The photograph presented above is a still of New York University’s campus in the Bronx location. It is incredibly astonishing to view New York University in this setting — secluded, humbly compact, and located in a predominantly low income borough of New York City. The NYU campus we know of today expands to a large area near Washington Square, and encompasses a dental, medical, business, and law school along with its undergraduate university. In our readings, we have explored how Robert Moses transformed the city of New York in the post-World War II era.
A Burgeoning Education in New York City
A plentiful read in Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York is his Title I program, where Moses advocated for the tearing down of slums, relocation of original tenants, and subsequent rebuilding of new infrastructure. Moses believed that by providing incentives for institutions of higher education, the value of and interest in New York City would skyrocket. He viewed slums as a nuisance that must be eradicated, and acted as the mediator between the private and public sectors. While Moses undoubtedly spearheaded projects with visible significance to this day, we can argue that his vision for New York City was tainted with issues, in the ideological, business, and public welfare aspects.