Abstract:

While many public housing projects have been condemned as abject failures, Morningside Gardens in Harlem, NY, defies this stereotype. Planned in 1957 as affordable, economically & racially diverse housing, its low co-op costs & monthly rents attract lower- & middle-income professionals from diverse backgrounds. Three institutions are crucial to creating community: (1) the Morningside Gardens Tenant Co-operators Committee, a small-scale democratic group, guides the operations of the building & writes & revises community rules; (2) the Morningside News, which publishes resident debates & records the project's historical events; & (3) Morningside Health & Retirement Services program, which involves the building's aging population in the social physical care of their elderly peers. These institutions create community involvement, foster a sense of ownership among the residents, & help, along with a private security force, to create a nearly crime-free environment. Today, the project provides a hopeful model for creating community in public housing & in poor urban centers.