Elmhurst- a solid Middle Class Neighborhood on Providence’s Westside mixing suburban & urban amenities

The neighborhood remained sparsely settled for most of the nineteenth century. This began to change when a streetcar opened in 1882 connecting Elmhurst to Downtown. In 1909, the City acquired a piece of land on either side of a stream flowing parallel to Chalkstone, and created Pleasant Valley Parkway, a landscaped boulevard. The design was similar to Blackstone Boulevard over in East Providence but it never quiet attracted the more desirable upper middle class residents as in Blackstone Blvd. Regardless, the Parkway is still a major neighborhood amenity with attractive homes from the 1920s-1940s. In the early 1900s, Irish and Italian immigrants made their way out to Elmhurst leaving behind the more crowded inner City Providence neighborhoods. This really solidified Elmhurst as a solid middle and working class neighborhood. Elmhurst was also one of the few Providence neighborhoods with room to grow in the post War years concentrated in the northwestern part of the neighborhood.

From an urban perspective Elmhurst contains most suburban amenities with enough urban amenities to be a solid urban district. It has good parks, schools and high levels of safety but also high density levels, decent retail amenities, convenient access to Dwtn and lots of 2 & 3 bedroom rentals. For Elmhurst to become a top tier urban district it needs better public transit and bike infrastructure and major mixed-use development building up the business districts running along Chalkstone, Smith, and Admiral which would foster more retail and cultural amenities in the community.

Click here to view my Elmhurst album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Overall good sidewalk infrastructure. Most commercial intersections have modern curb cuts. Less than 50% of residential intersections have them.
Convenient access to Dwtn only 2-3 miles away. 10 min drive and 20 min transit or bike trip.
Nice array of home styles from the 1910s-1940s including a variety of single family styles with many duplexes and triplexes mixed-in.
Good diversity indicators especially economic. Slight majority white neighborhood with a large Hispanic population and decent Black and Asian #s.
Decent pretty well rated public schools but not a ton. Decent # of public & private schools in nearby Mt. Pleasant.
Overall a safe community with limited amounts of blight.
Limited 1-beds but plenty of 2 & 3 beds the lease btwn 2K-3K.
Really no 1-beds but for sale housing is pretty reasonable compared to more gentrified areas. 2-bed sell btwn 200K-450K, and 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 250K-650K.
Pretty good tree canopy.
Decent parks especially plentiful sport fields. Also a splash pad and the Providence College green space.
Solid density.
Decent retail amenities including an Aldi’s a couple Hispanic groceries, a drug store, a couple clothing/boutique stores, a florist, a couple banks, a hardware store, plenty of salons & barber shops, several bakeries & dessert joints, a university book store, several churches, two major hospitals with plenty of accompanying doctor’s offices, and a local public library.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* So so public transit access.
* Bike infrastructure is limited.
* Modern in-fill is limited but much of what does exist is auto centric junk.
* Urban form is mixed along the commercial corridors. Nothing special about the streetscaping.
* So so cultural amenities including some restaurants, a couple bars & cafes, a dinner theater and local art museum and Performing arts at Providence College.
* Missing major brand name supermarkets, a local post office, and limited locally owned boutiques and creative stores.

Fox Point- Historic Working Class Neighborhood located at Providence’s First Port (India Point)

Fox Point retains much of its historical character, with housing stock dating from the late 18th and 19th centuries. This includes vernacular of the Federal, Greek revival, and Italianate styles generally well represented West of Governor Street. East of Governor St the architecture is more working class from the late 19th century. Fox Point’s economy quickly became focused on the docks and trade with the creation of Providence’s first port at India Point in 1680, which sadly became major trading point in the Atlantic Triangle Slave Trade. By the mid 1800s Fox Point transitioned to move heavy industry with the completion of the Boston and Providence Rail Roads and regular steamship connections to ports along the East Coast. This attracted many immigrants starting with the Irish and then families from Portuguese and Cape Verdeans in the second half of the 19th century. Fox Point retained its working class ethnic vibe well into the 20th century but by the 1980s due to its proximity to Brown University working class families were replaced by students and upper middle class professionals looking for convenient access to College Hill in a walkable community.

Fox Point is a solid urban district with great access to both Dwtn and College Hill, decent public transit & bike connections, solid park amenities, and good retail amenities thanks to Wickenden & Ives Commercial Streets. It also is a great destination for night life, particularly bars & restaurants, and has a strong cafe cultural and college vibe. While housing types are diverse and rentals plentiful, its a pretty expensive neighborhood and lacks good neighborhood schools and families. Hopefully Fox Point can do a better job attracting families and empty nesters. I also would like to see continued dense urban infill along Main & Benefit Street near Providence River. My dream project would be the removal of I-195 which would eliminate the barrier to India Point Park and heal this incision through the neighborhood.

