Olsonology

It was 1973. Architect Ralph Rapson's vision was Cedar Square West. This was no ordinary blueprint for urban living in Minneapolis. It was the architecture for a new, modern, high-rise utopian community where public housing and upscale living were parts of the same steel-framed constellation.

Billed as the "New Town - In Town," the project went beyond housing and aspired to orchestrate jobs, arts and recreation, shopping, education and even health care into a harmonious collection of towers.

However, things didn't quite go according to plan. Riots erupted. Protesters opposed the manufactured versus organic build of a micro community. Construction of the next eight to ten towers was canceled.

Over the last four decades, Cedar Square West became Riverside Plaza, only to become known as "Ghetto in the Sky." Today, 70 percent of the residents are living at or below the federal poverty level.

So, what happened? More to come.

-Emalie Wichmann, Writer