Emboldened by the victories of the New Deal, Washington’s best and brightest had learned to dream big, to put their faith in top-down, technocratic solutions to society’s ills. That’s how they approached public housing and urban renewal, that’s how they approached Vietnam. -Tanner Colby

Some projects, like St. Louis's infamous Pruitt-Igoe homes, virtually ceased to function as viable communities. Pruitt-Igoe was eventually dynamited by the city not because of structural flaws but because it was an unlivable environment. -John Atlas and Peter Dreier

The wrecking ball is tediously smashing down the last high-rise from this notorious public housing project.

The wrecking ball is tediously smashing down the last high-rise from this notorious public housing project.

The wrecking ball is tediously smashing down the last high-rise from this notorious public housing project.