Interstate Displacement: The Legacy of Robert Moses - US History - Extra History
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- Опубліковано 17 лют 2021
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Last week we talked about redlining and now we need to tackle another systemic issue. With minority groups denied money and loans to be able to grow the value of a property or their neighborhoods, cities began looking at minority communities as blights upon their urban landscape. Enter Robert Moses, the architect of the modern city. Moses had a plan to revitalize the urban landscape by redesigning it for the automobile. He designed lush parks and oases with the idea to make them accessible to anyone with a car, especially to the affluent folks of the suburbs. That meant highways and building projects... built right on top of already existing communities. And with the Federal Aid Highway Act, that problem spiraled out of New York and across all of America.
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Back in the 1940's my city hired Moses to evaluate its development. This guy hated mixed development. He cited *my* neighborhood as being a disaster because there was a grocery store right on the edge of a residential neighborhood! In his paper he claimed it was "driving down property values" because he was certain that no one wanted to buy a house that's near a grocery store. Those things needed to be far away in their own separate area where they won't offend people.
There is still a grocery store there (and now two others in the neighborhood) and I somehow manage to carry my groceries home as do many of my neighbors.
fake
That makes no sense, was he an idiot?
A grocery shop should make that area "more" popular, because you wouldn't have to drive (or drive a lot) to get groceries!
I live in an area with several supermarkets within walking distance, and I love it!
Not only do I have lots of choices, but the competition keeps the prices to a reasonable level.
Take that Robert Moses!
Neighborhood stores are the best.
And today, when there's NOT a grocery store near a residential neighborhood, that's called a "Food Desert". So yeah, the guy sounds like he was just on a personal vendetta and managed to disguise it as "progress"...
The irony of a man named Moses persecuting and driving out a large group of oppressed people is so interesting it ALMOST makes the situation funny
@Mullerornis wow only 8 hours in and its become "its cause he was jewish" classy
@Mullerornis also FYI Robert Mosses rejected religion and was an avowed secularist. he especially hated jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland. so there's that
@@Poormrworry
Mullerornis said nothing of the sort and you know that.
government is always the problem
@@Poormrworry I've heard that even in Israel, askenazi are "marginalized" and sent when the serve in the IDF to more dangerous areas.
To paraphrase Defunctland:
"Robert Moses had a problem: he didn't like poor people. But he couldn't come out and say it."
*black
It was not just poor people, he seemed especially keen on destroying any affluent or middle class minority neighborhood. He wanted them poor and out of sight.
Absolutely Based
A Extra History/Defunctland cross over episode would be amazing!
*minorities
There's a reason that Robert Moses was presented as a villain in Dimension20's Unsleeping City. Brennan Lee Mulligan is a New Yorker, and as far as I can tell, the majority of poor and middle class New Yorkers despise Robert Moses and the things that he did to their city.
I never put that together that's so cool
Not surprising that D20 gets mentioned, but it deserves it
Most people in New York don’t know who he is, but they should despise him, and those that do know of him generally do despise him. And it’s worse now because the people he displaced are getting displaced again; both Harlem and the Bronx are being gentrified.
He is also a key figure in the film Motherless Brooklyn, which takes place during the height of his power in New York
stinking roads get rid of roads revive steam put the railroads back on top
Dark humor moment: New York is notorious for everyone walking and taking the subway everywhere, it's not exactly a mecha for drivers so it could be said that Robert Moses failed at everything but screwing up perfectly good neighborhoods for generations. Way to go Rob
Also the same guy that got most of the els destroyed including the second and 3rd av (Manhattan than later Bronx portion) demolished while the second av subway was still incomplete basically turning Lexington Ave into a fucking jampacked mess
*Mecca ;)
@@rolfs2165 My bad, (Mecca)
He paved the way for the disaster that is Los Angeles. Massive 12-lane freeways, people who commute 20-30 miles to work every day, segregated neighborhoods (not as much anymore) almost no mixed use zoning. Robert Moses would be proud of what LA has become.
@@PalmelaHanderson I've only been to LA a couple times, but this explains a lot.
I’m surprised they didn’t mention Jane Jacobs. She was a community organizer and activist who rallied Greenwich Village against Robert Moses and won. Thanks to her efforts he lost a lot of power and influence in the last decade or so of his life. Probably kept him from doing a whole lot more of damage in that time.
