The Next American Project and Brad Pitt: ‘ideal for traditional crawfish boil.’

Hayley Richardson | Fri, Dec 7th, 2007 | Category: Commentary | Tags: hayley richardson, new orleans, brad pitt, crawfish broil, american project, make it right, louisiana

On Monday, the Times reported on the results of Brad Pitt’s Make It Right design competition for New Orleans. One of the winning entries was a jelly bean of a house with wide front steps, which were described as “ideal for traditional crawfish boil.” Architect Steven B. Bingler, who actually lives in New Orleans, said that residents had asked him for “a house where the baby can be sleeping in the back, the mama making red beans in the kitchen and the grandpa can be on the front porch entertaining neighbors.” In other words, the architecture would reflect the needs of the people it was meant to serve.

In many of my urban studies classes in college, it was accepted knowledge that the City had failed miserably at adapting to the cultural practices of African-Americans who had migrated northward. As Sudhir Venkatesh argued in American Project, the design of housing projects in particular was anathema to African-Americans. In these garish high rises, there were no outdoor spaces where families could gather, no opportunity for the safety and comfort of eyes on the street. Insecurity and fracturization soon followed.

Now that we’re armed with revisionist history, should we require that developers, like good anthropologists, study the habits and behaviors of people before undertaking a project? Should we recognize that different practices require different spaces?  Or, as radical developer Teddy Cruz would argue, is it enough to give people a space, leaving them to appropriate it how they see fit?

My initial instinct is to put a damper on any hint of essentializing, fearing the ramifications of believing that we really do live all that differently.  I’m inclined to argue instead for more locally-based anthropological study, the kind that Steven Bingler conducted in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans for the design competition. 

I guess I’ll soon see this in action—tomorrow I’m heading to Charleston to witness what happens when developers ask residents what kind of cake they’d like to eat—instead of just giving them vanilla.

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