Click here to view my Fox Point Neighborhood on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Good sidewalk infrastructure but ADA curb cuts are less than 1/2 of all intersections.
Good urban density.
Very convenient access to Dwtn being only 1.5 Miles from Dwtn across all modes of transport. Nice bike lanes along the river connecting to Dwtn.
Good street grid but 195 really separates the southern edge of the district from the waterfront.
Excellent economic diversity. Good racial but not as good as College Hill.
Good array of for-sale options but pretty expensive. Thankfully do to the diversity of housing options there are moderately price condos often in multi-family historic mansions. This includes plenty of 1-bed condos that sell btwn 200K-750K, 2-bed btwn 300K-850K, and 3 & 4 beds btwn 400K-1.5 M.
Lots of rental options with studios and 1-beds leasing btwn 1K-3K, tons of 2-beds which lease btwn 1.8K-3.3K, and plenty of 3 & 4 beds leasing btwn 2K-4K.
Solid tree canopy.
Overall a very safe community. Can be a bit noisy near the bars.
Nice array of small parks spread throughout Fox Points, the larger India Point Park and a Guys & Girls Club with an indoor pool.
Attractive historic 19th century architecture but not as consistent or old as Federal Hill. A lot more plainer working class homes mixed in, esp. the eastern half of Fox Point.
Good urban form throughout most of Fox Point. A couple spots with surface prkg near 195 but these areas seem to be redeveloping.
Good cultural amenities including many diverse restaurants, tons of bars & cafes, a couple art galleries, a brewery, a performing arts theater, and convenient access to all the cultural amenities of College Hill & Dwtn.
Good retail amenities a Trader Joes, a couple gourmet grocerias, a couple florist, good amount of boutiques & gift stores, several antiques & home good stores, a hardware store, a couple bike stores, a local public library, several dessert joint & bakeries, a couple gyms, and several of churches.
Very mixed use district with two main biz districts along Wickenden & Ives but also a local of commercial activity along Brook & Hope.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

A handful of good schools in Fox Point but they are small. Several quality schools in neighboring College Hill and Wayland.
Streetscaping along Wickenden & Ives is pretty dated and narrow but better streetscaping along Main St.
Not much urban infill but more and more along or near Main St with pretty solid urban form.
Missing a post office, doctor’s office, pharmacy, etc.
Limited generational diversity as the district is largely college students and young professionals.

College Hill- Providence’s Colonial Urban Gem located just east of Downtown & Home to Brown University

College Hill is the most affluent neighborhood in Providence, with a median family income of nearly three times that of the whole city. Next to Dwtn it is Providence’s oldest neighborhood and home to the City’s colonial core. By 1644, settlement had taken root in College Hill around a natural spring at the base of the neighborhood near the Providence River. College Hill has some of the City’s oldest and more prominent buildings (e.g. Old State House, Providence Atheneaeum, John Brown House, Providence County Courthouse, Providence County Courthouse, and many iconic bldgs at Brown University). It is also known for its gorgeous 18th and 19th century mansions. Prior to Brown University’s 1770 relocation to Providence, the area was known as Prospect Hill. By the time of the American Revolution, the foot of the College Hill was densely populated with wharves, warehouses, shops, public buildings, and residential houses.

By the 1900s the portion of College Hill near Providence River became working class leading to many subdivided larger homes. It appears the rest of College Hill remained middle-upper middle class. By the mid century there were several urban renewal efforts to clean up this perceived slums of Providence and to expand and modernize Brown University. Soon after a major preservation report was published in 1959 recommending the restoration of North Benefit and conversion to residential uses. While this was a major victory for historic preservation, it helped gentrify the area displacing the neighborhood’s working class African-American and Cape Verdean communities. Regardless, College Hill was destined to gentrify eventually given its proximity to Dwtn, Brown University, and incredible historic and architectural gems.

Not much to complain about with College Hill from an urban perspective but for it to become a top tier American urban district in line with the best neighborhoods of NYC, Boston, San Fran, DC, and Philly it needs more density, which would help drive more retail amenities like a neighborhood grocery store or urban target. College Hill also needs more affordable housing and better bike infrastructure.

Click here to view my College Hill Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid density but lower than I was expecting for Providence’s top tier urban district and home of Brown University.
* Solid sidewalks and ADA Curb cuts that are up to standard in most intersections.
* Good public transit access, especially the western half of the neighborhood. Very convenient access to Dwtn where residents living near the Providence River have a 5-10 walk to dwtn.
* Excellent economic diversity and solid racial diversity.
* A couple large and excellent private schools ranging from K-12 that are likely very expensive. A good public elementary schools but the public HS isn’t well rated.
* Overall a very safe community with limited blight. Some theft but that’s pretty typical for a college campus.
* Lots of for-sale options but pretty expensive. Thankfully do to the diversity of housing options there are moderately price condos often in multi-family historic mansions. This includes plenty of 1-bed condos that sell btwn 200K-600K, 2-bed btwn 200K-1M, and 3 & 4 beds btwn 400K-2 M. Some multi-million $ options for larger mansions.
* Good parks but many of them are quads or sport complexes for Brown University. Other park amenities include the Providence River Greenway, the historic Memorial Park, Prospect Terrace w/ excellent views of Dwtn, all the parks space and ballfields around Hope HS, and a major pool and rec center at Brown University.
* Great tree canopy throughout.
* Very attractive Historic Architecture spanning the late 17th to early 20th century. Amazing historic mansions, ornate commercial bldgs, and excellent historic collegiate architecture at Brown University.
* Numerous cultural amenities including a great diversity of ethnic restaurants, plenty of bars & cafes, several art galleries, a plentitude of historic sites, College and City Museums, several concert halls within Brown or nearby, several theaters at Brown, a couple local theaters, and an Indie Movie Theater. Also very convenient access to the Cultural Amenities Dwtn.
* Solid urban form with few parking lots or strip malls. Urban in-fill while not ubiquitous is generally of good quality.
* Good retail amenities but a bit underwhelming for a top tier urban college. Urban amenities include a Whole Food located just north of the district, a drug store, good amount of boutiques & gift stores, a university book store, a couple art supply stores, a hardware store, a couple antique/furniture stores, several banks, a local post office, several dessert joints, a couple gyms, and plenty of churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Not a ton of age diversity as many living here are of college age.
A nice north to south seperated bike lane running along the river, but not much else.
Good # of rentals but less than I would expect for a College District. Rentals are expensive for Providence. Some studios lease btwn 1K-1.5K, more 1-beds that rent btwn 1.8K-3K-, 2-beds 2K-4K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 2K-4.5K.
No public library nor a department store like Target but these things can be found Dwtn and Providence Place Mall.”

