Is you could change 1 thing about New York.... (Mina: rent, landlords)
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i was actually going to mention the Cross bronx! and i deleted it! haha!
The cross bronx destroyed a neighborhood and sped up the Bronx's decline in the 70's and 80's.
The effects of the highways and major arteries by robert Moses were catastrophic to the city's neighborhoods.
Not to sound stupid, but why is this? I was born in 1984, and I'm not sure what the effect the highways had on NYC..
Not to sound stupid, but why is this? I was born in 1984, and I'm not sure what the effect the highways had on NYC..
I was born in 1981, the only reason i know the effects is through research. Plus from stories my grandfather told me about how things were before neighborhoods were divided by highways. It effect commerce, property value, movement, attitude, ,,,. There are a few great books on Robert Moses. Also I highly recomend the PBS, Ken Burns Documentary on New York.
Not to sound stupid, but why is this? I was born in 1984, and I'm not sure what the effect the highways had on NYC..
Robert Moses was an elitist urban planner and builder in NYC, Long Island and Westchester who used public transportation and highways to separate the area socioeconomically. His intent was to keep lower income people close to the overcrowded city center and the more affluent on the fringes. He made access to beautiful neighborhoods that were far from the center of commerce (NYC) inaccessible to those without cars. In his day, 1920s-70s, the less affluent generally did not have cars and were, therefore, limited to places they could reach only by public transportation. In effect, they were shut out of nicer areas that required an automobile and a good highway system. As you can see on maps of our area, many of the more beautiful and affluent parts of the outer boroughs and suburbs are inaccessible by subway and are woefully underserved by bus.
In addition, he routinely created barriers to access to many amenities to poorer people, recent immigrants and specifically African-Americans and Hispanics. He designed/created many wonderful playgrounds, beaches and state parks, etc.; but in his mind, such things were only for affluent whites. For example, he would not build public playgrounds above 125th Street; he built the Cross-Bronx Expressway which virtually destroyed the South Bronx by creating a bypass which was created by eliminating many solid working class neighborhoods, and resulted in the closing of many small businesses and increasing pollution.
If you'd like to know more about him, pick up a copy of The Powerbroker. It's an excellent read.
Robert Moses was an elitist urban planner and builder in NYC, Long Island and Westchester who used public transportation and highways to separate the area socioeconomically. His intent was to keep lower income people close to the overcrowded city center and the more affluent on the fringes. He made access to beautiful neighborhoods that were far from the center of commerce (NYC) inaccessible to those without cars. In his day, 1920s-70s, the less affluent generally did not have cars and were, therefore, limited to places they could reach only by public transportation. In effect, they were shut out of nicer areas that required an automobile and a good highway system. As you can see on maps of our area, many of the more beautiful and affluent parts of the outer boroughs and suburbs are inaccessible by subway and are woefully underserved by bus.
In addition, he routinely created barriers to access to many amenities to poorer people, recent immigrants and specifically African-Americans and Hispanics. He designed/created many wonderful playgrounds, beaches and state parks, etc.; but in his mind, such things were only for affluent whites. For example, he would not build public playgrounds above 125th Street; he built the Cross-Bronx Expressway which virtually destroyed the South Bronx by creating a bypass which was created by eliminating many solid working class neighborhoods, and resulted in the closing of many small businesses and increasing pollution.
If you'd like to know more about him, pick up a copy of The Powerbroker. It's an excellent read.
Interesting. I'll check out the book. I know of him only from the beach that is in Suffolk County.
[quote=Marie1249;5825870]Robert Moses was an elitist urban planner and builder in NYC, Long Island and Westchester who used public transportation and highways to separate the area socioeconomically....
quote]
I'm trying to understand this. I don't know anything about Robert Moses other than he was an influencial figure in NYC history. After reading your post, I read about him on the web and indeed your viewpoints are a commonly acknowledged by his critics.... that his city planning led to the decline of many neigborhoods in NYC.
But isn't this inevitable as a city grows and the need for infrastructure grows? I mean, highways and thruways have to get built, and where ever you build them, aren't you going to have neighborhoods divided? Isn't what he did a necessary evil for the growth of the city and the economy?
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