Whenever I hear the word, “saint,” I can’t help but wonder if someone’s life has been so, utterly, completely flawless. But is that really possible? Jane Jacobs believed that cities should be treated as living organisms, responsive to people’s interaction to them. Every part of a city matters, so it would be absurd to destroy any part of them at all. But what really does “city” mean? When I googled “city,” internet provided me with a definition of “noun: a large town.” Alright, so city is apparently a large town, but are slums also part of this definition? When people hear “city,” they almost always imagine clean, eye-grabbing, and bright scenery, such as the night view of Manhattan. But the truth is, cities also include slums that give rise to many problems.

One of the main criticisms of Moses lies on his removal of the poor minorities, and that he’s an ignorant racist. For example, Caro states in his The Power Broker, “To build his highways, Moses threw out of their homes 250,000 persons- more people than lived in Albany or Chattanooga, or in Spokane, Tacoma, Duluth, Akron, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Nashville or Sacramento. He tore out the hearts of a score of neighborhoods.” But before tearing your hairs off and screaming that Moses is an evil racist, let’s stop and think for a second. Is there really any benefit in maintaining slums, that give birth to many concerns, such as lack of education, unhealthy environment for children, alcohol and drug abuse and many more? Isn’t it much better to replace the slums with more cultural and admirable place of interactions? For example, Lincoln Center is one of the world’s most renowned performance locations, and a birthplace to music and opera.  Though some people assume that Lincoln Center was here from the very beginning, that’s not exactly true.

Before its construction, Lincoln Center was surrounded by slums that resided over 8000 residents who were mostly African American and Puerto Ricans. However, in order to create the Lincoln Center, Robert Moses had to destroy the slum, creating thousands of homeless people within months. Although many critics point out that this action was based upon Moses’s racist beliefs, this is all based on presumptions. No one was able to find Robert Moses’s handwritten note or other evidence stating, “Get rid of that slum, because I don’t like the minorities.” Moreover, the creation of Lincoln Center brought in many visitors from all over the world, adding to the income of the city. And more income means more jobs, so in the long-term, Moses did good for the city, even though the residents had to be relocated.

Jane Jacobs was also known for disapproving Robert Moses and his followers for making big decisions without incorporating the opinions of the people. However, Moses and his coworkers were all very educated, and experienced, and sometimes more opinions means that you won’t be able to establish anything. Jacobs also claimed that Moses greatly favored automobiles over people, but this necessarily isn’t true. For example, Moses clearly wanted buses to help his people, not to displace them, for his Jacob Riis Park. Although the park had the biggest parking lot in the world back then, Moses did his best to include people without cars. The original construction design of the park included “bus drop-off zones, and photographs from the era plainly showed buses loading and unloading passengers” (Campanella).

Though controversial, it’s undeniable that Robert Moses left lasting impacts on the modern world. Today, Lincoln Center continues to attract millions of visitors from all over the world, while serving as a valuable educational site for everyone. His creation of highways allows people to travel much faster and conveniently, and it’s nearly impossible to imagine the world without them. As time goes on, more people will own cars, and will benefit the society tremendously.

 

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/07/how-low-did-he-go/533019/

http://sghistory.blogspot.com/2011/04/lincoln-center-robert-moses-and.html