Personally, I don’t drive–yet! Regardless, from riding in cars, walking throughout the city, or simply making inferences about life in the tristate area, it’s obvious the crucial role the highway system Robert Moses spearheaded during his years ‘on the throne’ plays in New York City. In fact, if it weren’t for his strong-willed, at the time, preposterous aspirations, life in the United States of America could have been radically different.
I can’t imagine living in a country without a national highway system, nor can I imagine a city without one. The entire topographical arrangement of New York City would be completely undistinguishable. Suburban life certainly wouldn’t consist of middle-class men and women that commute into the heart of the city to make a living. Or would it? Would public transportation evolve out of the necessity for a more accessible commute into the leading, if not only, way to travel in and around New York City? There are an infinite number of hypothetical “ifs” about what the arrangement of our city would be like, however, it is considerably difficult to deny the fact that what Robert Moses did for New York City was beyond influential–it was defining. It opened up the city to those living beyond the outer limits, opened up beaches, parks and territory (the development of which is credited to Moses primarily) to those within the city, and gave the nation and the world a blueprint for implementing such a transportation network. Luckily for me and my hopes of road-tripping, this means I can travel cross-country without worrying about getting COMPLETELY lost.
What became readily apparent about Robert Moses’ accomplishments in the field of, but not limited to, highway system implementation was criticism pertaining to the mass demolition, displacement and discontent resulting from his project. I do recall the author singing praises of Moses’ genius (fooling me with tone and style to believe Robert Moses was a man of no fault) when it came to finding out how to implement public work projects in dense city spaces where lack of open space and population numbers were the main concerns. I believe it’s safe to say no one else had any better ideas. In fact, I find it very hard to believe a decision in city planning can be made without offending at least one party, big or small. So it’s very hard to discredit the man’s genius, especially when, in retrospect, these structures constructed by Moses were for the greater good of the people. A booming metropolis such as New York could have imploded upon itself if not for a smooth, fluid transportation grid. The quality of life in the Big Apple could have been substantially lower if not for the public works projects he helped to construct. Essentially, through his actions, he gave New York a stable, dependent, if not exceptional, infrastructure. Therefore, while it is impossible to completely legitimize the displacement of hundreds of thousands of individuals, and the appropriation of subsequent housing to those of a higher social class, if it wasn’t for Moses’ leadership, it’s safe to say the progress of our exemplary, progressive city would have been hindered.