Smith Hill- Solid Inner City Providence Neighborhood just NW of the Capitol Bldg with so much potential

Prior to the mid-1800s, the area was considered rural escape from downtown, with few homes. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s industrialization attracted immigrants from Ireland, Eastern Europe and the Balkans to work in nearby mills and in particular the Watershed Foundry Area along the Woonasquatucket River. I sense that Smith Hill never experienced widespread disinvestment and blight but it also is not one of Providence’s trendy gentrified neighborhoods. Stark income divisions exist on either side of the Smith Ave with many upper middle class families south of Smith and much more working class families north of it. This tracks with the location of the Smith Hill Historic District, which runs along the highway near dwtn, hosting some of the neighborhood’s best homes from the late 19th century. Smith Hill also hosts a unique historic district the “”Oakland Historic District”” preserving a very intact row of triple decker houses from the turn of the centry. The Watershed Foundry Area was redeveloped in the early 2000s with the closure of the Brown and Shape Manufacturing Company. At its peak the plant employed around 12K in WWII. This redevelopment has also lead to the cleaning up of the Woonasquatucket River and the Providence Place Mall opened in 1999 just across the highway.

From an urban perspective Smith Hill is a solid urban district with good bones. It has good public transit, excellent access to Dwtn, relatively affordable housing (compared to more gentrified Providence neighborhoods), good parks, a decent array of food & beverage businesses, and is a pretty safe area to live. But it really lacks retail amenities forcing residents to drive to surrounding neighborhoods or go to Providence Mall for all their shopping needs. Bike infrastructure is almost non-existent here and the schools leave much to be desired. My sense is that development and reinvestment will eventually home to Smith Hill. Hopefully this helps densify the neighborhood and attract better retail amenities along Smith and Douglas Avenues.

Click here to view my Flickr Album

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid density number.
* Sidewalk infrastructure is good but ADA standard curbs are located on about half of all curb cuts.
* Very convenient access to Dwtn being only 1-1.5 miles away but even closer if you are trying to get to the State House or Providence Place Mall. Transit takes about 10 mins and a 5 min drive.
* Excellent racial diversity with 1/3 of the population being Hispanic and White. Large number of Black and Asian households as well. While about 1/4 of the population is in poverty still a strong middle class represented here.
* Average urban form along the two main commercial arteries (Smith and Douglas). Some good and in-tact stretches and some bad autocentric ones. While there has been some good reuse projects of the Foundry complex, a large # of surface parking lots surround it. This is located along Promenade St.
* Mix of attractive and more gritty historic residential throughout most of Smith Hill. Some great homes mid-late 19th century historic homes just south of Smith Street and near the Statehouse.
* Some low level crime but overall Smith Hill is pretty safe. While there is some grit and abandonded vacant lot, limited vacant structures.
* Nice array of small and medium sized parks spread throughout Smith Hill. Also a community rec center and outdoor pool.
* Decent cultural amenities including a diverse array of ethnic restaurants, several cafes & bars, a couple restaurants that do live music, performing arts at nearby Providence College, and convenient access to the cineplex in Providence Place Mall and pretty easy access to the cultural amenities dwtn.
* Fair # of rentals and pretty moderately priced compared to surrounding neighborhoods. Studios & 1 beds rent btwn 1.5K-2.5K, More 2-beds btwn 1.3K-3K depending on age, and some 3 & 4 beds that rent btwn 1.8K-3K. Decent # of affordable rentals however.
* Ok or-sale options including some 1-bed condos that sell btwn 170K-350K, fewer 2-beds that sell in the 300Ks & 400Ks, and 3 & 4 beds btwn 250K-600K.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Limited bike lanes infrastructure in Smith Hill and no direct connection to Dwtn. So so coverage by the dockless bike system here.
* Not the best connectivity and grid for an urban district thanks to the highways, industrial areas and many dead end streets.
* So so tree canopy.
* The streetscaping is serviceable but tired and has not received any investment for awhile.
* Modern infill is limited to most autocentric crude. The market isn’t strong enough in Smith Hill for attractive urban infill.
* Some schools here is mixed ratings but poorer array of walkable schools than most Providence neighborhoods.
* Retail amenities for small locally owned businesses and boutiques are pretty limited. But Smith Hill does have an Aldi’s, a couple ethnic grocerias, an antique store, a local public library & post office, a bakery and ice cream store, several salons & barber shops, several churches and a good # of doctor’s offices and two major hospitals just west of the neighborhood. Smith Hill residents also have a convenient walk to Providence Mall which includes several brand name clothing stores, and dept stores.

