Kenneth T. Jackson - Robert Moses, Hero of New York?

Robert Moses: Legacy, Impact, and Historical Reassessment

Core Arguments and Counterfactuals

• Professor Kenneth T. Jackson argues that without Robert Moses's massive public works program (1924–1970), New York City would have followed the demographic and economic decline trajectory of Detroit, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh.
• Jackson contends that New York avoided the "urban collapse" of other Rust Belt cities specifically because of Moses's construction of 600+ miles of highways, 400+ miles of parkways, and the relocation of 200,000 residents from law tenements to public housing.
• While New York's relative dominance in the US has shifted south and west, its absolute population and economic power have grown; Jackson asserts this would be impossible without the infrastructure that allowed 25 million people to circulate daily in a dense environment.
• Jackson notes that public transit ridership in New York has doubled as a percentage of the national total (from 20% to 40%) since the 1970s, challenging the narrative that Moses destroyed the city's transit system.
• The interview suggests that while Moses did not build subways, his strategy of building roads and bridges was aligned with the national automobile boom of the mid-20th century, which viewed rail transit as obsolete.

Moses's Methods and Concentration of Power

• Moses held multiple concurrent positions (up to 10) as chairman of various authorities, creating a "quasi-independent" power structure where he could only be removed "for cause," effectively insulating him from mayors and governors.
• He funded infrastructure through the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority by issuing bonds where revenue from one project (e.g., a toll bridge) funded new projects (e.g., tunnels or parks), creating a perpetual cycle of construction and debt.
• Moses rarely took a salary, working for $1 a year to maintain a moral high ground, though he accepted salary only once in his life to pay for his daughter's cancer treatment.
• Jackson describes Moses's management style as "bullying" and "arrogant," comparing his ability to force construction through legal challenges to an "act of nature" or a god, noting he would dare judges to stop projects after work had begun.
• Despite his ruthlessness, Moses was personally honest regarding corruption; he did not accumulate personal wealth, and the scandals attributed to him were often minor or exaggerated compared to the era's general corruption.
• Moses's refusal to drive a car himself is cited as a profound irony, as he designed a car-centric city for millions while remaining a passenger in a chauffeur-driven limousine, often working with two secretaries switching cars mid-journey.

Critiques of Robert Caro's The Power Broker

• Jackson acknowledges The Power Broker as a "stunning achievement" and the "best book he ever read," but identifies it as having "a thousand errors," particularly regarding specific neighborhood histories and the timeline of public transit decline.
• Jackson disputes Caro's claim that Moses intentionally targeted and destroyed specific Jewish neighborhoods in the Bronx (e.g., East Tremont), noting that these areas were already experiencing demographic shifts and out-migration regardless of highway construction.
• Jackson criticizes Caro for failing to contextualize Moses's actions within the broader national trend of highway building and for ignoring the economic success of similar projects in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.
• Moses's 1975 New Yorker response to Caro was characterized by Jackson as "rambling," "ad hominem," and lacking specific evidence, revealing Moses's inability to engage with factual rebuttals and his tendency to view critics as part of a conspiracy.
• Caro's characterization of Moses's vision as purely anti-urban is supported by Jackson's observation that Moses viewed dense, historic neighborhoods as "slums" and believed the future lay in single-family suburban living.

Impact of Highways and Urban Planning

• Economic research cited in the interview indicates that several of the most valuable highway segments in the US are in the New York area, with welfare benefits for specific segments (e.g., Long Island Expressway) estimated at over $700 million annually.
• Jackson argues that Moses's infrastructure, particularly bridges like the Verrazano-Narrows, transformed Staten Island and connected the region, creating the logistical framework that supports New York's current status as a global capital.
• The interview highlights a philosophical shift from Moses's "modernist" vision (tearing down neighborhoods for efficiency) to Jane Jacobs's "humanist" vision (preserving street life, diversity, and density), with Jackson siding with Jacobs on the value of the "block" but defending the necessity of Moses's bridges.
• Moses's failure to foresee the current density of the city and the decline of the car culture is noted; he could not have anticipated the conversion of office buildings to residential units or the desire of young people to live in high-rises rather than suburbs.

The Modern Context: NIMBYism and Construction

• Building public works in 21st-century New York is described as exponentially more difficult due to historic preservation laws, litigation, and community opposition (NIMBYism), which did not exist to the same extent in Moses's era.
• Jackson suggests that the modern reverence for "old" structures in cities like New York and San Francisco hinders necessary housing development and infrastructure upgrades, creating a "living museum" effect that prevents the city from expanding.
• A "Moses-like" figure could not replicate mid-20th-century results today without systemic legal reforms; the political environment of mass demonstrations and decentralized decision-making prevents the centralization of power necessary for such megaprojects.
• Jackson identifies the primary megaproject needed today as coastal defense infrastructure (e.g., a land bridge or flood barrier) to address climate change and rising sea levels, rather than new highways which the city cannot physically support.
• The interview concludes that New York's future viability relies on maintaining its high density and underground transit systems, a reality Moses would have struggled to accept given his preference for surface-level bridges and highways.

Cultural Resonance of The Power Broker

• The book's massive cultural prominence is attributed to its timing; it emerged when New York was in crisis (1970s bankruptcy and crime), allowing the narrative of a "tyrant" destroying the city to resonate.
• Today, the book's negative portrayal is being reevaluated as society faces a "sclerosis" of governance where no one can build anything, leading to a renewed appreciation for the era of rapid, efficient construction.
• Jackson predicts that future biographies will reinterpret Moses, shifting the narrative from "villain" to "necessary evil" or "unmatched builder" as the difficulty of modern construction makes his achievements seem even more extraordinary.
• The book endures because it argues that Moses built the "greatest city in the world" despite his personal dislike for the people and the density he enabled, a contradiction that fascinates historians and general readers alike.