Why do some cities cultivate thriving neighborhoods, while others slide into crime and decay? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, assessing the health of American cities. Also, the remarkable career of Robert Moses, the urban planner who shaped New York City for half a century.

SEGMENT 1:

Fred Siegel teaches history at Cooper Union in New York and is the author of "The Future Once Happened Here: New York, D.C., L.A. and the Fate of America's Big Cities." He tells Jim Fleming that the social welfare programs of the 1960s were disastrous for the big cities and anchored people to their poverty. Also, cultural historian Ross Miller is the author of "Here's the Deal: The Buying and Selling of a Great American City." He tells Steve Paulson the story of Chicago's Block 37 - an urban renewal nightmare of greed, power and manipulation.

SEGMENT 2:

Robert Caro won a Pulitzer Prize for "The Power Broker" - - his monumental biography of Robert Moses. The book has been re-issued to mark the 100th anniversary of the consolidation of the five boroughs into New York City. Caro tells Jim Fleming that Moses was America's greatest builder; that he never won an election yet retained his power for over forty years; and that his vision of New York had a terrible impact on the people displaced by his projects.

SEGMENT 3:

Community organizer Milenko Matanovic tells Steve Paulson about his work with a citizens' group in Seattle that wants to re-animate its downtown. He says it's important to avoid "blaming" in public discourse.and that urban problems are complex -- they can't be solved by focusing on single issues. Matanovic is the executive director of the Pomegranate Center, P.O. Box 486, Issaquah, WA 98027, (206) 557-6412.

• week of 01/25/98 - hour 1