All I knew about Robert Moses before this was that Lindsey Ellis hates him. This video shows why that's entirely fair
Same
its time to abolish eminent domain
I was already against North America's brand of suburban sprawl and dependence on oversized road networks that rendered communities unwalkable, but this made it even worse. Weaponised infrastructure development. Even building brides low because black people rode buses. Holy ****.
@@constantineergius1626 It's good that you are mortified by the abuses of past government officials, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Eminent domain requires that the property owner be compensated for the property. However, it sounds here that the buildings were condemned as slums, not that the property owners were compensated at all.
Kevin Perjurer of Defunctland never really gives him the benefit of a good light either. It's hard to tell if Perjurer actually dislikes Moses on a personal level because of the more documentary style of Defunctland, but at best Moses is only ever presented in the cold neutral light of objective fact telling.
I learned about Robert Moses in highschool...but they never told us ANY of this
They never do
Why white wash history when you can just...not tell it! (This is a such a problem in schools its disgusting)
Robert Caro's The Power Broker is the best book on the subject. It is a very deep one.
That's American schooling for you. America is great and never does anything shady or fucked up ever. wE ArE ThE gOoD GuyS.
it's bull#### like that that makes me sad to say that I'm an American.
Oh my Goodness, I just realized that the bad guy in Who Framed Roger Rabbit is cartoon Robert Moses!
yo you're right
No that was a different thing. Look up the "GM Conspiracy". People tore up what would be billions in previously public infrastructure of railcars, and the maximum fine any of them faced was $1,000. GM, Firestone, Greyhound, Standard Oil of California or Pennsylvania, I can't remember which one at the moment, and DuPont chemical, all formed a cartel designed specifically to kill electrified rail cars and replace them with busses.
@@matthewegan5281 I had not of heard of the GM Conspiracy before. Seems like someone wants us to forget that history. What a bunch of scumbag companies tarring up America's tram system to sell more buses and fuel and tires for the buses! Bet you GM and their conspiritors doesn't tell that part of their story. They got a complete slap on the wrist fine for the whole thing like you said too.
I kinda cried by the end of this. I was born and raised on Long island. I only found out about the southern state parkway last year. Long Island is one of the most segregated places in the country. My neighborhood is majority black and Latino and it’s low income, right across the parkway is some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country. And then to hear people deny this systemic oppression and discrimination is just so infuriating
I particularly love that when you said there was a commotion outside, the art just said "CLONC". I mean, the whole vid is brilliant, but that made me snort a little tea out of my nose.
So jasmine or green tea?
x’D x’D x’D
@@rangedsparrow8010 Jasmine Green tea! XD
They did this same thing to create Central park in New York City as well. The city deemed an entire flourishing African American neighborhood as needing to be torn down.
And Laguardia
should also be stated that basing city life around the NEED for a car rather than public transportation and trains is a big contributor to global warming and food deserts
the car and fossil fuel lobbyists fought hard by legally bribing politicians to push against public transportation
@@CepheusTalks yep, and they still do
america, baby
The part of building a bridge extra low to keep people from reaching a beach is cruel.
keeps america clean tho
Not to mention impractical, can you imagine trying to maintain that road? Plus it severely limits the revenue generated by that beach cutting off maintenance funds. Not only was he being a bully, but he was being a dumb evil overlord
@@levisanchez1582 How, may I ask?
@@levisanchez1582 Racist
@@dirkbrand9859 Not defending what Moses did but low bridges keep trucks out and every parkway in New York has these, and something to do with trucks emitting a lot of smoke
My grandmother was a victim of this as a child. She had to walk all the way to Michigan and lives there to this day.
Bruh u sold him so high for the first 3 minutes I sat there in dread
Good storytelling technique, build up the rage for those who know to get a sense of relief when it turns, build up the interest for those who don't so they feel the turn more seriously.
idk he introduced moses as connecticut born thats selling him pretty low if you ask me
This topic has always been interesting for me. My interest in urban planning when I was a kid playing city builder games. It was only until I started reading books and taking extra courses that I realized how impactful cities are. I was horrified to hear the affects of racist highway planning in the very city I lived in. I read about how my predominantly white suburb opposed a highway in the neighborhood only for it to be moved to a black neighborhood. Thank you for covering this topic that often gets overlooked.
Sounds like your neighborhood is better then ever :)
You might want to take a college urban planning course and learn how racist America is still. The first zoning law in the United States was in 1908 in Lexington KY after the Supreme Court struck down their ordinance banning the sale of homes to blacks.
