PowerStructuresand the productionof socialhousing

in differing cultural contexts

LouisSauer
Professor

recommendatr'on to involveinhabitantsir the high densityhousing(whetherin 1owor high rise

propertymanagementprocess, insistingthe buildings)resultsin trampledground.Visitorsand
inhabitantshad no skillsto takepart in such passerb s y p e r c e i v leh e r e s ul ti n gr m a g ea sa p - a ce
an "important and complexendeavour". In n o o n ec a r e 5a b o u Ll.h i s ; s r e a l l ya d i scr e p a n cy
Newark,NewJersey, the federalgovernment's betweenplanningdesignand how people1ive.
fundingguidelines precludedconsideratjonof
localcommunityneeds.And,in all caseswhere Because urban openspaceis extremelyexpensive
the bureaucraticmechanisms werestrongly n o r m a ld e v e l o p m e nmt i n i r r i se sp u b l i co p e n
and the projeclswere1arge,
institutionalised the spaceto maxjmiseprivateland ownership.
emphasiswason maintainingmechanisms for Forexamplethe pattern of developmenton
aestheticcontrol. Melbourne's 5t. KildaRoadestablishesdrstinct
PldnVoisin,Paris,LeCorbusiet(7929)
spatialboundariesbetweenprivatedevelopment
In my urbandesignand architectural experiences Anot l^er t h e r ew a so p e ns p a c ep o l i c i e st h a t publicparks,boulevard,and streets.Thjscontrasts
asadvisor, or designerof socialhousing
evaluator, s etbuild i n g si n p a r kl i k es e l i n g sf o r 'd e a l i s e d the patternof socialhousingat AthertonCardens
in the USA,Lebanon,Egypt,Portugal,Russja and 'relaxedactrvities';but in realitytheseopen (Fitzroy)
whereno djstrnction js madebetween
Peru,productjonoutcomesweresimilar,despitethe spacesappearasa no-man's-land. Thepolicy the privacyof dwellingsand pub11cparks.
political
ard/orculturalcontexts to strengthen mandatedno buildingshouldhaveenclosed
the valuesofthe prevailingpowerstructuresrather gr ound- l e v e
r el s r d e n t i a
f ul n c t i o n sl o p r e v e In Decisionsaboutneighbourhood selection,the
than respondto the lifestyleofthe inhabitants. inhabitantshavinganyopenspacefor their residentpopulatiorand property"naragemenT
althoughmorethan threedecades
lnterestingly, own us e.b a s e do r a p h i l o s o p htyh a l l h e l a n d arebeyondarchitecture'sdiscipline,yet they
hrrro pl: ncci fn mp lifi-le <ppm< i n h:rre rh: nncd s houldbe l o n gt o a l r p e o p l e( ) 1 al e C o r b u s i earn d profoundlyaffectsocialhousirgoutcomes.
Communism). Sinceresidents do not identifysuch
Bypower structuresI mean the instjtutjonal o pen spa c ea st h e i ro w n ,r h e yd o n o t m a 'nL ai n Neighbourhood that affectjts
characteristics
processeswith jn the frameworkthat decision it and it is ofter ursa{e.lt becomesa symbolof suitabilityfor absorb'rgvarioussocialgroups
makersuseLob r;rg soc'all' ous ' ngint o r ealit y . governmental
authorityand control. include:the existing densityand socio-economic
Thisdefinjtion impliesthat productionprocesses demographicinhabitantpopulation;the type and
arewell definedaccordingto hierarchrcal open spaces werestructu'edby vehicularand , ]i ti easn d p u b l 'c
l o c a L i oonf v a r i o u s e r v i c e [saci
rulesandrha t th eya rean ir t eg' a' par I o' an pedestrianpaths.No provisionwas madefor transit access; and the levelofthe neighbourhood'
