Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York

by Hilary Ballon (Editor), Kenneth T. Jackson (Editor)

A fresh look at the greatest builder in the history of New York City and one of its most controversial figures. “We are rebuilding New York, not dispersing and abandoning it”: Robert Moses saw himself on a rescue mission to save the city from obsolescence, decentralization, and decline. His vast building program aimed to modernize urban infrastructure, expand the public realm with extensive recreational facilities, remove blight, and make the city more livable for the middle class. This book offers a fresh look at the physical transformation of New York during Moses’s nearly forty-year reign over city building from 1934 to 1968.

It is hard to imagine that anyone will ever have the same impact on New York as did Robert Moses. In his various roles in city and state government, he reshaped the fabric of the city, and his legacy continues to touch the lives of all New Yorkers. Revered for most of his life, he is now one of the most controversial figures in the city’s history. Robert Moses and the Modern City is the first major publication devoted to him since Robert Caro’s damning 1974 biography, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York .

In these pages eight short essays by leading scholars of urban history provide a revised perspective; stunning new photographs offer the first visual record of Moses’s far-reaching building program as it stands today; and a comprehensive catalog of his works is illustrated with a wealth of archival records: photographs of buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes, of parks, pools, and playgrounds, of demolished neighborhoods and replacement housing and urban renewal projects, of bridges and highways; renderings of rejected designs and controversial projects that were defeated; and views of spectacular models that have not been seen since Moses made them for promotional purposes. Robert Moses and the Modern City captures research undertaken in the last three decades and will stimulate a new round of debate.

Robert Moses and the Modern City captures research undertaken in the last three decades and will stimulate a new round of debate.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Cities, New York, Urban Planning, Urbanism, Biography

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 26, 2007

Reviews

[Moritz Mueller-Freitag]

Robert Moses and the Modern City is a collection of pro-Moses essays that was published in conjunction with an exhibition in 2007. It marked the first major publication on Moses since Robert Caro’s magisterial biography The Power Broker.

The book is unfortunately a mixed bag. For my taste, the authors try a little too hard to provide a revisionist view of Moses. They argue that he can’t be blamed for his car-centric vision (“The great builder simply was swimming with the tide of history”) and portray him as a much weaker figure than he actually was (“In a local context, Moses looked like Goliath; in dealings with the federal government, he sometimes came close to David”). They even find excuses for his racism (“Racism has been such a persistent and ubiquitous phenomenon in North America during the past four centuries that no one should be surprised that Moses was a racist”).

The anthology contains a few good points here and there, but it’s mostly old wine in new bottles.

[Michael]

I finally threw in the towel on this one. I’m a patient man with not much else going on, but to sit there and read the Encyclopedia Britannica of Moses pools and Moses beaches when you’re not a resident of “The City” and couldn’t care less about aquatic leisure, chlorine, nor sunburns is simply insane. This being said, I did enjoy the essays. Expecting something of a revisionist rebuttal to the Caro book (after visiting only the Queens venue of the three-part exhibit where the only text to be found was way up high on a random wall – a quote/sentence that seemed most misleading if you’ve read The Power Broker), most of the essays present balanced views and in some cases even unveil negative Moses stuff that Caro overlooked (see especially Martha Biondi’s contribution). These are worth the read, but the concluding 170 pages, as my friend Sean would say, should be “used” [for quick, specific reference or research purposes] rather than read.

[Gary]

The essays are heavy. (For that matter, the book is heavy!) As other reviewers have noted, the writers try too hard to justify Moses post-Caro. But how can one contradict Caro on a blanket basis, one of the most comprehensive historians of our time? Not that he's infallible (neither is the Pope), but this book tries to position Caro as essentially wrong, or that Moses is just a product of his time, across nearly all dimensions, and extoll what Moses created. Though it's been decades since I read "The Power Broker", I do not recall Caro ever downplaying the significance of what Moses created.
Once past the heavy essays, the catalog-of-projects section is a skim. There are certainly some interesting bits, but one can only digest so many housing projects!
All in all, I was disappointed. Glad I got it from the library rather than the pricey editions on Amazon Used.

[Barbie S]

Trying to re-evaluate Moses legacy. Has some valid points - Moses wasn’t the only planner enamored with the car - but didn’t redeem him in my eyes.

[Joseph Strafaci]

This was my foray into Robert Moses as a planner, for years the Power Broker sat on my self and this seemed a bit more manageable at the time. While this pales in comparison to Caro's Power Broker, I did enjoy reading from a perspective of learning the full breath of Moses's work. I also didn't mine the somewhat apologetic essay's included as it provided a differing perspective I weighed while reading the Power Broker. While Ultimately, I agree 100% of Caro's assessment, I found this book paired nicely. On another note as someone interested in plans, models and what not the visuals were a real plus.

[Matthew]

Half a collection of essays and half a chronological index of completed works. The essays are informative if a bit wordy, and overall they set out to provide a counterpoint to Caro's book.

The overriding theme seems to be that Moses was not a monster hell bent on destroying neighborhoods, nor was he a creative genius, but a man who had the uncanny ability to accomplish whatever he set out to do. Especially uncanny since what he set out to do was develop New York into a modern city.

Good insight into the multitude of large-scale projects that were realized by Moses and their/his context in historical and modern New York. I enjoyed reading through the index of works to get a better understanding of the bridges, roads, and buildings that I see, as well as an appreciation of the concentrated public opposition that finally managed to temper his vision for the city.

[Scott]

Have heard about Robert Moses for a while now but he was brought up in The Fires by Joe Flood in an interesting way so I thought I'd learn more. He's a pretty intriguing guy and did some big things in New York. This book is mainly an anthology of all the projects he built with some commentary. Along with some great parks and important, beautiful bridges, he 'cleared' whole neighborhoods he labeled 'slums' for expressway projects and public housing. As in most cases, history is complex. He's been both demonized and lauded as NY's savior. Need to read Jane Jacobs next.
Interesting. Lots of pics and short essays about Moses and his projects. The one about the 'Rise of the Urbs' is especially intriguing.

[Eva]

I enjoyed this book more than any other book I've read for a research paper. The essay format brought variety and interest to what could have been a long and tedious book, and I ended up reading every essay, even though I didn't need all of the information for my paper. If you've lived in New York or are interested in the city's development and policies, I would recommend reading this book.

[Happy Reader]

Fascinating look at Moses and the growth of NYC.

I was impressed by his vision of what a great city should be and disappointed by his overt racial hatred of nonwhites and how it impacted thrit opportunites in the greatest city in the United States.

[Jennifer]

This is the companion to a series of exhibits that I missed last year on the impact that this one man had on the geography, transportation, recreation and neighborhoods of New York. Quite fascinating, and not totally critical of Moses' work.

[Danica]

this is the guy who made McCarren Pool possible. some people love him, some people hate him. this books is massive and made for coffee tables and has a daunting amount of information in it.

[Shawn Nuzzo]

For better or worse, Robert Moses played a bigger role in the shaping of the NY Metro area than God himself.

[Hlry]

didn't do it for me. i was looking for a biography of moses. there must be one out there somewhere.

[Lise]

Parks dollars were originally used to create roads? The NRA was instrumental in creating recreational space for adults?

Huh.

[Erin]

I read this for the excellent photographs and plans. The essays have a strong pro-Moses bias.