there quickly fell into decay. The urban renewal of high density housing combined with shopping space and a beautification of the parks was supposed to revitalize the city and boost tax revenues. The inner ring of blighted slums were demolished and the land was sold to private developers at reduced prices to foster redevelopment, but the revitalization never came. What Pruitt-Igoe did have was lots of national exposure through it's massive public relations campaign, but it nonetheless became crime ridden, fell into disrepair and was demolished in twelve short years.

The Gratiot Area Urban Renewal project was one of the most aggressive planning projects ever embarked upon, seemed to be the success driving the local economy. The high density public housing project was an attempt to replace 14 acres of aging and blighted projects with working class housing. Developed in phases, it's expansion continued for nearly twenty years, reaching a residency of over 8,000. Criminal activity ensued, and the towers were officially closed in 2008.







Cabrini-Green's integration of the area's poorest with the wealthiest in combination with government mandated racial integration brought one of Chicago's wealthiest urban centers to fame as the nation's largest gang infested neighborhoods. The site is the subject of numerous lawsuits involving the displacement of public housing tenants and the removal of historical structures as the city struggles to recover from decades of decay. The more than 15,000 poor mostly remain in the area.

Urban planning failures are most commonly caused by an unwillingness on the part of the players to take current economic conditions into consideration or a failure to address market signals indicative of economic activity or a lack thereof. There are an astonishing number of examples of how Transit Oriented Development including progressive downtown redevelopment "investments" have repeatedly pushed the burdens of debt onto the taxpayer and left them holding the bag. Without any guarantee of success and the risks so high, it would seem Bristol's ship is precariously poised toward tempestuous seas. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the sirens calling.