Providence’s West End- A Historically Struggling Inner City Neighborhood Showing Signs of Life & Reinvestment

In the 19th century, the West End Area developed industrially and residentially with several factories built near the now-filled Long Pond. Development began to fill in in earnest in the Mid-19th century. The neighborhood was historically broken up by the section Northland South of Cranston Street. North of Cranston Street became a white middle-class subdistrict of the neighborhood characterized by one and two family houses, while south of Cranson became double and triple decker houses built to accommodate increasing numbers of working class Irish, French Canadians, and African-Americans families. This division in the neighborhood still holds today and the sub-section of the West End north of Cranston is significantly more affluent with more attractive and well maintained homes. Following the urban decline of the 1930s, the West End ended a slow decaying period where more and for middle class residents replaced by larger numbers of working class families, especially Hispanic and African American. In past decade however, the West End has begun to revitalize as increasing numbers of affluent households (generally White) have invested in homes bringing new life to the attractive historic houses north of Cranston but also converting many older houses into affordable rentals. While the revitalization are most evident north of Cranston, it has begun to spill out into other areas of the neighborhood. There is even new urban infill along Westminster (the north border of the district).

From an urban perspective West End has solid urban bones with a good walkable grid, solid public transit, excellent access to Dwtn, decent park & recreation amenities, and lots of solid walkable school options. There are lots of diverse housing options with prices cheaper than Federal Hill to the north. But the neighborhood still lacks the retail and cultural amenities of Federal Hill, a sign of the long rebuilding effort need to erase its many decades of decline. I hope that the West End can find a way to rebuilt without significant displacement of its many working class households. Given the neighborhood’s many vacant lots and underutilized space I’m hopeful it can find a way to do this, but attention will need to be paid to intentionally create affordable housing as reinvestment comes.

Click here to view my West End Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid density even with a decent amount of vacant lots.
* Pretty good ADA and sidewalks infrastructure but ADA standard curb cuts are in place on about 2/3s of all curbs.
* Convenient access to Dwtn only 1.5-2 Miles away 8 mins by car, 12 mins by bus, and 15 by bike.
* This is a major Hispanic neighborhood but still good diversity with large White, Black, and modest Asian population. A Quarter of the population is in poverty but still good income diversity.
* Many family households likely due to the large Hispanic population.
* Not a ton of private schools but plenty of public ones and generally high ratings.
* Good # of rentals and more reasonably priced than neighboring Federal Hill. 1-beds lease btwn 1.3K-2.3K, 2-beds btwn 1.3K-3K, and a decent # of 3 & 4 beds btwn 2K-4K. A large # of affordable housing rentals here.
* Good # for-sale options including and cheaper than Federal Hill but still a pretty strong market. Some 1-bed condos that sell btwn 150K-300K, 2-bed btwn 150K-500K, and 3 & 4 beds btwn 250K-700K with a handful of more expensive options.
* Pretty good # of small and medium sized parks well distributed throughout. Also the West End Recreation center.
* Mix of attractive late 19th century wood frame homes of various styles concentrated around Dexter Field but most of the other houses and more working class structures.
* Decent cultural amenities including some restaurants, a couple live music venues and salsa clubs, a couple breweries, and the impressive Cranston Steel Armory. Good access to the cultural amenities in nearby Broadway at Federal Hill.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Decent # of vacant lots throughout the district although few vacant bldgs.
Okay amenities include a Co-op, plenty of ethnic grocerias and butchers, a drug store, a family dollar, plenty of salons & barber shops, several bakeries, a public library, plenty of churches, and a couple doctor’s office and decent access to the Rhode Island Hospital.
Really a lack of bike infrastructure other than some dockless bikes.
Tree canopy is so so. Generally better in the wealthier sections along the northern edge of the West End.
Historically West End was a pretty rough neighborhood but it has come a long way since the early 2000s with reinvestment and much less violent crimes. While vacant bldgs are limited, there are plenty of vacant lot and underutilized autocentric uses, a legacy of the neighborhood’s disinvestment.
Not much modern in-fill but some decent projects along Westminster. A good amount of autocentric junk on the Cranston and Elmwood Biz districts.
Urban massing is really hit or miss along Cranston, Elmwood, and Westminster. Getting better along Westminster thanks to recent in-fill projects. Some residential in-fill near the stronger parks of the district around Dexter Field.

Federal Hill- Home to Providence’s Little Italy Community and many great mid-late 19th Century Historic Mansions

Federal Hill received its name after a 1788 Fourth of July ox roast celebration on the plain adjacent to the hill. Federal Hill’s Atwells Avenue is named for Amos Maine Atwell, who led a syndicate of businessmen developing the western areas of the city in 1788. The area developed into a working class district during the early 19th century . In 1840, only the lower streets of the hill were occupied mostly by Irish immigrants who worked in the nearby textile shops and foundries. By the early 1850s, part of Atwells Avenue was clustered with two- and three-story tenements that housed the large influx Irish Immigrants fleeing the famine of 1845 to 1851. But by late 19th century, Federal Hill was increasingly Providence’s Italian enclave. By 1900, the Hill was divided almost evenly between the Irish and the Italians. The Little Italy District is marked in the present day by The La Pigna (or The Pine Cone) sculpture hanging from its center – a traditional Italian symbol of welcome, abundance, and quality – over Atwells Avenue.