To this very day zoning laws enacted in the 40s and 50s meant to keep blacks out are still on the books. Majority of zoning laws mandating single family homes were racially motivated. This is why housing is so expensive in many parts of the US. A historically racially motivated law to create a scarcity of supply to keep prices high and minorities out.
One of the first pieces of reading material new students at my school in Brooklyn are assigned is on Robert Moses. Since our largest program is the architecture department, it’s specifically meant to educate the students who’ve just moved to the city on the history of infrastructure and city development, and its impact on the city’s social groups
Where were they suppose to build the highways then ?
Doe
@@drwalka10not only through minority neighborhoods
yall got the cheapest land, tho ....@@idoshulman6379
When those POC families were uprooted they were given what the local government considered "fair" compensation for their properties... which wasn't fair at all. New land wasn't set aside for the displaced families, so the SEGREGATED AREA that those families were restricted to became that much more crowded with rents going up (to white landlords) as competition for housing went up.
Moses never drove him self anywhere and almost never actually visited work sights. He also used his "improvement" to discriminate against POOR people and member a recent immigrant groups like Italians or Eastern Europeans.
Moses are what I like to call ignorant douchebags. They believe that if we push the poor away from our society, society itself will cleanse itself and become a lot healthier. Reality doesn't work that way and it actually turns out that if we actually help the poor to self sustain themselves, the poor actually contribute a lot to society than the reverse. As the saying goes, you give a man a fish, he lives another day, but teach a man to fish, and he lives for a lifetime.
Can't imagine he'd like the poor Appalachian whites either.
@@canadianbacon0 and the cities they live in?
I think the "battle" between Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs needs more attention as it was an important timeline in urban studies history. It's interesting to see what a "housewife" without any college degree or formal training in the field can battle a city planning supremo like Moses.
Same thing happened in New Orleans with Clairborne Ave, a place that was vital to African American culture.
And after the hurricane, they tore down undamaged low income housing for a similar reason
If you noticed the cause of these racist policies were ultimately greedy business men. This is why capitalism is oppressive by its nature and socialism is the answer!
And in Portland, Oregon, with I-405 demolishing the immigrant neighborhood and the Jewish community.
The story of Claiborne is incredibly sad. New Orleans’ unique community and culture should be protected with government support.
@@christiandaniels8045 💯💯💯
Thanks for covering this extremely important and willfully forgotten chapter of US history. Here in Oakland, CA, over 20,000 homes were destroyed to build the interstate freeways, more than has been built in the decades since. In West Oakland, at the time a thriving black neighborhood, one subcontractor used a WWII surplus tank to bulldoze homes and businesses. Today Oakland is mired in air pollution and noise from these freeways built to serve suburban commuters.
Thank you for mentioning this!
@@TJ-vh2ps excellent and relevant point! Thanks for adding
This channel has taught me more about how institutional racism and its long term effect work better then all my years of schooling. We learned about racism in school but it could all be summarized as “people used to be racist, not many are now, the end”
which as recent history has shown us, is a bald faced lie. there are way too many people who are still very dangerously racist in positions of power that would rather us forget racism exists than be exposed as the human filth they are. Granted some of them have come out of the closet now that extremism is on the rise and people are still way too blind thanks to all these years of being tought "but now its gone" when it never left.
This was a particularly fun episode to watch after binge-watching the Not Just Bikes channel :(.
If you noticed the cause of these racist policies were ultimately greedy business men. This is why capitalism is oppressive by its nature and socialism is the answer!
@@christiandaniels8045 look to the kulaks, they were killed for their lack of conformity, the only solution is to be better
@@christiandaniels8045 You keep reposting this same comment everywhere, that's definitely going to be how the revolution happens.
@@Sinistar123 just report him for spam and move on.
You too? Not just bikes, I mean not just me?
This video helped me explain systemic racism to my father. I cant thank you enough for covering this topic and articulating this way white communities have benefited for decades, often obliviously.
Where we they suppose to build the highways then ?
I'm my home town in Austin, i35 probably should've run down present day MoPac expressway where the train from Dallas to San Antonio already ran.... One larger highway. The i35 stretch the the city still doesn't have the width for freight traffic. It was rerouted around the city on a tollway in like 2014ish.
Ultimately, local issues are for city governments not the feds anyway. For sure how space in the city limits gets used shouldn't be dictated by executive branch employees in some other capital city. That's my opinion anyway.
@@drwalka10 Not building them in the first place and retaining mixed-used, walkable neighborhoods would have been the sensible course of action.
@@drwalka10 wow.
