Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

For Providence, Another Era Of Greatness?, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Providence has come a long way from just 20 years ago when a visitor coming into the city by rail would find sprayed across the walls of the nearly empty Union Station such epithets as 'Providence is the pits' and 'Welcome to dead city.' And it was. I know because I lived there."

Hud Report Hails City's Revival, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Recent rankings of Providence have given it high grades, ranging from restaurant reviews to being named by Money magazine as the best city in the Northeast in which to live. All of these tributes have received considerable publicity. But the best endorsement of the city's revitalization likely comes from a publication not commonly seen by the public, the annual State of the Cities report published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development."

Where Did They All Go? R.I. Population Still Shrinking, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Just how accurate are the U.S. Census Bureau estimates of the population, done every year between the actual count of population done every ten years? Well, we should soon be able to make comparisons of the recently released estimates for 1999 and the actual state totals when they are released at the end of this years, and when city and town figures are released April 1, 2001, exactly one year after the census of 2000."

Charting The Census Count On The Way To Our Woodsian Future, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Our country is a wonderful example of the world in miniature. because of our generous immigration policy which allows approximately one million persons to enter the country each year and to come from almost any country in the world, it is not necessary to go out in search of different people and cultures for almost all are to be found here. Whether one talks of the Hispanics and Native Americans of the Southwest, the AfroAmericans of the South, the Asians of Hawaii, the whites of the North or the more than 120 national groups found in the Elmhurst neighborhood of …

Congratulations On City's Renaissance, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The excellent and comprehensive front-page story on the Providence Renaissance by Bill Van Sicen in Sunday's Providence Journal of May 21, 2000, nicely brought together all of the exciting development from the recent past, the present, the planned future and the vision of what the long-term future might be for the capital city's center. And the map, which depicted the location of these 18 development sites, was impressive in the sense that so much of the downtown and nearby areas have been and will be affected by this development. Oh, how different from the recent past."

A Proposal To The Governor: 'Let's Get Together', Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Americans have always had a dislike of cities. From the time Thomas Jefferson who felt that the good life was to be found in rural areas to that of Frank Lloyd Wright who claimed that cities were for banking and prostitution and little else, the American city has received little sympathy on the part of most Americans."

Sprawl Is The Enemy; Victory Might Need A March In Reverse, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"SPRAWL--the word even sounds ugly Webster's definition is "to spread out carelessly or awkwardly," and it might have added inefficiently and expensively. And that is exactly what is happening as development takes place in the suburbs of Rhode Island and throughout the country."

Accurate Census Count Critical For Ri, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"In his recent speech to the General Assembly outlining his proposed budget for the next fiscal year starting on July 1, Governor Almond's proposal for a $2.3 billion state spending package will require an increase of $97.2 million over this year. meanwhile there will be a small decrease in the state income tax. Beyond increased spending and reduced state income taxes there is another variable that will affect the state budget, but that opportunity comes only this year."

Where Are We Going? Tv Show Seeks Answers, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"How will the future Rhode Island look, and will it be better than today? Where will new development take place? How will this development affect cities and towns? Will there be adequate and affordable housing, and where will it be built? Will there be enough land available for future growth, as well as water, sewers, roads and other infrastructure to accommodate this additional population? And will communities try to prevent growth or work to accommodate it? The future is in our hands, and how we address such issues will determine how well our children will live in the not too …

After The Count Is Over, It's Time To Reapportion The House, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"In a few weeks more than 100 million households in the country will be receiving an invitation from the U.S. Census Bureau to tell something about themselves. And it is important that all respond to this invitation because it means federal money to be distributed for improvements to your state and local community, based upon the numbers counted."

Census Bureau Seeks Partners In Business, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"By now you should have seen the advertisements for the U.S. Census Bureau to apprise us of the forthcoming census on April 1, 2000. And there will be plenty more since the Bureau has budgeted $167 million on this push for public awareness, something it has never perviously paid to do."

Amid Declining Populations, N.E. Planners Meet, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The day-long regional meeting of the American Planning Association recently held in Providence drew a variety of planners from the three southern New England states. Coming form the town, city, state and regional planning agencies, private organizations as well as the academic community, the planners addressed a number of issues, ranging from suburban stress to the latest computer technologies."

U.S. Census Nears; Results To Be Questioned, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It is the largest peacetime activity of the United States government, and since its inception in 190 takes place every 10 years. It will employ, at its peak, 860,000 workers who will receive a major portion of the $4.5 billion that Congress recently appropriated for the task. And the total population will be recorded for one day, a far cry from the 18 months that were necessary for U.S. Marshals who tried to find everyone in 1790."

Time To Trade In Our Island Mentality For A World View, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The 836 residents of New Shoreham (Block Island) don't leave that island very often because of the expense and inconvenience. And some say that there is no need to leave that 10 square miles of beauty because they have everything there, so they are happy to stay.

