Robert Moses Biography

Robert Moses was an American public official who was popularly referred to as the ‘Master Builder’ by the media and public for his revolutionary construction work in the New York metropolitan area. Moses was never elected to any public office but worked in public service for the state after joining the New York City’s bureau of municipal research. Moses studied political science at Yale, Oxford, and Columbia Universities. Despite not have any degrees in engineering, architecture, or planning, Moses revolutionized the urban planning in the city of New York and inspired many other states to plan in a similar fashion. As the head of the state park commissions of New York and Long Island, Moses changed the face of New York with his urban planning. He was the main person behind the proposed parkway system in New York. He planned a total of 12 bridges, numerous parks across the state, and emphasized on building highways rather than just focusing on public transport. Robert Moses built a network of 35 highways apart from planning the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Shea Stadium. He earned a great deal of respect from the media and the public for his reformation of the urban society but failed to win the election for the post of governor of New York in 1934, the only time he contested for a public post. Despite his revolutionary works, Moses was also criticized by many for his methods and priorities. He was criticized for allegedly neglecting and somewhat restricting the colored population of the states as well as the poor and the lower-middle class.