Robert Mosses cost Brooklyn the Dodgers because he wouldn’t help them get a stadium site where the Barclays center is today, because they would’ve made use of the trains, and he wanted them to move to queens and use his new highways. That’s all you need to know about this megalomaniac.... good riddance
Anybody that's been to a mets game in the last few decades knows what a disaster driving home is. Quicker to take the train.
It doesn't matter if it happened 32 years before I was born, that betrayal was a personal attack on ME, and I'll never forgive Moses for driving them away, or the Dodgers for leaving.
Robert Moses was a hero in Queens, NY. The legend was that he developed the borough (although that was not exactly true for neighborhoods bisected by the Long Island Expressway). I remember, as a child in elementary school, my class was required by teacher (and probably the principal) to each write get-well letters to Robert Moses towards the end of his life. Funny how no one spoke of the terrible costs of his building projects when he was alive--before he had the chance to tear down living communities.
When they built I-64 through Charleston WV there were a lot of people displaced because of it, so much so that there was a popular song played all the time on local radio titled "The Interstate is Coming Through Our Outhouse".
I hope to see in the future a full episode dedicated to Jane Jacobs. Maybe you could even include some of Chuck Marohn's Strong Towns thoughts.
I’ve been waiting for an extra credits history of modern urban planning series for forever
Cool Kafuka bro
I’ve never seen a public policy philosophy more intensely motivated by (barely cloaked) racism. This is absolutely mind shattering.
Where were they suppose to build the highways then ?
Robert Moses had a brief entry into elective politics in 1934, when he was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York. His campaign was almost a textbook example of how to run as bad a campaign as possible: He insulted every voter to his face at campaign rallies. Not only did he lose, but he suffered one of the worst losses for the GOP in the history of the Empire State. He even lost Upstate, a result so unexpected, many people didn't believe it.
the Republicans would of won if they put forward probably literally anyone else then. Considering he was in on the"New Deal" bull
@@constantineergius1626 I don't know about "literally anyone else", but election results of the 1930's in general showed pro-New Deal Republicans had an easier time at the polls than anti-New Deal Republicans.
@@darreljones8645 its not about being popular its about being right just like with Biden id argue there should of been a military coup to protect this country from the spread of socialism... The big irony is at the time of the New Deal the only people in the country that seemed to oppose socialism in the USA were African Americans which is ironic now because 70-80% of them now want more socialism despite the fact the new deal ruined them... the New Deal and all examples of government overreach are mistakes
@@constantineergius1626 oh shut up libertarian
@@constantineergius1626 Basic human rights and not letting people go broke shouldn't be considered socialism. It's something that's practiced by most fist world countries
I saw the name Robert Moses and was immediately like :O since I recognized the name from the beach near me as well as the Robert Moses Parkway you take to get there. I had no idea about any of this history, so thanks! Really interesting to hear the history about things on Long Island for me since that's where I've always lived.
Edit: Alright, holy shit this guy was evil.
I'm reminded of my classmates in college, who would sometimes complain about how Chicago's expressways largely run through low-income, "majority-minority" neighborhoods. It's like, "How do you think that might have happened, guys?"
Started to smile and think wow an enterprising white person, a planner for the people, a shining example of...then 3:45 hits and I'm like ahh there it is
I know how you feel. I thinking "this could also be explained as exploiting the poor not just racist. OH it was overt racism, my bad"
“Children under 21 may qualify for free checkups” in the wealthiest country on earth. America is insane.
healthcare is a service not a right when you trust a government this is what happens
@@constantineergius1626
how does being a service prevent healthcare from being a right?
@@oddsdenver9673 It's the same mindset that thinks the Postal Service, also a service, takes quarterly and annual losses _just like a private company._
Is Robert Moses the basis for villian in 'Who framed Rodger Rabbit'?
Yeah thats why he wants to bulldose toon town.
Yep
Anyone from New York with a little knowledge of the town hates Robert Moses with a passion
MIND IS BLOWN!!!
If you noticed the cause of these racist policies were ultimately greedy business men. This is why capitalism is oppressive by its nature and socialism is the answer!
@@christiandaniels8045 what the hell
@@christiandaniels8045 No...no it's not. I would give a long rambling speech on why, but I honestly don't feel like it. So just no.
@@christiandaniels8045
Capitalism has always relied on the suffering and exploitation of others.
@@sliverbullet7973 the hell is that capitalism is inherently flawed and democracy always abused by the rich
I think this was an amazing way to cover a figure who in another time was celebrated but now we relate to them differently. Love how his achievement was acknowledged but like....dude was still racist, and thats more important
And he demolished Penn Station
I agree. And he wasn't just racist, but actively going out of his way to hurt other peoples' livelihoods. That's what we call a 'dick move' around here.
