YPI Documentary (aka Book) Club: The World That Moses Built

Calling all YPI members and YPI Book Clubbers! This year, in addition to covering one book, YPI Book Club will put on a new hat as YPI Documentary Club for two thirty-minute sessions, each facilitating discussion about a short free video about projects and infrastructure.

Join YPI Documentary aka Book Club on February 26, 2025 at 4:00-4:30 PM ET to discuss the short free 1-hour documentary, "The World That Moses Built" found here​. The documentary covers the work of larger-than-life, controversial urban planner Robert Moses in shaping New York City, as well as other areas in the United States.

For our first session, the YPI Professional Development Committee will collaborate with the YPI Diversity Committee to lead a discussion about Robert Moses. In our discussion of Moses' footprint in the U.S., we will acknowledge how Moses negatively impacted marginalized communities and discuss ways to prevent discriminatory practices through methods such as community outreach and promoting participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs). Please refer to the following articles on Robert Moses concerning allegations of Moses' abuse of power and segregationist practices in Robert Caro's biography The Power Broker, including his decision to build Southern State Parkway with low clearances, presumably to exclude low-income, mostly POC bus riders:

• Robert Moses and His Racist Parkway, Explained​
• Racist or Radical? The Strange Case of Robert Moses and the Building of New York City's Aquatics Infrastructure​

Here are a few articles on promoting diversity in infrastructure:

• Five Ways Urban Planners Are Addressing a Legacy of Inequity​
• Improving Planning Access for South Los Angeles​