Robert Moses is the man that can be credited with much of the infrastructure that surrounds New York. Coming from a background in New York politics, Moses later became involved with urban planning. Having the political foundation and connections with the governor of New York helped Robert Moses achieve all that he did and gave him the power and standing to have the influence on New York’s construction.
During the years of 1946-1954, New York experienced the greatest amount of construction and public building that the city ever had. Throughout this time, no structure was built without the approval of Robert Moses himself. The most amazing part of this all was that Moses wielded such power without having an actual political position. There is no doubt hat Moses achieved great things and contributed to the development of the city, but how he went about this was a controversial matter.
One of the biggest structures that Moses implemented in the city, was the Cross Bronx Expressway. Thought he expressway did increase the ability to travel to different parts of the city easily, Moses planned it to bisect the Bronx in half. The effect that this had on the population was the segregating of the upper and lower classes, as the expressway displaced close to 5,000 families and forced the upper and middle classes to migrate north, while the lower income families were displaced to the Southern Bronx (Ballon and Jackson 2007).
Overall, Moses contributed about 416 miles of parkways to New York. What this meant for New Yorkers though, is that transportation was now not equally available to all. Only those upper class members who had cars would be able to benefit from the new roads. A more efficient system which would have enhanced the ideals of New York would have been to include more subway systems and increase access to all citizens instead of just catering to the upper class.
During Moses’ extensive building he faced much opposition. Specifically, Jane Jacobs was a woman who overtly set out to maintain the standards of New York and be inclusive of all despite all of the construction. As written in the article Jane Jacobs vs. Robert Moses, battle of New York’s urban titans she eventually was able to overcome the influence that Moses had on the development of New York. “Over the past 40 years, the rebirth of Lower Manhattan from Chelsea to Tribeca, of northern Brooklyn, of Astoria and Long Island City in Queens, has taken place without razing a single building in the name of ‘urban renewal’, or shooing away a single citizen through ‘eminent domain’” (Paletta 2016).
The question asked was whether Robert Moses is to be considered a master builder, or an evil genius. To me, this is not a matter of either or. Both of this descriptions can be used accurately to describe Moses, and in fact I believe that they coincide. In order to attain stature and to achieve the levels of power and influence that Moses had, it definitely required some careful planning. Moses made sure to create connections and alliances in all areas such as labor unions, park workers, and banks in order to have the support and backup that he would need to become the Master Builder that he was.
Ballon H and Jackson K (2007) Robert Moses and the Transformation of New York (pp 65-66) W.W. Norton & Company
Paletta, Anthony . “Story of cities #32: Jane Jacobs v Robert Moses, battle of New York’s urban titans.” The story of cities. Guardian News and Media, 28 Apr. 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Hi Eliana,
I had the same thoughts when I learned that Robert Moses had such great power over the urban landscape and infrastructure of New York City after being appointed as the commissioner of parks by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. In fact, I was surprised Moses completed so many of his projects building major bridges, expressways, and recreational centers under his command.
While the main controversy of Robert Moses is whether he was a ‘master builder’ or an ‘evil genius’, Moses was undoubtedly more of a master builder than an evil genius from what I grasped from the readings. During a period of economic hardship in America, the recreational projects of Moses offered job opportunities and healthy, public athletic space for most, if not, all. These centers, majorly located in working-class neighborhoods, helped boost the economy. On the other hand, your insight also states that some of the infrastructures of Moses increased segregation between upper and lower income families in which the more affluent families with automobiles could take advantage of new roads. This adds to the suggestions from the article that the swimming pools and athletic centers created by Moses may have been to increase segregation of minority groups. Your blogpost has given me the chance to rethink the actions of Moses—that one cannot be completely one or the other. I agree that both characteristics “coincide” as Moses could not have appeased to everyone with the level of influence he had in the single unit of New York City. Robert Moses was indeed, “the genius builder”.