That type of mentality, of feeling isolated and different from other places, may also be true of the state which, coincidentally, has the name "island" in its name. The reluctance to leave or move across the minuscule box of orders that define this smallest of states means that we turn inward and don't …

Teachers Make Marks In, Out Of Classroom, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Doing field work on the Northern Fur Seals of Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska; laboring in the lab at the University of Texas; examining gender and geography at Trinity College in Hartford; finding out about China at Yale; doing surveys on tourism and sustainability at the University of Maine; studying with the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. and teaching and working with other teachers at Roger Williams University and Rhode Island College, 20 Teacher Consultants (TCs) of the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance had themselves a busy and productive summer."

Politics--Once Again--Threaten To Mar Census, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It may seem like a simple operation--count the number of people in the country so that the 435 members of the U.S. Congress may represent equal numbers of persons throughout the nation, but what should be a simple matter of number crunching has turned into a political quagmire."

Population Numbers Are Necessary To Predict The Future, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"'Demographics explain about two-thirds of everything.' So say David K. Foot and Daniel Stoffman in Canada's best selling nonfiction book for 1996, Boom, Bust and Echo."

James Rouse--A Man For All Seasons, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, said it best: he 'did more to revitalize American cities than anyone this century.' Recognition of this fact came last September when President Clinton awarded him our nation's highest civilian honor--the Presidential Medal of Freedom. James W. Rouse, died at the age of 81, just 17 short days before his 82nd birthday on April 26--a long life with long-lasting achievements by a humanist and an urbanist, a man often referred to as a 'real Christian' and an 'urban visionary.' Where does one begin?"

The Nemesis Of Population Decline, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The recent announcement by the U.S. Census Bureau that Rhode Island was one of only two states (New York being the other) to lose population between July 1, 1994 and July 1, 1995 should come as no surprise. After all, according to Census estimates, we have been losing population for each of the past five years and now have 15,000 fewer residents than we had on July 1, 1990."

Geographically, R.I. Teachers Are Among The Best, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Isn't it time that we recognize the good teachers and good work being done in the schools of this state rather than constantly harping on problems with education and how our students don't measure up to those in other countries?"

In R.I. Bad Driving Is A Way Of Life, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"A transplanted Rhode Islander, now living in Portland, Oregon tells an amusing story about Rhode Island drivers. Having lived in Oregon's major city for two years and driving there every day, she became accustomed to the good driving habits of the residents of that city and its suburbs, containing a population about 50 percent greater than that of the Providence metropolitan area. She claims that in those two years of driving she was never once frightened by someone cutting into the traffic lane in which she was driving, until recently. And then it happened, the car to her left cut …

Erasing Misconceptions About Immigration, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Much has been written about our immigration policy because of the large numbers of Mexicans, Cubans and Haitians that have come, or attempted to come, to this country. Stemming the flow of immigrants is also one of the reasons for the actions of this country in Haiti."

Preservation Society Is A National Leader, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"In the summer of 1977, I was impressed to hear of the good works performed by the Providence Preservation Society at a meeting of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, which preserves and restores historic buildings and sites of that world city."

The Portland Of The Pacific Beguiles, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When Amos Lovejoy of Boston and Francis Pettygrove of Portland sought to name the clearing in the Oregon forest called 'Stumptown' (because of the tree stumps remaining from frequent fires set by the Indians), each wanted to honor the New England city from which he came. By the toss of a coin, Pettygrove was the winner, and the Portland of the Northeast had its counterpart in the Portland of the Northwest."

We All Benefit From A Clean Providence, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Walking along the newly relocated Woonasquatucket River and observing the new walks, roadways and bridges, one cannot help but be impressed by this continuing evidence of the revitalization of the capital city's downtown. Equally impressive is the general overall cleanliness of this area and the rest of the city center. It was not always so."

Growing Old: A Look At Rhode Island, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The series of lectures and discussions on 'Growing Old in America' recently held at Brown University brought together authorities from across the country to examine some of the issues confronting our aging society.

Ranging from health care to business opportunities to life after 60, the aged in America represent a growing number of citizens who must be considered from may different perspectives: this the speakers did on a national level. But what of Rhode Island?"

Glory Days Of Suburbia Are Over, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Most Rhode Islanders would undoubtedly agree with Donald Wyatt's sterling endorsement of suburbia (Commentary Page, Sept. 7) and many would envy the wonderful experience he says he has had living in Warwick these past 40 years. After all, the suburbs are the habitat of most Rhode Islanders as well as most other Americans and, it sis presumed, these folks live there through choice."

Making American Cities Work, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Visiting a city in a foreign country can be revealing about the culture of that country, can make one realize that cities are places of enjoyment and fulfillment, and that people prize living in them. From such experiences one has to ponder why American cities cannot be viewed in the same manner."

Let's Get Excited About Our City, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Suppose that you wanted to introduce a group of students to Providence, where would you take them? To the East Side? To the Brown campus and the RISD Museum? To the constantly changing Capital Center and waterfront? to the entertainment and artistic performances found in the downtown? And would these visits give a fair appraisal of the city's character?"

Providence: Visionary And Bold, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Future historians who examine Rhode Island's capital city will likely single out the last 20 years of this century as the most explosive period of construction and change for the city center that has ever taken place during Providence's long history."