This made me think of the TV series "Good Times" from the 70s. It was a sitcom featuring a black impoverished family living in public housing in Chicago. While never stated in the show, it was implied that they lived in the Cabrini-Green Housing Project, in Chicago. From what I gather, there were 15,000 people living there in 3600 (600, 2000, 1000) apartments. Its mostly been demolished now, though.