Mount Pleasant was one of the last sections of the City to be developed, and as a result, the houses have decent side yards and front lawns. Although some houses were constructed in the late 19th century thanks to the construction of the streetcar down Chalkstone, most homes were built in the early to mid 20th century. There are sections of Mt. Pleasant (esp. on the western edge and northeast corner) that weren’t built up until the 50s and are often missing sidewalks. Very similar to neighboring Elmhurst, the neighborhood saw an influx of 2nd & 3rd generation Irish and Italian immigrants into Mt. Pleasant in the first half of the 20th century with the Irish leaving behind Smith Hill and the Italians leaving Federal Hill. In the post War era, Mount Pleasant was one of Providence’s most stable neighborhoods with few homes being listed for sale. By the 2000s the demographics shifted to include large numbers of Hispanic and African American families. Mt. Pleasant, by all accounts, has made this transition graciously, and is still a very stable part of Providence.
From an urban perspective Mt. Pleasant contains many suburban amenities with enough urban amenities to be a solid urban district. It has good schools and high levels of safety but also high density levels, decent retail amenities, convenient access to Dwtn pretty good transit access and some 2 & 3 bedroom rentals. For Mt. Pleasant to become a top tier urban district it needs more accessible parks. Most parks space is dedicated to sport complexes attached to schools, the Triggs Memorial Golf Course, and Rhode Island College. The neighborhood could use better public transit and bike infrastructure and major mixed-use development built up along the business districts running along Chalkstone, Smith, and Atwells, which would foster more retail and cultural amenities in the community.
Click here to view my Mt. Pleasant Album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Really good density esp. for this era of housing btwn WWI and WWII.
* Decent public transit access and very convenient access to Dwtn being only a 13 min drive and 20 min bus ride.
* About 60% of all curb cuts are up to ADA standards. Generally good sidewalk infrastructure but some sections with limited sidewalks especially in sections of the neighborhood with a lot of Post WWII housing (western edge and northeastern sections).
* Solid tree canopy throughout.
* Large Hispanic population here (about 50%). Also large White and Black populations as well. Also good economic diversity and a large number of college students and families here.
* Overall a pretty safe community.
* Good array of pretty well rated public grade schools in Mt. Pleasant. There are a couple private schools and a large public HS but poorly rated.
* Really no 1-beds but for sale housing is pretty reasonable compared to more gentrified areas. 2-bed sell btwn 200K-500K, and 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 200K-700K.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
- Modern in-fill is limited but much of what does exist is auto centric junk.
- Historic residential is generally pretty plain with a mix of working class duplex/triplexes and single family homes. Some nice homes mixed in throughout the neighborhood.
- Urban form is mixed along the commercial corridors (Chalkstone, Academy, Smith, and Atwells) . Nothing special about the streetscaping.
- Outside of the Triggs Memorial Golf Course, the Rec center at Rhode Island College, school sports fields, only a handful of parks within Mt. Pleasant.
- Okay cultural amenities including plenty of Hispanic restaurants, a handful of bars & cafes, an art museum and performing arts theater at Providence College.
- So so retail amenities including several smaller grocerias, a couple drug stores, a hardware store, a couple banks, tons of salons & barber shops, several bakeries, a couple churches, and a public library.
- Limited 1-beds and some of 2 & 3 beds the lease btwn 1.8K-2.5K.”
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 