adminjstrativeorganisation.Thus,a power the interactiveactivitiesthat occurbetweenthe propertymaintenance. Otherfactorsarethe
qln rrlIrrcrcn'Fqe ntc
th e v: luesand alt it udeSof insideand outsideofbuildings(asin the yardsof neighbourhood's culturalidentity,the fearsabout
the decisionmakers. privatehousing). absorbingresidentswith differentculturesand
l a r g u a g e sd,e c l i r i n gp 'o p e r l yva l u e s.
a n dl h e
Theprojectsvariedin sizeand locationwith Not onlydo the inhabitantslackchoiceof the possible displacement of long term residents who
djfferentdensitiesof occupation,ranged neighbourhood for thejr dwe11ing,
theycannot may resentthe intrusionof newcomers.
from low-to high-riseconstruction, and had chooseits form.Certainbuildingformsand styles
unchangedor up-datedprograms.Bureaucratic stigmatises the inhabitantsasdeprivedand poor. Theselection of socialhousingresidents js
organisaI ionsalsovaried.Theyinciudedh ighly lhe highly.eoetitive buildingand landscape p e r h a p so n eo f L h em o s tc r i ti r a lm a n a g e r n e n t
institutionalisedsystemsfor purelypublic sector designscreatea negativeconnotatjon. In contrast, decisions. Problems occurwhen peoplewith
producionl (Ru ss'a.
Po rtugal,Lebanon) t ot
, ally pr iv aLe
ho u s i n gd o e sn o t c o m p r o m i soeu r p o o rh i s t o r i e sa r es e l e c t e de..g d
. 'u g sa n dcr i m e
rew ande'n erg ingsyste'r s( Lgy pt )ar
, d a m ix t ur e senseof socialstatus,evenwhen it has uniform - thosereputablyresponsiblefor the infamous
ofpublicand privatesectors(USA& Peru). appear a n c e( e 5 . 9t.o w n h o u s e sWe ) . s e l e cot u r Pruitt-lgoefiasco(St.Louis,USA).Alsorelevant
housingaccording to the dwelling'scost,type, a'e the household characteristics. especial ly,the
A lLhoughha veno I en ga gedpr of es s ionally in inr er nalla y o u la n d a e s t h e l i c a
s ,n dt h e s r y l ea n d overallnumberof childrenlandtheir accustomed
Australiansocialhousingproduction,I observe residentsof the neighbourhood.lt is unusualfor siteand dwellingtypologies. Families coming
similarsocialand physicalcharacteristics. lt is us to dislikeour choices. from djferent culturalnormsand/o'spatially
t oo earlylo e va lua teif re c entpolic ieses
. pec ially separated single-storey dwellingsmayhavegreat
jn Victoriato more fu11yincJudethe private It would be usefulfor us to understandthe specific difficultyadjustingto denserhousingforms.
developmentsectorwill modify my observations. of neighbourhoodcharacter,
characterjstics Similarly,peoplefrom non-English speaking
architectureand landscapethat project1owsocial backgroundsare often isolated,which increases
A therre( o'nmonacrosstheseprojectsis rhe statusupon the residentsof socjalhousing. their socialstressand difficultyin solvingday-to-
empowermentan jndividualor institution day problems.
that ledto selfimportanceandthe exclusion Forinstance,
resource limitationsproduce
of the resjdentcommunityfrom the decision- 1owbudgetsfor openspace
exceedingly Inhabjtantsexperience their livesthrougha
makingprocess.n Dallas, Texas, the Housing majntenance and management. Thisfactol numberof smalldecisions and individualand
A ut horiLysd irerlo r re ject ed
it s adv is or nanel
y s coupledwith a high percentageof childrenin sharedactivitiesin their daily1ife.Weresocial

