>
> Working in NYC I admire Robert Moses' tactics in a hostile environment,
and in
> turn am appalled by them. The way in which Robert Moses ran over the
> sentiments of local communities, in many areas totally wiping them out
through
> eminent domain, is the antipode to what would happen if a zealous
> preservationist were to have too much power -

Interestingly, Moses' first really outspoken critic was Jane Jacobs. It
wasn't really until the Caro book that the extent of M.s impact on NYC,
indeed the whole state, was begun to be understood. Since then, mainly
because of the Cross Bronx Expressway material, Moses has seen nothing but
bad press, while Jacobs still receives a good deal of favorable attention
(ie feature story in recent Preservation mag.) Is this a rare case where
history got it right? Or was Paul Goodman correct when he said that Jacobs
was the biggest enemy of urban existence because she didn't allow for
anybody to have any privacy?

Bruce