@@Darkgun231 yeah we call them hallow donkeys round where i stay, assholes if you will🧐
If you noticed the cause of these racist policies were ultimately greedy business men. This is why capitalism is oppressive by its nature and socialism is the answer!
@@christiandaniels8045 i agree with you but the more i think about it the more i can see that its the people that are greedy not the system 🥴 i wish i knew more about how to stop it so it doesnt spoil a socialist govt the same way
Preach! these are the same people that got rid of street cars in most of america for profit. LIke street cars were really convienent and present in most cities for accssible transportation then this happened
If you noticed the cause of these racist policies were ultimately greedy business men. This is why capitalism is oppressive by its nature and socialism is the answer!
@@christiandaniels8045 both are oppressive in a way, actually.
But they're so practical :((
@@ea6022 what are you an anarchist?
@@christiandaniels8045 no, because humans will again show their selfishness through anarchy. I mean there’s really no answer due to corruption and carelessness. In a perfect society any government form would work but the twisted people always end up on top. I don’t really know which government I’d stand for but the constant is the selfishness of humans screws everything up
I grew up on Long Island, and RM's name is everywhere like he's some sort of hero. Once I learned about the guy, I realized how hostile the place was just based on what we applauded. Anybody who has seen The Ten Commandments knows that you can't say Master Builder without also thinking Master Butcher.
Makes me think of that one song from "sick of it all" about Robert Moses
If you noticed the cause of these racist policies were ultimately greedy business men. This is why capitalism is oppressive by its nature and socialism is the answer!
@@christiandaniels8045 stop spamming.
@@christiandaniels8045 socialism allway goes wrong too if unchecked, as history clearly showed time and time again.
@@Genesis23OPB People say Venezuela is bad yet 75% of they're economy is privately owned. China is run by wealthy billionaires so it also doesn't count as socialism. Same thing with the Soviet Union. That's why Russia is run by billionaire oligarchs now. They used to be the rich "communist" party members. A true socialist or communist society is a moneyless, classless, and borderless society. This has never been done before. Socialism goes wrong when it is hijacked by capital owners with capital interests, or when capitalist governments orchestrate coups and put sanctions on democratically elected socialist leaders.
@@christiandaniels8045 yes, but human nature is NEVER going to develop a truly socialist society. The human is inherently selfish, so what you’re suggesting simply cannot happen. They want to benefit themselves, not necessarily at the cost of others, but still benefit themselves. By nature, socialism is not possible. So I’m sure there’s a better way.
Ya'll remember Pennsylvania Station? Robert Moses destroyed it.
If you noticed the cause of these racist policies were ultimately greedy business men. This is why capitalism is oppressive by its nature and socialism is the answer!
@@christiandaniels8045 I wouldnt say so , many so socilist nations at times oppersed minorties as well. thats why we must strike a balance sociol democracy for the win.
@@christiandaniels8045 Complete socialism is not the answer, but it sure as hell is good to have parts of socialism in government.
@@Yingyanglord1 Hey that's just taking one more step towards socialism like every country including ours has been doing for the past 100 years so that sounds great. I'd take a social democracy over our crony capitalism any day of the week my friend. And to be fair there's never been a moneyless, classless, and borderless society which is the ultimate goal of socialism.
Little Mexico that was once part of Dallas Texas, was practically destroyed and replaced with a highway
those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Let us build a better future
let us note that people are trusting large government and calling for another "New Deal"
2010.
In 2010-2014 To "improve the economy" and "save the environment", lightrail was run down one of the busiest (minority and non-minority) small business zones, University Avenue, in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. The road was shut down, minority and non minority small businesses were unable to function, many closed for good... usually those whose owners couldn't afford a long shutdown, as University was being ripped up and was difficult to drive on wherever it wasn't outright closed.
Prior to this there was a perfectly serviceable bus line, the 15, I know, I used to ride it.
It stopped at every stop, every 15 minutes, day and night. Replacing it was unnecessary.
Oh, but it gets better.
You have to wait a half hour for the light rail, it's more expensive, and the people who it was meant to "help" cannot afford to ride it.
So THAT, is how Minneapolis and St. Paul have "left beind" the past where they ripped up minority neighborhoods for a massive highway system.
Such improvement!
