Redeveloping the Cabrini-Green Housing Project: A Sociological Perspective, 1989-2004

The Cabrini-Green housing project on the Near North Side of Chicago was the site of a redevelopment struggle from 1989 to 2004. The city of Chicago, the Chicago Housing Authority, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development advanced plans to tear down the Cabrini high-rises and build mixed-income neighborhoods in their place. Cabrini-Green residents opposed the proposals through protests and court injunctions. In this paper, we utilize theories of poverty concentration to explain the protracted conflict at Cabrini-Green, illustrate why proposed policies have been met with opposition, and provide insights for future action that might ease the skirmish. These theories also uncover three major issues underlying the Cabrini-Green narrative: the problems of moving public housing residents to new mixed-income neighborhoods, the issue of affordable housing in the Chicago metropolitan area, and the efforts of the public housing residents to shape their own future through collective action.