While Federal Hill still hosts a strong Italian presence along Atwell Street it is much more than that. 20 % and 10% of the neighborhood is filled with Hispanic and Black families respectively making this a very racial and economically diverse community. The blocks surrounding Broadway host some incredible mid-late 19th century mansions of the Federal, Italianate, Second Empire, and Victorian styles. Broadway is also a solid commercial district on its own right. Westminster, the southern border of the district, is an up and coming area emerging from decades of disinvestment and contains the bulk of the neighborhood’s modern infill projects. The eastern edge of the neighborhood hosts the best mixed-use district in Federal Hill as it historically was a small manufacturing area. Overall Federal Hill is a very walkable neighborhood thanks to solid cultural & retail amenities, good public transit and bike access and convenient access to Dwtn (only 1-1.5 miles away). The neighborhood also hosts lots of rentals options (while running a bit expensive) and lots of different for sale options from 1-bed condos in divided up historic mansions to million dollar historic homes.

This is one of Providence’s best urban district but to become a top tier American neighborhood Federal Hill could use some more density, urban in-fill development or remaining surface parking lots, esp., along Westminster, better tree canopy and some key retail amenities such as a supermarket and a local library and post office.

Click here to view my Federal Hill Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid urban density
* Excellent mid-late 19th century Federal, Italianate, and Victorian architecture concentrated in the blocks surrounding Broadway. Outside of this hub the historic architecture is much more modest and working class.
* Most intersections have ADA curb cuts but more so along the major biz districts (Broadway, Westminster, and Atwells).
* Very convenient access to Dwtn only about 1 mile from Dwtn.
* A nice pair of dedicated bike lanes including a north to south route through the neighborhood and a good route to Dwtn. Decent # of dockless bikes here too.
* Good racial and excellent economic diversity with a large Hispanic population and most Asian and Black. While there is a 1/4 poverty rate in the neighborhood there is still a high medium income here and good diversity of household incomes.
* Overall this is a very safe neighborhood with some lower level crimes and gritty apartment buildings especially north of Broadway.
* Some mixed-use in-fill throughout Federal Hill but especially along Westminster and the eastern edge of the district. But also some auto centric in-fill too esp. along Westminster.
* Good number of schools here with a mix of private, public, and charters across all ages. Generally good ratings except the public HS.
* Lots of rentals but pretty expensive. Studios & 1 beds rent btwn 1.5K-2.2K, 2-beds btwn 1.8K-3K and plenty of 3 & 4 beds that rent btwn 1.8K-4K. Decent # of affordable rentals however.
* Lots of for-sale options including plenty of 1-bed condos that sell btwn 150K-400K, 2-bed btwn 200K-650K, and 3 & 4 beds btwn 250K-1 M
* Decent parks including several small-medium parks within Federal Hill or nearby. Also a quality recreation center w/ an outdoor pool.
* Solid cultural amenities including plenty of restaurants, bars, & cafes including a concentration of Italian businesses along Atwell St (Providence’s Little Italy District), a couple art galleries & breweries, a couple live music venues including one in the historic Uptown Theater, also a couple night clubs as well.
* No supermarkets but this neighborhood is old school with a strong Italian vibe that remains leading to plenty of Italian grocerias & bakeries, and a couple butchers. Othe retail amenities include a drug store, several boutiques & clothing stores, plenty of gift stores, a bookstore, several dessert joints & bakeries, a couple gyms, a bike shop, a couple antique stores, several doctor’s office while no local hospital, several churches, and plenty of butches and salons.
* Good amount of retail even on primarily residential streets.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Generally good urban form but some pretty extensive parking lots along Westminster and in the southeastern edge of the district.
Tree canopy is so so and lacking in the more working class typology streets.
No supermarket nor local post office or public library but these do at least exist dwtn only a mile away.”

Downtown Providence, RI

Current day Dwtn Providence was originally known as “Weybosset Neck” or “Weybosset Side”. It was first settled by religious dissidents from the First Congregational Society in 1746. Their settlement was located near present-day Westminster Street. Downtown did not witness substantial development until the early 19th century, when Providence began to compete with Newport RI thanks to the British destruction of much of Newport. From there on Dwtn Providence developed like typical American dwtns first becoming a warehousing, storage, and general goods district, then hosting a concentration of Department stores, offices, and theaters in the early 20th century.

But like most American Dwtn’s, Providence was scared and isolated by significant highway development receiving an innerbelt looping around 2/3s of the downtown area and isolating it from South Providence, West End, Federal Hill, and the Smith Hill neighborhoods. By the 1970s downtown was widely seen as a dangerous place to be after dark and witnessed significant disinvestment and abandonment. Johnson and Wales University used this opportunity to purchase many of the vacant properties for cheap and significantly expanded its main Dwtn campus and in the process helped stabilize Dwtn. The 1980s and 1990s kicked off major reinvestment projects in Dwtn including reopening access to the city’s natural rivers, Water place Park new development around the Capitol, and the opening of Providence Place, an extensive mall with several department stores and Cineplex. Significant investments were also made to bolster the arts lead by the Providence Performing Arts Center and Trinity Repertory Company.

