'After the Projects'

Public housing projects are crashing down.
Around the country, public housing projects are crashing down. Housing projects are widely considered a failure, but what will replace them as they're torn down?
Photo Courtesy Birgit Kasper and Janet Smith

Once, public housing projects were a symbol of hope. But starting in the '70s, neglect turned public housing projects into ghettos of concentrated poverty and violent crime.

Now, in the next public housing "experiment," Chicago is replacing the projects and moving residents to mixed-income neighborhoods. But there won't be room for everyone, and a new home may not mean an escape from poverty.

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