Eventually, new businesses opened, but I would be very surprised if those are the same people, and if it is the same number of minority to non minority businesses.
so how are the citys doing now that the riots and covid quarantine hapend?
And now we see another person brainwashed by the Koch brothers. Screw you and your anti-mass transit agenda.
You know, in many other developed countries this could legitimately be called the intercountry ethnic cleansing........this really is mind-blowing. And then people are wondering why many non-rich Americans are revolted by what is, theoretically at least, a systematic racism.
Justinian the Great how did you conquer italy?
America is a rich country, not a developed one.
Get off your goddamm high horse
@@killerlork it's developed
@@killerlork it’s developed
the fact y'all cover things like this is why I think this is one of the best history channels on youtube. Painful history is important so that we can work to correcting it and ensuring it never happens again.
The more I learn about America the more I wonder why people praise it to the extent that we do
Propaganda spread by the corporate owned media.
The idea of America is what speaks to the imagination, a new continent where the experiment of revolution born out of Europe has a chance to grow. The last time America had a chance of greatness was with the dream of MLK and Kennedy’s words “ask not what your country can do for you but you can do for your country” (not the persons but the idea). It is still a country where hard work and entrepreneurship can get you a better life. It is just that the big companies are looking at their bottomline instead of why they are in business this is what is killing the America we desire.
In American schools they are forced to recite a poem about how much they love America, every single day.
mandatory gun ownership and abolishing the income tax and eminent domain anyone?
Welcome to nationalism, it poisons the mind and weakens our drive to improve.
There's a literal cluster of overpasses in my city of resistance. I wonder what neighborhoods were there before.
You can find out if you hit up your local library! Many of these neighborhoods still exist, but they are a fraction of what they once were
Its also worth mentioning that his city designs suck ass if you, like me, want to live without cars. He's a huge reason why thats impossible in America, why cities are noisier, and why the suburbs are so segregated from the cities. If you wanna learn more about a better way to do urban planning, try Not Just Bikes' channel.
The neighborhood in which I grew up was devastated not only by the construction of I-75 but by numerous other so-called "urban renewal" schemes as well. The worst part was that they would move the people out of their buildings as quickly as possible and either let the buildings stand empty for years before starting demolition and construction or demolish the buildings and let the rubble sit for years before starting construction. The neighborhood really did look like a war zone.
I appreciate you addressing a part of history not taught in schools, or on the media.
Its kinda sad, that I a kiwi is learning about this more than you guys. I hope for America that you guys get better soon.
It is taught in some NYC schools, I learned this while in HS in the Bronx.
The fact the other human beings did this and supported this both saddens me and make me angry at the injustice in this country.
That opening is so close to being the start of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Seems to be a trend in mindless urbanization
Don't Panic? You know I never understood how you're supposed to print that in large friendly letters
I was picturing exactly the same thing. I thought the commotion was going to be a bulldozer, not just men in suits.
@@c182SkylaneRG Oh now I get it, I pictured the same thing. Why do city planners do this, it seems more expensive/counterproductive in the long run since you either end up with more than the usual amount of homeless people and all that baggage, or you have to house everyone who lived there, or people wind up making stuff like this that wrecks your reputation
Whoever said it was mindless? Seems deliberate to me. He was racist and he was pretty blatant with his views.
@@mckayleepugmire9947 well, at it's best, they've got to expropriate someone, so they go for the ones which offer less resistance.
At it's worst....other interests might rear their head.
This video and the previous on on Redlining are pretty important, because people when they talk about racism still mostly think about stuff like the KKK burning crosses and Whites Only signs.
And more importantly since they don't see stuff like that anymore assume there's no more racism.
Every episode just makes me wonder how and why? And then answers that
Because people are terrible to other people for terrible reasons
@@twoscarabsintheswarm9055 we live in a society
@@brodown64 ikr, wacky.
We've been talking about this in my US History class. What perfect timing.
Not only did thrusting highways in cites cleared out minority communities it’s also wildly inefficient
It was efficient at clearing out minority communities.
@@herp_derpingson true
@@MrHistory269highways are objectively the best thing ever made
This is what people mean when they say, paraphrased, "but muh roads!" Abolish eminent domain.
Absolutely. The city government bodies are no better than mr. Moses here. Often thinking with their wallets or prejudices before the community they are supposed to serve.
@@danamoore1788 this is what happens when you trust government rather then individuals they decide things often with prejudice as an influence
The part of history we don’t hear about in schools. Smh
Highways in cities are terrible in the first place, at least out of place in Europe.