From an urban perspective Downtown providence punches above its weigh class for a metro at just over 1.5 M. It has a compact historic core which is generally in tact with a great array of historic bldgs, solid dwtn population, good retail amenities (thanks to the Providence Place Mall), good cultural amenities, compact feel and good walkability including the ability to walk to Brown in 10-15 minutes, large college presence, and well connected by bike and transit modes. But for this to become a top tier American Dwtn it needs to reinvent itself in the wake of the Covid-19 shuffle. Recent news articles point to a Dwtn which is struggling to maintain its vitality with the decrease in dwtn workers. Downtown Providence needs to build on its quality built environment and compactness and truly become the 5 minute neighborhood it was meant to be. There are many surface parking lots, especially on the southern edge of Dwtn and in the Jeweler Subdistrict screaming for new density and housing.

Click here to view my Downtown Providence Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid population for a dwtn.
* Great public transit within Providence with 7.5 rating. Public transit to the suburbs is a mixed-use bag with better transit in the older suburbs than the newer ones.
* Decent dedicated bike lanes within Providence and Dwtn but not as fully as one would like. Some good lengthy bike lanes out to the suburbs but not plentiful. Providence has dockless system across the City but not as good as dedicated bike sharing stations.
* Excellent Historic architecture, mostly late 19th century 4-6 story bldgs but also some boutique skyscrapers too.*
* Most intersections have ADA curb cuts and good sidewalks.
* Not the most gridded Dwtn but lots of short blocks.
* Excellent racial and economic diversity metrics Dwtn.
* Some amenities dwtn for kids including the History & Children’s museum, Hockey Team, and winter ice rink.
* Generally a very safe dwtn with low levels of crime and limited blight.
* Very nice cluster of private, public, and arts schools in the heart of Dwtn with mixed ratings. Several quality schools on the western edge of Dwtn including the highly rated Classical High School with 1,000 students.
* Also good college presence dwtn with several satellite campus dwtn, the heart of Brown University is only a 15 min walk with several colleges located closer, and Liston Community college is located just south of Dwtn.
* Decent # of rentals but market rate is generally expensive. 1-beds lease btwn 1.8K-the low 3Ks, some 2-beds in the 2Ks & 3Ks, and some 3-bed product. Plenty of permanent affordable rentals however.
* Solid parks in Dwtn including a recreational trail running along Providence River, the new 195 District Park & Station & Waterfront Park, the Civic hubs of Burnside & Biltmore Parks, and several smaller plazas.
* Compared to most dwtn’s surface parking lots aren’t terrible. Only a handful in the core of Dwtn but they become and more and more pervasive as one heads to the southern end of Dwtn (the Jewelry District).
* Solid cultural & regional amenities including plenty of food & beverage bizs, plenty of art galleries, plenty of nightclubs & a handful of live music venues, lots of performing arts venues, (both old & modern), a cineplex, several museums & historic sites (esp. when you count statehouse and those across the river), a convention center. Excellent concentration of gov’t offices across local and state.
* Solid retail amenities including a couple drug stores, the Providence Place Mall (which is pretty healthy with lots of clothing stores, food options, retail stores and several; dept stores) several boutiques, gift stores, book stores and churches in the Historic dwtn. Also a handful of dessert joins, gyms, home good stores but less than most dwtns. A major hospital is just south of dwtn.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Dwtn population is largely students and young adults.
No supermarkets dwtn but there is a Trader Joe’s just across the river.”
Dwtn providence is not the most vertical dwtn or extensive but a nice cluster of bldgs btwn 300-430 feet topped out by the antique Industrial Nat Bank Bldg. The modern skyscrapers that surround it a decent.
Okay for sale product too with 1-bed condos selling btwn 250K-500, some 2-beds btwn 500k-750K, but limited 3-beds.
Dwtn employment in Dwtn Providence isn’t great. Probably somewhere btwn 20K-30K.
Decent but not top notch urban infill. Lots of quality urban infill for 1990s/early 2000 standards but the design is pretty bland yet with decent urban form. The modern office towers are decent but not distinctive, also some unattractive 1960s-1970s apartment bldgs surrounding the Cathedral.
Streetscape is fine but generally pretty dated and often narrow.
Sports amenities are limited to the Bruins hockey arena, a minor league team. # of restaurants is a bit limited for a dwtn area.

College Hill- A Once Thriving North St. Louis Urban District named after St. Louis University.

The area was originally called the Town of Lowell but got its name because it was the location of the Saint Louis University College Farm acquired by the University for garden and recreation purposes in 1836. The farm was subdivided in the early 1870s and the development of College Hill began with its annexation into the City of St. Louis in 1871. The neighborhood’s most iconic remaining landmarks, The Grand Avenue Water Tower, was built in 1871 and was thought to. be the largest perfect Corinthian column in existence. Another great monument, the Bissell Tower, was built in 1887. The neighborhood filled in between 1880 and 1920 with a mixture of townhouses and four family flats along with some single-family brick dwellings. The area’s historic commercial center was located along East Grand around the Old Water Tower with a strip along W. Florissant Avenue. This neighborhood was a vibrant and very walkable district into the late 1960s. But the 1970s, with white flight and the expanding area of concentrated Black poverty in North St. Louis, was disastrous for College Hill. The vast majority of structures have been demolished here and the neighborhood’s population now sits at about 10% of its peak. College Hill has lost significantly more of its built environment comparted to neighboring O’Fallon’s Park.

On the bright side, half of College Hill’s residents are homeowners who don’t appear to be going anywhere soon. Given College Hill’s convenience of Dwtn St. Louis (4 miles), solid public transit, great park amenities, and great connectivity and urban grid it is only a matter of time before this once great urban neighborhood comes back, but it could still take a couple decades given the fact that the City of St. Louis is still loosing population.

