 Still from Metropolis (1927) Paris Le Corbusier's Hi-Rise Plan St. Louis televised demolition of Prutti-Igoe Even respected architects and urban planners sometimes get things very wrong. Robert Moses of New York City is a classical example, but recall tooLe Corbusier’s Paris Plan Voisin, a proposed redevelopment project for in 1925 hoping to replace a major Right Bank (of the Seine) area in central Paris. Fortunately, it never happened, but it did inspire others, including MinoruYamasak, architect of NYC’s Twin Towers. His equally famous 1954 St. Louis Missouri housing development, known as the Pruitt–Igoe housing project, was demolished soon after, in 1972–1976.  Pruit-Ogie Housing Development Project, St. Louis Missouri, 1954 (Demolished 1972-1976) Recall too that Cambridge’s own 8 story Riverview Apartments, has recently required its largely senior condo owners to move out unexpectedly, leaving their larger furniture in place, due to engineering concerns around faulty construction and cement. At present it is not clear that the needed repairs can be made, possibly it will be replaced, most likely with a far taller (18 story) luxury condo building. Riverview (Cambridge MA): CRA's Urban Renewal DifficultiesThis was one of the CRA's first Urban Renewal Projects, which they took over in 1957. There is a detailed overview of this Cambridge Redevelopment Authority project and earlier plans for it HERE  Riverview Redevelopment Project Riverview area removal project (CRA) 18 story plans (1955-1965) This larger Riverview West Cambridge area, that is part of the Marsh-Half Crown Neighborhood Conservation District, is made up of many one time worker’s cottages, most of which have been converted to multi-million dollar single family homes, including many down-conversions from duplexes to single family homes, their two front doors attesting to their earlier history. This is a key symbol of the kinds of gentrification that CRA and Cambridge itself is too often associated with. In 2024, it was discovered that the contractors for this CRA project had used substandard concrete along with improperly reinforced with steel rebar. The residents of the 66 condos and building maintenance crews were unaware of the structural problems for nearly 60 years since the 1972 conversion. Read more HERE. The residents of this 8 story Riverview condo building who were forced out (many in their 80s and 90s), had to leave their larger furniture in place, due to engineering concerns around faulty construction and cement.  This larger Riverview West Cambridge area, that is part of the Marsh-Half Crown Neighborhood Conservation District, is made up of many one time worker’s cottages, most of which have been converted to multi-million dollar single family homes, including many down-conversions from duplexes to single family homes, their two front doors attesting to their earlier history. This is a key symbol of the kinds of gentrification that CRA and Cambridge itself is too often associated with. The Cambridge Redevelopment Authority is still an important force in this city. The Cambridge Housing Authority is also important and has also been in the news because much needed repairs are not being completed, and City Council has been called on to undertake the multi-million dollar repairs instead. Read more HERE 2024 BOSTON AREA HOUSING REPORT CARD The important 2024 Greater Boston Housing Report Card notes that "...over the past nine years, the vast majority (86 percent) of new housing built in these 15 cities has come from just the top six producers—Boston, Revere, Quincy, Cambridge, Everett, and Somerville." This is clearly of concern particularly for small cities like Cambridge with little available space. The Report highlights Boston. They note that "...while the MBTA Communities law does not apply to the Boston, the City is developing its own local policy that shares some commonalities. The Squares + Streets Initiative aims to rezone areas near major transit hubs to allow for development of multifamily housing, small businesses, public space, and arts and culture. A simplified zoning code was codified into city law April 17, 2024, and the City has outlined 18 areas in which it hopes to apply the new code. While this approach appears helpful for spurring more housing development in these transit-rich neighborhoods, there’s concern that it doesn’t go far enough. These 18 areas are generally larger chunks of space than those found in MBTA Communities, suggesting more physical space for the policy to have impact, but unlike MBTA Communities, there is no minimal requirement to what allowances these districts should have, which can leave opportunity for the new change to be less effective." None-the-less the designated "...Squares + Streets could generate about 10,000 new housing units for Boston" (and the area)." The Report places special emphasis on the need to make use of municipal land. This is something that many of us feel strongly that Cambridge should prioritize first as well. THE CHINESE EXAMPLE: BOOM & BUSTThe Chinese example provides another angle on the difficult problems with government housing investments as China has seen recently with its recent housing "bubble" and "bust," with developers and communities alike suffering significantly with this crisis.  The September 2024 issue of The Diplomat points to some of the issues around recent housing defaults and the serious impacts resulting from this in their article "Chinese Property Market: Explaining the Boom and Bust." Any housing policy must be studied from various angles before anything is advanced much less enacted as new zoning policy. HOUSING URBAN REDEVELOPMENT IN FILM  Here are a few recommended ones to watch this weekend (or any other) 1.Hands Over the City: Rod Steiger and the blistering film about land speculation and a vile land developer, as well as citizen activists up against a powerful city council by Francesco Rosi titled Hands Over the City, which won the Golden Lion Award in the 1963 Venice Film Festival (in Italian with English captions). Set in Naples. Cambridge documentary Film Maker Federico Muchnik selection. See it on Criterion. Probably one can live stream HERE 2.Citizen Jane. The epic battle between Jane Jacobs versus Robert Moses. This 2016 Sundance competitor is titled: Citizen Jane: Battle for the City is available on Youtube: HERE 3. Real Estate Expert Answers US Housing Crisis Questions Wired (Kate Nelischer 2024) 4. How Britain (almost) Solved its Housing Crisis (Tom Nicholas 2024) HERE 5. Push: Documentary on Housing Crisis in Modern Cities (Fredrik Gertten 2019) Official Trailer Review in The Guardian 6. Broken City: Land Speculation, Inequality and Urban Crisis: a Conversation with Patrick Condon and Andrew Berman (Village Preservation July 2024). 7. Pause the Plan (Vancouver Canada - Rally at City Hall, Nov. 23, 2024). 8.Metropolis: And not to be forgotten, is this frightening Fritz Lang 1927 silent film, about a grim futuristic city of Metropolis, pitting wealthy greedy industrialists against workers barely able to survive. HERE is the trailer.  note: this blog was edited to remove the section on Trickle-Down and Supply Demand to a separate blog post on that subject.
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