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."

Retaining And Revitalizing Teachers, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Bankers do it; corporate members do it; even non-refundable profits do it, so why in the world can't teachers do it? What I'm talking about is the opportunity to get away from the job for a short period to have some free time, to contemplate, to talk with your colleagues, be pampered and to learn. This so-called retreat provides the opportunity to relax and reflect on your life and your work, to refresh yourself and to be recognized for the important work that you do. This is what they do for teachers in North Carolina, the only state to have …

Revised Census Gives Mayors Worry And Hope, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The numbers are in. They were a surprise for the Census Bureau, the nation and the state of Rhode Island. They year 2000 22nd decennial census whose numbers were first revealed to the President by the December 31, 2000 deadline and then to the public, fooled many observers by coming in considerably higher than that previously estimated. this was true for both the nation and the state of Rhode Island."

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."

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."

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."

Population Sampling Issue Still Bedevils, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"How do you count, with accuracy, 275 million mobile people? That is the task of the U.S. Census Bureau in the year 2000. Unfortunately, the courts rather than the professionals have made this decision.

"On January 25, 1999, in the case of Department of Commerce v. United States House of Representatives, No. 98-404, the nation's highest court ruled that statistical sampling of the population for the next census in the year 2000 cannot be used to apportion seats to the house of Representatives."

One Grim View Of Life For The Aged Is Disputed, Chester Smolski

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""The way the United States treats their elderly is a total disgrace... they cant live on the amount of money from Social Security... It's even worse than the poverty level." Thus spoke a Cranston senior citizen when Vice President Gore was in town recently to discuss the future of Social Security."

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."

Retaining The Charm Of Rhode Island, Chester Smolski

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"The town of Exeter in Washington County is an unusual place--it is classified as one of the few remaining rural communities in the state. With 86 percent of Rhode Island considered urban by the Census Bureau, rural designation is something special in this second most densely settled state in the union."

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 …

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."

How A Small State Fits The Big Picture, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Every once in a while it is useful to make a self-examination of who we are in order to give us some perspective on ourselves and how we fit into the bigger picture. The following is such an examination."

Which Is 2nd Safest? City Or Area?, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Buried in a recent two-column story in the national Parade Magazine section of the Sunday newspapers and obscured by the advertisements that took up most of the two pages, John Tepper Marlin's headlined story, 'The Safest Places To Live,' was designed to grab one's attention. And that it did, especially if your city ranked second in the nation."

Making American Cities Work, Chester Smolski

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"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."

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."

Providence's Unending Quest For Cash, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The mayor of Providence has a big problem. How can he balance a budget that addresses the needs of an increasingly large number of people, yet deal with a declining tax base that is less able to pay for theses extra services?"

Why Not 'Soak' The Visitors?, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci has a financial problem, which is not uncommon these days for just about any mayor. Center cities are faced with a host of problems that require sizable expenditures to address. And with the downturn in an economy making a feeble effort to recover, available resources are in scarce supply."

What's In Store For Social Security?, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Health-care costs are commanding considerable attention these days. From Washing, D.C., to Providence and state capitals across the nation, the burning questions are, "How much?" and "Who pays?""

Planning Brings A Town To Life, Chester Smolski

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"When the founders of the Ryland Group built their first houses in the new town of Columbia, Md., 25 years ago, they had no idea how far this venture into Howard County would take them. After all, they were just one of the 33 builders operating in Columbia who offered new homes to buyers who came to experience a different style of living in the suburbs of Washington."

The Fortune Cookie Was Right, Chester Smolski

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"It was a typical night in Room 203 at the Rhode Island State House in March. The Land Use Commission meeting was set up for 6 p.m. but the House of Representatives was still in session, so commission members from the House would be delayed. At 6?L:30, the meeting got under way."

Cooperating For Economic Development, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"This small state has an advantage over larger states because its size allows it to share ideas more easily. With only 39 cities and towns, and no county governments, it is possible to have a meeting in Providence, attended by representatives of these communities within less than a one-hour drive."

What Downtown Needs To Get Going, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"They mayor of Providence wasted little time in responding to the ideas presented by Andres Duany and his team of experts i the recent Providence charrette. he appointed a task force consisting of nine subcommittees which have bee studying the ideas suggested in Dunay's preliminary report."

That Precious 'Ambience', Chester Smolski

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"Colette Peters, former Rhode Island School of Design student, renowned cake baker and author of Colette's Cakes, was recently asked about her food memories of Providence. This current resident of New York said, 'Haven Brothers! We'd go to Haven Brothers for hot dogs when I was a student at RISD. It was what we could afford.'"

Smaller Homes May Spark Recovery, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"On the surface, it looks good: The stock market has recently broken through the 3200 level, the Federal Reserve Board has cut the discount lending rate by half over the past year to a 27-year-low of 3.5 percent, the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has reached an 18-year low, and the housing affordability index has reached its highest level in 17 years. So why is housing still in the doldrums?"

Keeping The Pols Honest With Regionalization, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The New England Governor's Conference will hold a meeting in Hartford on December 6 to address regional economic issues that are common to the six states located in the northeast corner of the country. During that same week, the towns of Warren and Bristol in Rhode Island will hold public sentiment for the sharing of schools in the two towns. As disparate as these two meetings appear to be, there is a commonality of purpose that marks both: regionalism."

Redistricting Law And Minority Rights, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It has been referred to as "probably the most important civil rights law on the books," and the results of that legislation are most impressive. But more importantly, the Voting Rights Act promises to have an even greater influence in the coming decade."