A Tale of Two Visions: Harland Bartholomew,Robert Moses,and the Development of the American Freeway

Abstract

For sixty years, engineers and planners have debated the freeway’s role in the city. Engineers have tended to view freeways strictly in traffic service terms. Planners, on the other hand, have long viewed freeways not only as a means of facilitating automobile transportation but also as a tool for reshaping the city. This article uses the plans of Harland Bartholomew and Robert Moses to illustrate these competing visions of the freeway and to assess the implications of these visions on the development of the freeway and its long-term influence on our cities. The traffic-service vision of the engineers emerged victorious through the creation of the interstate highway system, but this victory has carried with it a high price for many American cities.