Changing (Part 5 of 7)

Core idea

The fifth part of Changing shows how design priorities encode whose experience matters. Riverside Park was designed for the motorist on the West Side Highway — the view from the windshield was lavish, the landscaping was tuned to the speed of the car, the ornamental stonework was scaled for distance. The pedestrian's experience — quiet, intimate, accessible — was sacrificed. Moses literally said, of the park: the motoring public — those were the people he was designing for. Park-as-photograph, not park-as-experience.

Why it matters

The motorist's view as design priority

Riverside Park's landscaping, ornamental stonework, marina placement, and sightline planning were all designed to look good at 40 mph from the West Side Highway. The pedestrian experience — sound, intimacy, slow walking — was secondary. Moses said this explicitly to colleagues; he was thinking in terms of what the motorist would see.

Park-as-photograph vs park-as-experience

Caro's analytic framework: parks can be designed as experiences (for users on foot, slow, hours) or as photographs (for viewers at distance, fast, seconds). Moses's parks were photographs. They photographed beautifully. They lived less well.

Key takeaways

Mental model

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Practical application

Example

Modern airport design prioritizes the passenger arriving by car and dropping bags over the passenger arriving on transit. The choice is visible in floor plans and is rarely audited. Moses's motorist-oriented parks are the mid-century template.

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