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• 1 2020-04-30T20:50:20+00:00 East St. Louis Background 49 plain 2020-05-07T23:27:17+00:00 East St. Louis was a city that was designed to promote industry and profitability.  It was a successful, highly profitable endeavor for many years.  However, this community was built around one economic industry with no backup plan.  
  
  In the late 1960’s East St. Louis was in a state of economic decline.  The industrial boom that had sustained the city began to move out of the area or close completely.  Residents lost their jobs with no solutions available.  City and state programs were not enough to sustain or improve the standard of living.   
  
  In February of 1966, the East St. Louis City Council requested the Public Administration and Metropolitan Affairs Program of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to assist the city of East St. Louis in the development of potential renewal policies and projects.  
  
  On October 12, 1967, an Economic Opportunity Commission held a hearing to get a synopsis of the report prepared by SIUE.  Mr. Robert Mendelson, the Project Director informed the Commission that housing was the most critical problem facing East St. Louis.  The report recommended an annual goal of 1,300 new and rehabilitated dwelling units.  He further stated that he recognized the difficulty in attaining this goal as there was no private enterprise interested in investing in East St. Louis at the present time. 
  
   
  Mrs. Wyvetter Younge, future state representative and life-long advocate for East St. Louis, at the time of the hearing was a Program Research Specialist member of the Economic Opportunity Commission and spoke at the hearing regarding the findings of the SIUE report. Below is her statement:
  

  Katherine Dunham, world renowned dancer, faculty member at SIUE, and resident, landlord, and business owner of East St Louis was also present as a concerned citizen. She also spoke at the hearing, her statement is also provided here in its entirety:  
  Based on the findings from the Economic Opportunity Commission hearing regarding the dire housing situation in East St. Louis, Katherine Dunham approached R. Buckminster Fuller, noted designer of the geodesic dome about designing an urban housing development that would solve the East St Louis housing problem. 
  
  Fuller agreed to tackle the problem, and without requiring any fee, worked with the Washington University architecture program, under the direction of James Fitzgibbon to develop the Old Man River project and build a model of the design.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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