Before I go see Edward Norton's movie
Motherless Brooklyn, I am going to read a 1974 classic biography written by Robert Caro:
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York.
It's biographic account of Robert Moses' life and how his prejudice toward people of color was baked into the fabric of structure of bridges and road ways of the surrounding NYC area. It's an period piece which examines how corruption can harm cities. I am on the wait list for the book and hope to read it soon.