Cooper Square Committee and the Rise of Advocacy Planning in the Mid-Twentieth Century Manhattan

Forty-five years into the 20th century, the United States had witnessed countless interconnected events, which moulded its attitude towards urban planning. The country initially experienced a growing housing shortage which was becoming increasingly visible with every passing decade (Fogelson 2013). Between 1949 and 1960, as chairman of Committee on Slum Clearance of New York City, Robert Moses, led thirty-five separate urban renewal projects with a federal funding of $65.8 million ($842 million today) to “cure” the endemic housing crisis (Chronopoulos 2014, 207; Ballon 2007, 94-95). In 1959, Robert Moses proposed a slum clearance plan which targeted the Cooper Square neighbourhood of Manhattan. During the same year, the residents of the target neighbourhood joined together to form the Cooper Square Committee to fight the municipality of New York with an “Alternate Plan”, created under a participatory banner. This investigation provides an overview of urban planning within the mid...Show moreForty-five years into the 20th century, the United States had witnessed countless interconnected events, which moulded its attitude towards urban planning. The country initially experienced a growing housing shortage which was becoming increasingly visible with every passing decade (Fogelson 2013). Between 1949 and 1960, as chairman of Committee on Slum Clearance of New York City, Robert Moses, led thirty-five separate urban renewal projects with a federal funding of $65.8 million ($842 million today) to “cure” the endemic housing crisis (Chronopoulos 2014, 207; Ballon 2007, 94-95). In 1959, Robert Moses proposed a slum clearance plan which targeted the Cooper Square neighbourhood of Manhattan. During the same year, the residents of the target neighbourhood joined together to form the Cooper Square Committee to fight the municipality of New York with an “Alternate Plan”, created under a participatory banner. This investigation provides an overview of urban planning within the mid-20th century to rationalise the use of both top down and bottom-up planning techniques in urban regeneration project in Manhattan. With the use of archived plans, interviews and audio recordings, this thesis will primarily examine the “Basic Philosophy” of the Cooper Square Committee as presented in the “Alternate Plan” in conjunction to Robert Moses’ philosophy which is pieced together with various interviews, audio recordings, and past projects (Cooper Square Community Development Committee and Businessmen’s Association 1961, 3). In doing so, this research aims to contribute to current literature by further examining the influence of both parties in question within the life cycle of participatory planning in the 1950s-1960s.Show less

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Cooper Square Committee and the Rise of Advocacy Planning in the Mid-Twentieth Century Manhattan