Click here to view my College Hill Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Sidewalks generally consistent but only about 1/4 of all intersections are ADA accessible.
* Decent public transit access and very convenient access to dwtn being just a 25 min bus ride and 10 min drive. Also only a 25 min bike ride.
* Excellent connectivity.
* Decent # of families with kids.
* Limited parks within College Hill but some great ones located on the edge of it (Fairground Park, O’Fallon Park, and Hyde Park.
* Decent tree canopy.
* College Hill has two iconic historic water towers (i.e. Grand Avenue & Bissell Street).

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

This is over a 90% Black neighborhood but some economic diversity.
Limited bike lanes within College Hill but some decent bike paths just outside of the neighborhood and not too hard to get to the Mississippi Riverfront trail that then feeds to Dwtn.
Decent public elementary schools here but only a handful of other smaller private schools and a poorly rated public high school located not too far away.
Limited rentals listed on the market. What does exist is probably pretty cheap.
For sale housing market is pretty limited too. What does sell homes in generally btwn 50K-150K.
Generally pretty high crime rates here and lots of vacancy and blight.
Some decent historic architecture but what is still standing is often blighted. Modern in-fill is very limited.
There is essentially no open businesses or cultural amenities within College Hill. Some retail amenities in neighboring O’Fallon Park.
Since of the bldgs. are gone in the historic commercial districts (Grand Blvd and Florissant) there is not much urban form to speak of. The streetscaping is better along Grand as the sidewalks are often overgrown and missing on Florissant.
Poor density for an urban area.”

University City- An Inner Ring Urban St. Louis Suburb named after Washington University

In the late 19th century University City was primarily a small farming communities. Development of the area really began in the turn of the 20th century largely influenced by Woman magazine editor Edward Gardner Lewis’s decision to break ground for his publishing company’s headquarters: the Magazine Building (now City Hall) in 1903. The building is an ornate octagonal 135-foot tower. He also built several other City Beautiful monuments including Egyptian temple, the Art Academy, and the Lion Gates and incrementally sold off his land holdings around the Magazine Bldg. University City was formally incorporated in 1906and named after Washington University. Between 1910 and 1920, the City was exploding. By the 1920s, University City’s main business corridor, Delmar Boulevard, also referred to as the Loop, was a vibrant streetcar shopping destination. Like inner St. Louis neighborhoods, University City was affected by urban sprawl and white flight. Large numbers of African American families displaced by St. Louis’ extensive urban renewal projects moved in north of Olvie Blvd. Amazingly this black/white divide still largely exists in University City. The city has also had a large middle-class Jewish presence. University City lost about 30% of its population from its peak in 1960s but it appears it’s close to stabilizing at around 35K residents.

From an urban perspective University City is pretty walkable (especially around the Loop area). But it has solid public transit throughout most of this evaluation area and a couple smaller urban biz nodes throughout. Retail and cultural amenities are solid and there are lots of well dispersed parks. There is also a good array of rental and for sale price points making the City accessible to middle and upper middle class households. To become a top tier urban district University City needs more density and expanded mixed-use urban nodes. It also needs better schools, and to better racially integrate the City.

Click here to view my University City Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* 90% of streets have sidewalks and about 65% of curb cuts are to modern standards.
* Good access to Dwtn via transit is you live close to one of the light rail stops or close to the St. Louis border (about 30-40 mins). The western edge is more like 50 mins away. Easy 15-20 min drive to Dwtn throughout.
* Most of the review area is well served by public transit thanks to several light rail stations on the southern edge.
* Overall University City is a pretty walkable City across walking, public transit, and driving. Most of its commercial activity is concentrated in the Loop in the extremely eastern edge of the City but some other smaller commercial notes (i.e. Delmar & North/South Rd, around he Forsyth Blvd station, and pretty convenient access to Dwtn Clayton for those living on the southern edge).
* Decent economic diversity likely thanks to the student population.
* Overall a very safe City, especially the area included in this evaluation.
* Good park amenities including many well distributed small-middle sized parks, a well funded pool & recreation center, and pretty convenient access to Wash U and Forest Park on the City’s Southeastern border.
* Other than the Delmar Loop area, tree canopy is excellent here.
* Good for sale housing diversity with a good number of condos selling btwn 100K-300K, mix of 2-bed condos and modest SF homes that sell btwn 150K-400K, tons of 3 & 4 beds product ranging anywhere from 300K-850K. Housing market is significantly cheaper north of Olive Blvd. The larger mansions sell for more like 1 M.
* Decent amount of rental product but clustered around the Loop, Midland Blvd, I-170/Forsyth Blvd. 1-beds lease btwn 800K-1.8K, 2-beds btwn 1K-2.5K, & more well dispersed 3-bed rentals (in a lot of SF homes) ranging anywhere from 1K-3K.
* Solid cultural amenities (mostly concentrated along Delmar) including plenty of restaurants, cafes, & bars, and several live music venues. Also a handful of art galleries and a performing arts theater located outside of the Loop and Wash U has an Art Museum and performing arts theater.
* Lots of nice historic homes from the 1910s-1940s but also some more modest brick ranges from the 1940s & 1950s mixed in. Great historic commercial bldgs along Delmar Blvd.
* Generally good urban form with just a couple of autocentric uses and blocks.
* Pretty retail amenities but 2/3s of amenities are concentrated in the Loop or along the Autocentric Olive Blvd not included in this eval. This includes several supermarkets & drug stores, decent # of clothing/boutiques, a couple gift stores & book stores, a couple banks, several dessert joints, a couple gyms, a couple local post offices, a public library, a couple doctor’s offices and plenty of churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Decent density for an inner ring suburb but lower than most urban St. Louis Neighborhoods.
* The larger blocks of connected but many of the residential streets have deadens, are curvilinear or are closed to thru traffic, a common feature of St. Louis.
* Some short dedicated bike lane segment but nothing terribly useful. Like the rest of St. Louis there is no bike sharing system in University City.
* Quite the racial divide within University City. South of Delmar is 90-95% white. North of Delmar to Olive Blvd is a bit more diverse. North of Olvie is very Black with higher poverty rates. Some pockets of Asian populations thanks to Wash * Schools are pretty underwhelming for a relatively affluent inner ring suburb. Mixture of low and medium ratings for the public schools and only a handful of private schools. At least most of the schools are located within the more walkable part of University City.
* The worth urban form in University City includes the massive surface parking lot behind Delmar & Kingsland Ave and Forest Park Parkway (basically a highway) cutting through the southeastern edge of University City.