30
 €9*

tr!

aanter bur y 6ar dens ,N ew H av en,aannec ttc ut,Lauts aeneseearossroads,Rachester, llew Yark,LauisSauer(1969)
Pruitt )qoeSl.LawsMissaurl.Minaru Yamdtaki(7952 56)
Sauer( 1967)T ow nhous eentr i esar e s pec i alpl ac esat the A rcurtyard spati.ilstructureprovidesfar intensegtaund
MinoruYamasaki(7952 56)
Pruitt lgae St.Louis/t/1issouri, activity with cammunityfacilties, two, three andfaur bed
gr ound level
ThePtuitt lgaepraje(t sa|| the riseaJ(rime, gang vialence low risehigh'densityunilt and a ttigh risebuildingJor
and segregationaccompaniedby unemplaymentond Canterbury6ardens,l\ew Haven,aannecticut,LouisSauer
studio and one bed units.
hopelessness only aJewyears aJler its completion The (1967)Theend aJ the drivewayaccommadatespiay.
5t.(,ildaRoaddevelopmentpatlern Melbaurne.
thirty three,elevenstoreytowers were imploded less 5 Athertan 6 ar d ens Estate M elbau rn e.
than two decadesafer they were built. For many yeart
o;fModern 6 archard Mews,Baltimore,Maryland,Louis5auer (1973)
the prajectwas deemed0 colossal;[nilure
Entrystepscreatea pedestrianscaleat theioatpath and a
architecturehaweveras Kotherirte6. Bristoldescribesin
"Pruitt lgaeMyth",lournal aJArchitecturalEducatian(lAE), transition betweenthe public and the private domains
May 1991 Pruitt lqae was shapedbythe strategiesaJ
ghetto cantainmentand inner city revitalisatianstruteqies
tftat did nat emanatefram the .tr.hitects,but ratherfrom
ttte systemin whi(h they practlce.

