For a man who is credited for building so many highways, it sure doesn’t seem like he worked hard enough! The highways are always frustratingly crowded and never allow anyone to get anywhere on time. I dread driving on them, but when the only other choices are local roads (with the stoplights on every block) and public transportation (which is a whole different book of aggravation), fifteen minutes or so of early morning traffic isn’t too bad. It’s something to be largely grateful for actually; because of these railways as well as the massive amounts of trains and buses, New York is the most connected city known to us. It is relatively easy to navigate and there isn’t an inch of Manhattan that is hard to get to (it gets more complicated as you go into other boroughs, but that is a typical part of suburban living; less people means less transportation).
There were of course, many things sacrificed in this large project, besides the incredulous amounts of money. The Jane Jacobs argument in this is the destruction of the environment, the damage done to the normally enjoyable landscape. It is true that an increase in roads has led to the increase in cars (or has at least been an aiding factor). And with this increase comes also an increase in pollution and harmful effects on the environment as well as on humans. In order for these major constructs to be built, there also needed to be space made, space that was not readily available. These highways had to be built over and through towns, forcing people to be evicted with no alternative. The highways were a greater good for the city and the future generations, but those being removed from their homes and neighborhoods were not probably thinking along the same lines as Moses.
In order for Moses to get his highways built, it seemed to that there had to be a lot of compromises and deals made, lending the whole ordeal to shadiness (pg. 845). However, Moses’ dealings with others is in a way admirable because he was able to accomplish a great deal under his own terms. He rightly embodied the principles upon which the city was built, which were to make money (according to the documentary we watched). He didn’t create as much evil as some people want to think, he actually made a lot of people’s lives easier. He took a lot of heat for these projects, being compared to Hitler and Stalin, but it didn’t seem that the city really wanted to give up the luxury of a shortened commute.
