This seminar uses Robert Caro’s The Power Broker as a case study through which students explore how modern New York was built. Following Robert Moses’s sweeping rise and often devastating impact on neighborhoods, democratic processes, and racial equity, the course grapples with a fundamental three-part question that sits at the center of urban governance: (1) who is the city for; (2) who gets to build it; and (3) how does law both empower and constrain those who build at scale? Students will dissect the law and political dynamics that enabled Moses’s extraordinary consolidation of influence, while examining the profound consequences that still echo in today’s housing and economic development legal challenges.

Analyzed through the lens of the four pillars of good government, including transparency, accountability, integrity, and independence, this seminar illuminates how law and policy in New York have evolved as a direct and indirect response to Moses’s era, from sunshine laws, to environmental and land use review, to modern public authorities oversight. By engaging deeply with themes of power, community input, and legitimacy, students gain a sophisticated understanding of how the legacy of Moses shapes today’s debates over speed, scale, equity, and public trust. The course culminates in students writing a publishable legal commentary.

Recommended for the Following Professional Pathways: Government/Public Sector

1 Credit