If you noticed the cause of these racist policies were ultimately greedy business men. This is why capitalism is oppressive by its nature and socialism is the answer!
Moses famously hated European cities because they were too mixed of people uses and views. His writings on the subject is enlightening on what a loon he was
@@christiandaniels8045 How Venezuela working out for you?
@@WatcherMovie008
I’m not 100% sure but he might be a bot, it would be wise to Disengage before the situation deteriorates
@@WatcherMovie008 Venezuela is 75 percent private ownership of business you smooth brained conservative. Another example of the interests of capital ruining a country. Venezuela isn't socialist. Although i doubt you even know what socialism is lmao
Wha - what do you mean, “why has it got to be built?” It is a bypass! You’ve got to build bypasses!
I can never get the hang of Thursdays.
As someone from Baltimore I can say that the highway through Harlem park is legit the most pointless roadway in the city(I-170 Maryland). It’s a highway that only about 3 miles long and does nothing but cut through the Harlem park neighborhood. It’s even more pointless because it’s flanked by major roads that all connect to the city and stretch farther than the highway. I’m actually helped a friend who is studying architecture do a report on the effects it had on the neighborhood and I’m glad that you guys mentioned it.
Hearing the old mayor of my hometown in a extra history episode is very strange 😂 Anthony Fox became Charlotte mayor when I was in like the fourth grade
Not to mention that the standard of the drivable suburbia is destroying our economy and local governments
Very nice to see after listening to defunctland and how he ruined alot of stuff in new york
The crowning irony of all of this is that modern big-city planners actively reject the “highways = good” model. It turns out that foot traffic is good for people, good for business, good for the environment, and all-around makes for a much more pleasant place to live. I defy anyone who lives in L.A. to claim its transportation is better than that of D.C.
Yeaaaaah, that's the guy I read about in an ethics course who deliberately build the overpasses in some places low to stop busses from going through particularly to stop minorities who primarily relied on busses. It's gross, yo.
But wow, he DELIBERATELY used the most destructive path for his highway through the bronx?! Now THAT'S atrocious. :o
I've been subscribed to your channel for years now and I just really appreciate the recent videos you guys have been making. To have history that directly affected my family represented on one of my favorite channels is just amazing! Thank you guys for years of great content
You missed Rondo here in MN. It was shredded by interstate 94.
The fall out of urban renewal is one of the great untold disaster stories of the 20th century. Thank you for telling the tale.
It is important that we keep a close eye on the upcoming infrastructure bill.
It is amazing how surgical America's cruelty was. Just painfully designed as if it was a tapestry being made.
poor white man poor black man it dont matter none the richman gonna do what he wants to both of em - my grandfather
Your granddad has class consciousness.
And yet, for some reason, in almost every metric imaginable, it's worse for the poor black man. Must just be a coincidence though, otherwise that would make your pappy a racist.
This actually happened recently in the US within the last 6 years. I forgot where it was but they wanted to build a highway where some houses were. It was a huge court case. The people were worried they would he homeless or that the company would build right over them and disturb their neighborhood. I'm not sure what the resolution was. I think the home owners won. It was a mixed community of every ethnicity, majority of the low to poor home owners. If someone knows what I'm talking about, let me know.
When the Bay Bridge that linked Oakland to San Francisco by road and rail opened in 1936, ferries no longer limited transportation between the two cities.
But when that bridge became part of a network of 1960s planning for highways in San Francisco, the African American quarter of downtown(located southwest of the Bay Bridge entrance)
Was entirely demolished to make way for I-80. That, along with the loss of downtown's Filipino quarter a decade later, was a sad time in the city's history.
This nearly happened to the neighborhood I currently live in today when they were building a highway to connect Boston to Manchester in a faster way. However, the plans for the highway had it going over a very large garbage dump, so it was going to be topped off, aka filled in and built over. Luckily, someone who had connections within the city and other towns was able to arrange many of the surrounding cities and towns for miles to dump all of the garbage into said garbage dump. Thus, when they were planning on finally building the highway, there was too much garbage to fill the dump in without going over the height limit. Thanks to this, the highway took a route through a more rural area, saving many homes and local businesses.
I had never heard of this guy a month ago and now I've seen him talked about on three separate youtube channels. Just a weird coincidence probably.
I didn't know the ex-Secretary of Transportation was the mayor of my home city! Cool!
I will say, though, Charlotte has some of the worst roads in the entire state.