31
 housingto be understoodto servethem rn thejr More often,though,the authority'sadmjnistrative Professor LouisSaueris an Anrerican/Canadiar
culturaldiversity, housingsolutjonswould be regulationand controlofthe planningand retiredpractitioner who specialised in
conceived fundamentallydifferently. With thi s, deslgnprocess maintainedtheir bureaucratic neighbor,rhood urbanrenewa'ard publicand
w e de sign pro fessio rals ' r ' ht
ig ur der s t ar d mechanisms to achjevetheir imageof housing. privatesectorhousing.Hewasheadofthe School
betterthe attitudesand environmental or A'chi Lecture at Carregie-Mel'or Ur'versity
behaviours of our lower socio-economic classes Couldthe 1owqualityof the Australian a-r-
L ^ . . ^ . , ^ L ,d-Lr d- -i l u.ti l*"
r ur r 1 4 > L d u g r r L uc
- r o f o th e r u n j ve r si ti e s
to eng ag emo "eforcefu llyir t he pr agm ar ic of s government's soclalhousinginitjativesand i r c l u d i n gY a l ea n d M l T .H erscu 'r e n r l ya n u r b a n
our ecororn'card politicalsystemto achieve its inabilityto meetdemandlie in a lackof designconsultantto the MorningtonPeninsula
jnclusivehousing environments. imagination, courageor policyskills?Or are Shj'e and LheCharrof its DesignAdvisoryPane.
inf lex i b l en i d d l e - c l a ssst a rd a r d st h e p r o b l e m ?
Thequalityof managementand maintenance A successfulapproachcomesfrom JohnTurner's2 Hehasrecejvedover80 designawardsand hjs work
canhavea significanteffecton the residents'and groundbreakingparticipatorywork for jnformal har l reer n hl 'shed'r i --^rnati onal oook sand
neighbours' attitudestowardsthe socjalhousing settlements- learnedfrom favelas- and the "ragaz nes,rrosr recent y i n Fi \e Mas ter\ a(k , by
development. Management's willingnessto make r es ult a nst i t ea r d s e r v 'c ep r o g r a m so' s p o n s o r e d LouisSauer:an UnconventionalAmerican Architect
promptrepairs, to carryout routjnemajntenance by the WorldBank. by A noni no S aggl o.
' _ " _ . * n' ahsenreof a resident
a nd l].rern'eqenrc
nranag e rh a s a l o 1 t o d o wir h th e wa y r e sid e n ls 01 shouldAustraliangovernment's non-
Footnotes
fopl rhnr rl t hpir hnr r<inn p' oiit p a r r n e 's l . i pw
s i t h h o u s i r ga s s o c i a L i o n s 7. Louis Sauer, Differing FatesforTwa Nearly ldentical
be ex t e n d e dL og i v et h e f o r - p r o f i tp r i v a t e "au rg D.\?lopmerl. A 4Jou'ral the Arencan . -i-ur"
af Architects, Wash. D.C. February 1977
T l^ere
ha veb ee nexce pr
io ns oppo'
: tu1' ties martrcl ccclor re<noncihilir\/ for <irc cclF.ti.r
2. iahn Turner, Freedom to Build: Dweller Cantral afthe
(in Philadelphia,New Havenand Baltimore) and physicalproduction,maintenanceand hou 'rg D"a(e<' N"t ,ot' l1 a \na 4 1t's- pp'1 '9 2
'91
haveallowedmy designsto go beyondthe managementwhile providingfi nancjalsubsidres 3. Urban Enviranmental Management:Sites and Servicesat
.LLD. A A A.gdt. A'g Upn q;Attat "quat,cr. , ! al
l' ' n' La L'o rs
of Ih ed omin antpowers lr uc Iur e. and qualityregulatron
?
4. Peter Nientied & lan Van Der Linden, The 'new' policy
Thishashappenedon projectswherethe sjte
approach to housing: A review oJthe literature, Public
or Lhenu mbe ro i p rop os ed inhabiLanls is s m all, Why shouldarchjtecture be importantto the Administratian and Development, Volume 8, Issue 2, pages
233 240, April/lune 1988
allowingbetterknowledgeof inhabitantsand qualityof socialhousing?Radicalreformsare
' rDVC and rl a\:,1o,.a o,.', n e.tDe0a"1ae, LaJ tsuffa'
t h e r e f n .e r v:ri e l v n 'd e <i nn> . nopdei in cn r i r l hnr r ci n n nnlin, rnl n r :r r i r o tn
'a'\;, o<' a al'o"..aa AD'..J .. a, Daaa, an 4 pOp-:or'
improveits accessibility,
financing, development, ta lmprove the Supply afO_uality Hausing", April 2A12.

Alsoon projectswith specificbriefs,where m aintenanceand management.

at t ent'o ris givento lo ca lr eedslhe
. des igre'
i c e m n orri e 'cd h e r:rrq e Ihe r isks ar e fewer . W hal r e e d cl o r h r n n e i n f h e a r c h i t e cst
Actioncanmeetnew needsthat canleadto the profession for architecture to becomean
evolutjonofplacesthat fit their contexts. essentjalingredientto governmert'ssocjal
hous in gp o l i c i e s ?

32
 Loui5)auer.DifferingfaP,forT^a NearlyldeoL;,al
HousingDevelopments, AIAJournal,the Americanlnstitut
aJ At (h; l e L L t . W a s h . F. e b ru a ryJ9 7 7
D.C
. lahnTurner,Freedomto Build:DwellerControloJthe
HousingProcess,
New Yark:TheMacmillan Company,1972
. Urban EnviranmentalManagement:,ites and Services at
h tlp: //w A fr.gdr. org/uem/\quatter, \qu atrer,.htm L
. PeterNientied& Jan VanDer Linden,The 'new'palicy
appraachto hou<ing:4 reviewoI lhe liLetaLutePublt(
Administrotianand Development,Volume8, lssue2, page
23 3-24a, April/.lune 1988
. KPMOandtheVictorianCovernmentDepartmentofHuma
Services"SocialHousing:A DiscussionPaperan the Optians
lmDrove