Can America Learn From France’s Award-Winning Public Housing Architects?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Anyone who is familiar with public housing in the US in the last half century knows that large buildings with dark interior spaces (including elevators) have been foci of gang activity, crime, as well as being maintenance nightmares.

Public housing authorities with suburban-style designs had the exact same issues. Places like LA, Atlanta, Houston, had the same issues. No elevators, no interior hallways, but same issues. Again, architecture doesn't drive pathology. This was the huge mistake we made in the postwar era, then we doubled-down by demolishing most of this housing.

Public housing only works in areas where the housing market is tight, where there is limited social stigma to living around poor people, and where public housing is well-funded. It works in Paris and NYC for reasons other than architecture.

[Minato Ku]

People give too much credit to architecture, buildings aren't magic tools and don't solve all the issues.
The same building can work or fail depending of many other factors..

I believe that street layout can increase the ghetto effect. If an area isn't connected and work as an isolated island, a high poverty can lead to a greater segregation effect than in the middle of everything. That's where a lot of housing projects have fail.

The other issue is obviously property maintenance costs.
High-rises can lead to greater need of fundings (more elevators...). If inhabitants are too poor to pay for it or if the housing authority is under funded, this also leads to a greater deterioration of buildings.

But having low-rise buildings or single family houses instead don't solve anything. The majority of ghetto and "gandland" areas in the US aren't housing projects.

Originally Posted by Nantais

Thanks for your post Minato Ku, I was about to answer at Pedestrian's gross generalizations about the banlieue and public housing, but you did it perfectly.

Unfortunately, it's not with this kind of video made by France 24 which should give nuance that we could lessen the gross generalizations. I was especially mad against France 24.
It reminded me the motto of Weazel News in GTA V "confirming your prejudices".

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Minato Ku

I don't know if it is really transforming area especially for long housing block but I think it can work for individual tower.
Results have been pretty impressive for Bois le Pretre housing tower in Paris.

https://www.dezeen.com/2013/04/16/to...ilippe-vassal/

This was a good work of a renovation 10 years ago, but to my knowledge, only few buildings of that kind would benefit from such a radical treatment like this.
It costed over €100k per unit. Not sure what they call "bailleurs sociaux" (Google's English: social housing landlords) can afford this type of renovations very often.
I wish they could.

Also, the bulk of the original building was ok, so they could make something interesting of it without any significant structural change. Large bar buildings surrounded by parking might be much harder to handle, even though architects can achieve miracles. But again, they need the money to make it.

A lot of concrete bars were demolished over the past 20 years anyway. People say some were downright unsanitary and unsafe. It's not worth trying any renovation in those cases.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Minato Ku

Unfortunately, it's not with this kind of video made by France 24 which should give nuance that we could lessen the gross generalizations. I was especially mad against France 24.
It reminded me the motto of Weazel News in GTA V "confirming your prejudices".

They're an international news network. Partly funded at French taxpayer expense, granted.
But their speech is not particularly meant to please any French audience. They wouldn't be credible if they were into some kind of pro-French propaganda.

Who cares anyway? I don't watch it.