Community-Based Research Commons^™

Gentrification--Urban Movement, But Small, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It appears that the gentry are returning to the city in droves, snapping up old Federal, Victorian and Greek revival structures in some of our declining and marginal neighborhoods, rehabilitating these structurally sound buildings, and driving up the value of the surrounding properties, with a resultant upgrading of the neighborhoods in which they are located. In the process the poor and moderate income residents can no longer afford to live in their old neighborhoods, and are being forced from their communities by this avalanche of affluent professionals who have rediscovered the joy of urban living. At least this is what …

Is This What We Want For Our Small Urban State?, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The big advantage of a small state is that it is comprehensible, and some might say managable. Certainly, it is easier to work with the 39 cities and towns of this state rather than the 351 cities and towns of nearby Massachusetts. And yet one wonders if this is really true."

Providence Needs Downtown Development District, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"In case you have not noticed, there is a considerable amount of activity taking place in downtown Providence these days."

Partnership That Can Save Downtown, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Downtown is the heart of any city. It is the most valuable land in the city, with businesses, entertainment, shops, government and transportation lines competing for space. It is this competition for space which causes buildings to rise highest above the ground, and go give the downtown the distinctive skyline which identifies a Providence, Boston and Manhattan. It is this skyline, in combonation with the architecture, building layout, and general appearence, which provides a sense of surprise and discovery to city centers, and which differentiates one city center from another."

Better Year Ahead For Ri Builders, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Building permit figures recently released by the Rhode Island Builders Association indicate that housing construction in the first quarter of 1978 is well ahead of the comparable period for 1977. The signs are encouraging that this year will be better than the last and that the recovery continues from 1975, the poorest year for the housing industry in the 1970s."

Land Management Bill Must Not Be Dismissed, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"After 10 years of study, three years of public meetings and discussion, three years of writing and revision, and now for the third consecutive year, the carefully conceived, greatly altered, and highly-detailed 136-page bill to manage the land of Rhode Island is before the General Assembly for possible enactment."

Benefits Of Statewide Land Use Plan, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Providence has been a leader in the nation in combating air pollution since the early 1950s when local ordinances banned outside burning to prevent pollutants from spewing into the air."

Superlative Atlanta, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"With the passing of each year a new superlative is added: the third largest convention city; the third city in the post-war period to construct a rapid transit system; the second busiest airport in the world; the safest mass transportation system in the country; and with direct flights to London in the offing, this major commercial, industrial and financial center of the Southeast can truly claim to be a New International City. Atlanta is all of these."

Soul City Deserves To Succeed, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream--a dream of equal opportunity and justice for all. An assassin's bullet prevented him from realizing his dream. His friend and well-known leader in the civil rights movement also had a dream--a dream to build a new town in which the injustices of society would be lessened. Today, in the rolling farmland country of North Carolina, Floyd McKissick is working to fulfill his long sought dream."

Impressions Of Providence, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"A recent Letter to the Editor of this newspaper pointed out part of the problem of our capital city. Whether one agrees with the writer or not, it is important to consider what he said because this is the image of the city which he carried away with him."

Worcester Model Cities Resident Attitude Survey, Else Wiersma, Floyd J. Fowler Jr., Center For Survey Research, University Of Massachusetts Boston, The Joint Center For Urban Studies Of The Massachusetts Institute Of Technology And Harvard University

Center for Survey Research Publications

In January of 1972, the staff and resident representatives of the Worcester Model Cities neighborhood contracted the Survey Research Program to work with them to conduct a survey of neighborhood residents. The purpose of the project was to collect data that would assist those in the Model Cities area to systematically measure residents' perceptions and feelings, to identify problems and needs, to plan programs, and, perhaps, at a later date to have a basis against which to measure change.

The project, as it was designed and as it was carried out, was a joint effort. A committee of residents and …