Member-only story
Devious design: How can a seemingly neutral design have ill intent?
A look at Robert Moses and the saga of the racist parkway bridges.
The tale of Robert Moses and the racist parkway bridges
Robert Moses, a prominent figure in the development of urban infrastructure in the mid-20th century, was a city planner known for his significant influence on New York’s environment. His legacy, however, is mixed, with many critics highlighting the racially discriminatory impacts of his designs.
One widely known controversy is the alleged design of parkway bridges on Long Island, New York. Moses, as the story goes, purposely designed the overpasses to be too low for buses to pass underneath. This effectively restricted access to Jones Beach, a popular public park developed by Moses, primarily for residents of New York City who were often lower-income minorities and relied on public buses for transportation.
While it’s difficult to definitively prove Moses’ intentions, his designs had a clear, discriminatory impact, revealing how urban design can perpetuate social inequity.
The parkways in question, including the Northern State Parkway and the Southern State Parkway, were built in the 1930s and 1940s. These roads were designed with aesthetic and recreational purposes in mind. Moses envisioned them as “ribbons of green,” providing city dwellers a means to access the suburbs and parks, including Jones Beach State Park, which Moses also designed.
The parkway bridges were often low, with clearances around 7–9 feet, which is generally lower than the standard for highway bridges today. The argument goes that these low clearances would have prevented public buses, which typically require a clearance of at least 11 feet, from accessing the parkways and, by extension, Jones Beach.
Jones Beach State Park, opened in 1929, was located in Nassau County, Long Island, and was one of New York’s most popular public recreational areas. If Moses did indeed design the parkway bridges to limit bus access, it would…
