Article by Tylene Bautista


History

When the Chad Brown Housing Project opened in 1942, hundreds of families toured the facilities and a model apartment designed by instructor Emilie Wildprett and student Miss Marguerite Bodell from RISD. Housewives were excited for the new gleaming appliances and husbands were proud they could afford such services. In the 1950's Providence expanded its public housing options and built more projects throughout the city.

For about 20 years Chad Brown seemed to be a success. In the mid 60s, the Providence Housing Authority soon realized that what began as temporary housing was now developing into a slum. "The public at large came to perceive cheap public housing as a permanent alternative-a function it was never meant to serve." After several years of attempted improvement, conditions at Chad Brown have only worsened. Increasing levels of crime have had a negative effect on the community.

"By the late 1960s, the Chad Brown project represented a more decayed environment than the surrounding neighborhoods" and has even been referred to as the Pruitt-Igoe of Providence, Rhode Island.
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