Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City

Synopsis

The David-and-Goliath story of legendary activist Jane Jacobs' clash with "power broker" Robert Moses, an urban planning battle that forever changed the way we look at cities. In 1968, journalist, activist, and writer Jane Jacobs ripped up a stenographer's notes during a public hearing and was charged with inciting a riot. The hearing concerned the proposed Lower Manhattan Expressway, a 350-foot wide, fifty-foot-high viaduct that would have linked the East and West sides of Manhattan. The expressway was the final puzzle piece in urban planning giant Robert Moses' vision of a New York City designed to accommodate traffic. But to Jacobs, it was a destructive force that would bruise vital neighborhoods and push out nearly 2,000 families and 800 businesses. The battle between Jacobs and Moses had begun years earlier when Jacobs successfully thwarted Moses' plan to direct traffic through Washington Square Park in the West Village. As a result of these battles, Moses would lose most of the power and influence he had wielded for so long. By successfully confronting Moses, Jacobs forever changed the way Americans viewed the city--as a living, breathing organism rather than a threat that needed to be controlled--and inspired citizens across the country to protest destructive urban "renewal" projects. Wrestling with Moses is a tale of a local battle with national significance, that reminds us of the power of the individual to confront and defy authority.

Copyright:

2009

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781588368621

Related ISBNs:

9781400066742, 9780812981360

Publisher:

Random House

Date of Addition:

12/06/10

Copyrighted By:

Anthony Flint

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Politics and Government, Sociology

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.