They are redundant, disorganized, oversized... they took way to long to build, even to such an extent that I heard rumors of Raleigh (the capital) using the project for graft, and the highways we ended up with are so insanely overlong and take such ridiculous circuitous routes around the city that they don't usually end up being helpful at all. At least they're almost never overcrowded.
No more lifetime politicians, that goes for supreme court justices too.
Well, understandable sentiment...but not practicle...we need to insist that they be as fair and just as possible.
If you noticed the cause of these racist policies were ultimately greedy business men. This is why capitalism is oppressive by its nature and socialism is the answer!
Robert Moses wasn't really a politician and he certainly didn't serve in any one place for life.
@@o76923.I'm not talking about him, its all politics though.
@@o76923 he was beyond politics. Never elected, and not appointed. One of the greatest legal minds of the 20th century he made himself a dictator of his own domain.
After watching this video, y'all should really check out Defuntland's videos on the History of Coney Island and the 1964 New York World's Fair
Sad fact that this still happens today. Gentrification is the new version of what Robert Moses started
eminent domain should be abolished
Robert Moses gets mentioned, NYC and defunctland viewers: oh no not this SOB.
To force someone out of their home is bad enough, but entire communities? That's just reprehensible 😠
Can you make a Trail of Tears one? I would love it because my son is learning about the Southeast.
I’m going to Canada and never coming back
Thank you for the video and context we are still feeling the effects of it today in Cleveland. The city of Cleveland and it's suburbs had the highway revolt in the 50's and 60's. Albert Porter really wanted to carve up the city and inner ring suburbs with highways, but he fell to the rich folks in Shaker Heights. Porter also wanted to tear down the Guardians on the Lorain/Carneige Bridge saying they weren't that historic. Unfortunately/fortunately part of his vision has been enacted with the Opportunity Corridor (gag), and it is tearing up historically black neighborhoods right now. On one hand it will make it easier to get to the hospitals and museums, but the project is yet again displacing families and businesses.
I habitually clicked on this video, as I do with any Extra Credits upload. I did not expect to hear, in the very first second of the video, the name of a town just five miles from me.
A few years ago in college, as a Civil Engineer student, the very people responsible for building roads and bridges, in a specific lesson about why you should incorporate ethics into your decision making, Robert's low bridges preventing buses from using the roads underneath them was literally mentioned as an example of bad ethics. And this lesson was in the first month of year 1 of the study, underlying the need to use that in any available project
Would you ever consider a section on the Chinese Exclusion Act and Chinese-Americans on the west coast
And Manzanar. PLEASE do Mazanar.
The severe lack of Jane Jacobs makes me sad... People knew in the '50s and '60s that this was wrong, and her book was one of the focal points against Moses.
I am glad that you keep showing this important subject. It is so easy to just dip a toe in it and calling it a day.
man this makes a lot of the highways that were built around the poorer neighborhoods of northeastern NJ where I grew up suddenly make a lot more sense
I'm a NYer, and everyone I know hates that man and everything he did
I have learned so much from these episodes from the harlem hell fighters, to the burning of black wall street, but could you put them into a playlist so sharing them can be easier please?
If they already are and i just cant find it then my apologies
ua-cam.com/play/PLhyKYa0YJ_5AlikBYiNGc5yXmuiF8QPc8.html
This playlist the one you wanted?
I’ve learned so much from this channel. Thank you for making these amazing videos!
I currently live in Baltimore, MD and after briefly learning about Henry Barnes, I do appreciate that someone did attempt to avoid tearing down homes of minority groups. However, greed had and will always play a part in every day living.
holy crap, racism in the USA is so much more present in daily life than i ever realised.
The US is inherently racist. We just keep it inside to ourselves because the greater good comes first before personal bias. I only wish it were true in US politics though.
The whole world was racist back then. Ethnic cleansing was commonplace everywhere; thinking it's only the US is extremely ignorant. Read a history book; it's embarrassing how little people like you know about history now.
@@TheAxeninja oh really, you think? i dont see those signs of racism or ethnic cleansing in switzerland at all, probably because.we didnt use slave labour to build our countrys economy for us. calling everybody racist just because its still rampantly obvious in the USA is probably the most ignorant and moronic thing i have seen this year so far. congratulations.
@@TheAxeninja exactly you are one of those who think misssissipi makes usa a superpower am i right
0:45 Obviously what happens next:
"So long boys! I'll send you a postcard from paradise falls."
This is so informative. Thank you Extra Credits for your hardwork in telling real history. These episodes should be viewed in every history/ social science class
the Robert Caro fanboyism has led me here and I'm quite pleased with that