Cover Photography by Richard Benjamin
TRANSFORMING PROVIDENCE:
Rebirth of a Post-Industrial City
By Gene Bunnell
Paperback (6 x 9), $24
202 pages
100+ color photographs & illustrations
Pub. Date: February 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61468-372-8
PURCHASE A COPY
Countless American cities saw their economies hollowed out and devastated by deindustrialization and losses of major sources of industrial employment during the second half of the Twentieth Century. Decades later, many are still struggling to recover.
One post-industrial city that hasn’t continued to languish is Providence, Rhode Island, which has succeeded in making itself an increasingly appealing place to live, work and visit. Providence’s transformation didn’t come about by chance. Rather, it came about as a direct result of a series of local planning processes and plans, as well as strategic decisions and policy choices aimed at reviving the city’s downtown core and improving the livability of the city’s neighborhoods. By identifying and carefully describing the approaches, decisions and actions that propelled Providence’s turnaround, Gene Bunnell’s Transforming Providence provides lessons and insights citizens, local officials and business leaders elsewhere can apply to achieve positive transformations in their own cities.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction: Attributes of a Good Place to Live
Chapter One: History and Background
A City Severed by Rail Lines and Interstate Highways
Chapter Two: Saving a Neighborhood—The First Step in Saving the City
The Way College Hill Used to Be
The impact of the College Hill Plan
Reconciling Neighborhood and Institutional Interests
College Hill Today
Chapter Three: Preservation Efforts Expand to Neighborhoods Beyond
Establishing the Neighborhood Revolving Fund
Chapter Four: Downtown Hits Bottom
The 1961 Downtown Plan
The 1974 Interface Providence Plan
Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. Enters the Picture
The Providence Foundation
Chapter Five: Northeast Railroad Corridor Relocation and Capital Center Project
Uncovering and Relocating the Rivers
An Exceptional Setting for Waterfire
Chapter Six: Developing Capital Center
Variety of Land Uses Accommodated
Providence Convention Center
Providence Place Mall
Design and Appearance of Providence Place Mall
Positive Synergies of the Convention Center, Convention Center Hotel and Providence Place
Direct and Indirect Impacts of the Capital Center Project
Capital Center Controversy Concerning Surface Parking
Chapter Seven: Downtown Turns the Corner
Andres Duany’s 1991 Charrette
Making Downtown Redevelopment Financially Feasible
State and Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credits
The Downtown Revolving Loan Fund
Nurturing Ground Floor Commercial Activity
Impacts of the Downtown Revolving Fund
An Organization of Artists Enriches Downtown
Chapter Eight: Relocating Interstate 195—and Stitching the Downtown Area Back Together
The 1992 Old Harbor Plan
The 1999 Jewelry District Concept Plan
Andres Duany Returns to Providence: The 2004 Charrette
The 2008 Jewelry District/Old Harbor Planning Framework Study
The I-195 Commission
The 2012 Providence Downtown and Knowledge District Plan
Revised Zoning
Long-Envisioned Riverfront Park Nearly Derailed by Proposed Ballpark
The Huge Task of Relocating a Major Section of Interstate Highway
Developing the Knowledge District: A Work in Progress
Chapter Nine: Creating a More Transit-Oriented, Pedestrian-Friendly Downtown
Railroad Station Expansion and Transit Hub
Re-Imagining Kennedy Plaza
Kennedy Plaza and the “Superman Building”
Chapter Ten: Factors Contributing to Beneficial Outcomes
A Large and Varied Cast of Contributors
Non-Profit Organizations
Enterprise and Success in Obtaining Foundation Support
Urban Planners and Designers
City-State Relations
Stars in Alignment
Chapter Eleven: What Other Post-Industrial Cities Can Learn from Providence
Preserve Historic and Architecturally Significant Buildings and Districts
Create an Entity Similar to the Providence Foundation to Provide Private Sector Leadership
Think Long-Range and Aim High
Envision Possible Futures
Analyze and Compare Alternatives
Keep Chipping Away and Making Incremental Progress
Make Good Use of Outside Experts, Speakers and Consultants
Embrace and Apply the Principles of New Urbanism
Ensure High Quality Architecture and Urban Design
A Final Comment
Appendix I: Timeline and Chronology
Appendix II; Honor Roll of Local Heroes (far from complete)
Appendix III: Mayors of Providence, 1951-2016
Appendix IV: Governors of Rhode Island, 1951-2016
Appendix V: Executive Directors of the Providence Foundation
References
Endnotes