Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Skewed Distance Perception Is Rhody Tradition, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"We all joke about the size of this state and the attitude that its residents have regarding traveling any distance: Packing a lunch if you are going to Westerly from Providence, staying overnight if you go to Burrillville from Bristol and driving from Pawtucket all the way to Exeter to visit a friend. We hear it enough to start believing it."

Land Costs Make For High-Cost Housing Starts, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Here in the Northeast, where housing prices are among the highest in the nation, it is difficult to find measures to reduce the price of housing to make it more affordable. Even with talk of an impending recession, house prices have moderated only slightly, and the real estate business finds itself in a very troubled state."

Voting Districts Can Be A Bone Of Contention, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Size rather than number of voters is the criterion used in establishing district size. The difference in size between the largest and smallest districts from the ideal district, where all districts have the same population, is a source of contention. In 182 when Providence changed from 13 to 15 wards, there was a deviation of 10.6 percent between wards, deemed acceptable by the courts because, the judge ruled, the US Supreme Court has said 1.9 percent is acceptable. In the recent Johnston case, the total deviation came to 52.7 percent--a figure much too high to accept."

A Note To Candidates: Look At Housing, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The 1980s will be remembered as the time of the federal government's decimation of housing policies and programs that previous administrations had sought so diligently to design and implement. Candidates for federal and state offices need to be aware of current housing problems and possible measures that will improve housing in the state. The following are major concerns and suggested action proposals to help alleviate the housing plight of state residents.

Now We Are Counted, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"There is an unusual clock in the Department of Commerce building in Washington. Looking like an auto's mileage odometer, it records the nation's population. Another single number is added to the total every 14 seconds. On March 6, the population odometer reached 250 million, which should be the number reported from this year's tally by the U.S. Census Bureau, the 21st decennial census in our country's history."

Spruce Up The Plan Reports To Gain Some Notice, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It was just a decade ago that the comprehensive plan for the city of Springfield, Mass. was published, and almost immediately, the national news media picked it up and publicized it throughout the country. What was it about this plan for the future of a middle-sized city that would generate this type of attention? After all, most cities produce similar plans, but these usually go unnoticed and unread, even in the communities for which these plans are made.

The imaginative approach used in the Springfield plan was to publish it in the Time magazine format, even to a title that …

Head Counting That Counts, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Next April, the Census Bureau will take on the principal task for which it was created: To count each member of this nation. No small chore, considering that the number will approach one-quarter billion persons. The 21st decennial undertaking will be watched closely because the numbers will help determine where new markets might be sited, where federal dollars may flow, and a host of other conclusions that may be drawn by ascertaining the numbers and locations of people. But the results will be most closely scrutinized by politicians at all levels of government."

Financing Difficulties Stall Linkage In Providence, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When the India Point Club luxury condominium development, scheduled to be built on the Providence waterfront, was announced in 1987, there were many local skeptics who said it was too expensive for the Providence market. After all, selling penthouse condos overlooking the dirty Providence River for over $1 million was quite ambitious--and some said impossible."

Unlike Most Top 100 Cities, Providence Losing Population, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Given the recent history of population decline in Providence and other large cities throughout New England, one might think that major cities throughout the country are also losing population. Not so."

Wanted: Live-In Teachers, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland all have it--a residency requirement--and so does Providence. Having to live in the city for which you work has been deemed to be an important measure in helping to bring people back into the city, and that was the reason it was included in the 1980 Home Rule Charter."

Eight Communities Meet To Find And Foot Housing, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When resources are provided to local cities and towns to address housing problems, the results can be both innovative and productive. This was aptly demonstrated at a recent workshop on affordable housing.

The 150 attendees who went to Newport, one of the eight cities and towns that received grants to study the problem, were there to share recommendations on how to best address the Providence metropolitan area's lack of affordable housing."

Housing Problems Grow More Acute For The Poor, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"One in seven people live below the poverty level in this rich country, and the result of this inexcusable condition is that housing is the principal problem for these more than 32 million people.

Nearly two of every three poor people rent their housing, and while home owners are experiencing increased equity because of increasing house values, low-income renters are having to pay higher rents with fewer dollars."

The Cities And Towns Look Ahead, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"What do you want your community to be? Over the next two and one-half years all communities in the state will be required to address this question, and to come up with a formal statement of what these goals and objectives are to be. And it's about time."

The Same Numbers Can Add Up To Various Sums, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It was Benjamin Disraeli, supposedly, who first used this truism: 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.' At a time of great interest in house prices and the growing field of demographics, it is incumbent on the reader to be aware of this when reading stories in these areas that are substantiated by numbers."

