One of the nastier bits about the construction of America's old public housing stock was that when they built it in those neighborhoods which were considered slums, replacing a lot of small individual properties with big state-owned properties. Huddled masses yearning to breath free? Sure.
But in this transition, they mangled a lot of the informal economy -- good old-fashioned under-the-table businesses operating out of privately-rented homes, gleefully ignoring all regulations it feels like, and the source of livelihood for many urban poor. Obviously, this was no boon to the future of the community.
Absolutely. When I worked at Stateway Gardens in the 2000s, people would try to set up little businesses in the grassy spaces and were invariably shut down quickly by the police even while drugs were being sold openly 50 yards away.
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One of the nastier bits about the construction of America's old public housing stock was that when they built it in those neighborhoods which were considered slums, replacing a lot of small individual properties with big state-owned properties. Huddled masses yearning to breath free? Sure.
But in this transition, they mangled a lot of the informal economy -- good old-fashioned under-the-table businesses operating out of privately-rented homes, gleefully ignoring all regulations it feels like, and the source of livelihood for many urban poor. Obviously, this was no boon to the future of the community.
Absolutely. When I worked at Stateway Gardens in the 2000s, people would try to set up little businesses in the grassy spaces and were invariably shut down quickly by the police even while drugs were being sold openly 50 yards away.