Dutchtown- South St. Louis’ Historic German Community now one of its most Diverse Neighborhoods

Dutchtown gets its name as it was the southern center of German-American settlement in St. Louis with rapid development beginning here in the 1870s with the development of the Commons. Dutchtown continued to fill in all the way until about WWII. Post War Dutchtown, like most older inner city St. Louis neighborhoods, began to loose population. It wasn’t until the 90s that African American families began to fill the void and resettle in the neighborhood as Black families from north of Chippewa were displaced by gentrification. By the 2000s significant numbers of Latinos and Asians relocated to Dutchtown and helped slow down the neighborhood’s population loss and helped the neighborhood keep more of its structures intact than other St. Louis’ communities. Dutchtown saw a drop of only 18K-15K from 1990 to 2020. But the influx of new residents has been mainly working class families and Dutchtown still struggles with high commercial vacancies and some residential vacancies, which an influx of higher income families would certainly help stabilize.

Dutchtown is also home to several long standing dessert joints well known in St. Louis (i.e. Ted Drewes frozen custard stand, Merb’s Candies, and Dad’s Cookies). Downtown Dutchtown is located along Meramec Street between South Grand Boulevard and Compton Avenue. Some commercial activity extend northward along Grand Boulevard and along Chippewa but there are a lot of autocentric spots along these blocks. Dutchtown is still an incredible affordable place to rent or buy. One can purchase a nice home here for 200K and rent a nice 2-bed apt for around 1 K. What the district needs is an influx of more households with income to help fill out many of the vacant retail spaces along with quality urban in-fill along Grand Avenue (north of Meramec) and Chippewa St. Hopefully this can be done with an anti-displacement model of encouraging homeownership for existing residents and allow more density in the community for newcomers to arrive.

Click here to view my Dutchtown neighborhood on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid density at just under 11K residents per square mile.
* While most of the housing is working class housing, a very interesting mix of typology spanning from the 1880s-1930s from late 19th century Italianate styles, early 20th century 1-story shotguns in a unique brick St. Louis Style, larger vict A frame homes from the 1910s but in brick, many different types of apt bldgs, 1920s-1930s bungalows and tudors from the , and even some 1940s brick range homes.
* Sidewalk infrastructure is fine but ADA curb cuts only include about 40% of all intersections.
* Solid public transit access.
* Solid park amenities starting with Marquette Park which includes an outdoor pool, playground, and recreation center. Several other small-medium parks concentrated in the northern half of the district.
* Excellent diversity indicators esp. racial and economic. The district is about 45% Black but large White, Hispanic, and Asian populations.
* Decent schools including a couple public elementary schools with a 5 rating and several smaller private schools and a large Catholic HS.
* Decent retail amenities including an Asian grocery store, a dollar store, a couple drug stores, several clothing & consignment stores, a couple home good stores, several dessert joins, a couple banks, a book store, a public rec center, a local post office, and a couple churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Limited bike lanes within Dutchtown but there are two lengthy bike lanes on the western and eastern edges of the neighborhood that connect all the way to dwtn.
* Lots of rentals and very affordable. Some studios that lease btwn $500-$800, 1-beds lease btwn $600 to the low 1Ks, 2-beds btwn $800 to the low 1Ks, and 3-beds in the 1Ks.
* While its block by block crime is pretty high in Dutchtown still, especially for south St. Louis. Some abandonment and grid, especially in the commercial areas, but limited abandonment with residential structures.
* Modern in-fill is pretty much non-existent other than autocentric crab concentrated along the northern extent of Grand Blvd.
* Good urban form and streetscaping is concentrated along a couple blocks of Meramec a couple blocks east of Grand Blvd. Grand Ave is hit or miss but becomes very autocentric and blighted near Chippewa. Chippewa is very hit or miss.
* Cultural amenities are not inspiring but a decent number of restaurants (several ethnic ones), some bars but very divy, and a handful of cafes. Not much else.
* For-sale options are affordable but limited diversity. 1-beds are very limited. 2-beds sell btwn 75K-175K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 100K-225K.