Some Modest Progress In Providing Affordable Housing In R.I., Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Affordable housing is a major problem in Rhode Island and the Northeast as monthly figures issued by government, realtors, builders and others constantly remind us. But as bad as the situation is, there are some encouraging actions being taken that offer hope for the future."

Cluster Battle Is Over, But The War Rages On, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The Chinese have a saying: 'Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think.' For Americans, the same could be said for zoning in the seemingly never-ending war between residents and developers over land development."

Helping Communities Determine Development, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The word uppermost in the minds of many communities these days is 'development,' a process that manifests itself on the land in the form of the built environment. Alarmed at the speed with which land is being used--and often abused--communities are being faced with touch decisions on how to cope with development, either by directing it, managing it or even stopping it."

Looking To Suburban Malls For Lesson On Envisaged Providence Company, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"During next month, some major decisions must be made that will have long-term effects on the future health and prosperity of our capital city's central business district. One of these decisions relates to the proposed establishment of a 'Providence Company,' a management and marketing organization for the downtown, recommended in the recently completed Carr, Lynch and Levine report on downtown Development."

Downtown Plan Whose Time Has Come, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The recently completed 'Providence Development Strategy,' a study of the capital city's downtown by Carr, Lynch Associates, Inc. in collaboration with Melvin Levine & Associates, Inc. of Cambridge, has now reached the public discussion stage. And in two meetings of invited participants, several points were raised that will need to be addressed by a mayor's committee which is to make recommendations to him by September."

The Bottle Bill: Pro, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Although the 24-member board of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce gave strong support to anti-litter enabling legislation being considered by the General Assembly, it did not give its endorsement to the proposed bottle bill. The board stated that deposits on bottles and cans required further study, and alternative measures might provide a cleanup fund that would be 'less costly and burdensome' to business."

Minorities, Cities To Bear Brunt Of Federal Cutbacks, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The sad story of the 4,500 Rhode Island families whose welfare benefits will be reduced or ended with this current 1982 fiscal year should make us profoundly aware of the plight of the poor. In the next few months government-mandated action will bring the federal budget closer to balance. Not yet noticed but soon to be realized, will be the impact on minority poor, and on the place where most of them live--the city."

Inflation Takes A Toll On The Poor, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Everyone is keenly aware these days of the declining value of the dollar and the inability of the average person to keep pace with the rising cost of living. Inflation, an insidious ailment of the economy, strikes all people alike, whether they be working families, single people, elderly or poor."

Welcome To The Beach: Only If You Can Afford It, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Narragansett has been called 'Home of the most expensive public tan in America' because of beach and parking fees imposed by the Tow Council in June."

Providence Needs An Effective 'Land Bank' Policy, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Recent disclosures on the purchase of vacant lots in Providence by certain city officals have raised two serious questions, only one of which has been addressed."

Providence Home Rule, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The opposition bumper stickers have already appeared. In bright fluorescent colors to catch the unsuspecting eye, the message is loud and clear--'Reject Home Rule Charter.' Why should there be this opposition, and who are the people against this progressive move toward better local government?"

Key Factor To A Better City, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The Providence Charter Commission is now moving into the homestretch. After a full nine-month period in which more than 60 meetings were held, culminating in three public hearings in late June, the nine-member commission has gone back to the drawing board to review ideas, revise where deemed appropriate, and have a completed document ready in September. Voter acceptance in November, with General Assembly validation of certain provisions in 1981, will allow home rule for the state's capital city to become fully operational in January of 1983.

Downtown Plan Needed For Future Growth, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It appears that the Providence downtown is finally turning the corner. A proposal to beautify the entrance into the city center from Route 95 with trees, flags, parks, art work and new illumination has been submitted to the Providence Redevelopment Authority. This turn to aesthetics, coming on the heels of considerable physical improvement of roads and buildings accomplished and in progress, is an indication that downtown interests recognize the lack of an attractive city 'gateway' and want to do something about it. This is decidedly a praiseworthy action on the part of the private sector."

New Federal Initiatives For City Revitalization, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"'We have never really had a comprehensive urban policy in this country...and in the absence of understanding and coordinated assistance among government leaders, many of our cities are caught in a vicious cycle, a downward spiral that can only be broken by new attitudes, new initiatives, and a new partnership.'"

More Inner City Jobs, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Congressman Henry S. Reuss of Wisconsin has given the answer most succinctly: "The most straightforward way to help cities is to provide jobs...From a city's standpoint, jobless citizens make no contributions to a community's revenues. But they add greatly to its costs for welfare, crime, and assorted ills."

Cleaning Up The Litter, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The last time the Environmental Protection Agency checked the numbers, it determined that eight million tons of America's annual municipal solid waste load was in the form of bottle and can beverage containers. Much of this was picked up from highways before it eventually reached municipal landfills."