Tuesday, 6 October 2015 - 08:39 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika Category/Kategorie: GeneralReading Time: 4minutes
Providence is the capital and most populous city in Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region. The city proper population of 180,000 anchors the 37th largest metropolitan population in the country, with an estimated MSA population of 1,600,000, exceeding that of Rhode Island by about 60% because of its reaching into southern Massachusetts. This MSA in turn is part of the larger Greater Boston commuting area, which contains 7.6 million people.
Situated at the mouth of the Providence River, at the head of Narragansett Bay, the city’s small footprint is crisscrossed by seemingly erratic streets and contains a rapidly changing demographic. The Bay forms New England’s largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor. Narragansett Bay is on the north side of Rhode Island Sound, which forms the eastern extension of Long Island Sound and opens out the Atlantic Ocean between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard. Once nicknamed the “Beehive of Industry,” Providence began rebranding itself as the “Creative Capital” in 2009 to emphasize its educational resources and arts community. Its previous moniker was “the Renaissance City”.
Providence was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of “God’s merciful Providence” which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers to settle. After being one of the first cities in the country to industrialize, Providence became noted for its jewelry and silverware industry.
Today, the City of Providence is home to eight hospitals and seven institutions of higher learning, which has shifted the city’s economy into service industries, though it still retains significant manufacturing activity. The city of Providence is geographically very compact, characteristic of eastern seaboard cities which developed prior to use of the automobile. It is among the most densely populated cities in the country. For this reason, Providence has the eighth-highest percentage of pedestrian commuters. The street layout is irregular—over one thousand streets (a great number for the city’s size) run haphazardly, connecting and radiating from traditionally bustling places like Market Square. Downtown Providence has numerous 19th century mercantile buildings in the Federal and Victorian architectural styles, as well as several post-modern and modernist buildings, located throughout the area. In particular, a fairly clear spatial separation appears between the areas of pre-1980s development and post-1980s development. West Exchange Street and Exchange Terrace serve as rough boundaries between the two.
