156 replies to this topic

[TheAnk]

Not to hammer away on the topic, but..

From the 2000 census, which is a long time away.. Here are the Median Household Incomes for the hoods:

Wayland: 45.9k
College Hill: 36.5k
Fox Point: 28.8k
Mt Hope: 28.4k

Elmhurst: 38.2k
Mt Pleasant: 35.2k
Manton: 24.3k

And this was 5 years ago in the census, which is compiled over a 10 year span.. So many changes since then, all positive for the West...

I do think it is better on the East Side, but not like it used to be.. When I moved here, it was East Side or nothing.. Its not like that anymore..

[kinematix]

Points well made. I didn't realize the land use was so mixed.
Anyway the schools I refer to cost about 20 thousand a year (middle and high school) and are populated mostly by kids from the East side (as long as they are from anywhere in Providence area) but not limited to Blackstone or College hill.

[eltron]

TheAnk, on Jun 22 2005, 02:49 PM, said:

Now, the South Side; West End, South Prov, Elmwood, lower Fed Hill.. Is like the old Combat Zone in Boston.. Horrific.. I drive around there every 6 months or so to see if there is improvement.. there is none..

The East Side hasn't change in 5 years.. The "West Side" is booming, and the South Side hasn't changed either.. Horrible there..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are completely wrong here. There have been huge improvements in Elmwood and South Providence, as well as the "West End." Actually, there is no "Armory" neighborhood - it's the West End, so if you haven't seen improvement there, you are completely blind. I mean Adelaide Avenue off of Elmwood Ave probably rivals some of the better streets on the East Side for sheer aesthetics.

Really, sections of the "Westside" and "Southside" are fantastic places to live. That wasn't what I was talking about in my original post referring to this topic. It was in purely planning terms - there is no dispute these neighborhoods were greatly effected by highway construction and overall stupid planning for decades and those barriers remain.

[TheAnk]

eltron, on Jun 22 2005, 04:08 PM, said:

You are completely wrong here. There have been huge improvements in Elmwood and South Providence, as well as the "West End." Actually, there is no "Armory" neighborhood - it's the West End, so if you haven't seen improvement there, you are completely blind. I mean Adelaide Avenue off of Elmwood Ave probably rivals some of the better streets on the East Side for sheer aesthetics.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am not a fan of the Armory.. There are about 3 good streets from the park to Messer, and thats it.. And it is surrounded by crime.. Nice victorians, beautiful.. But I think there is too much bad surrounding it.. If they built a mote around those three streets, the park, and the Cranston St aromry it would be ideal!!!

[Cotuit]

The Planning Department has the 2020 stuff up on it's website.

[TheAnk]

TheAnk, on Jun 22 2005, 01:49 PM, said:

I've got to disagree.. And, completely..  The East Side you are talking about is not the East side I'm talking about.. You are talking about the richest 1% of Rhode Island, Blackstone hood.. And if you are renting an apartment, you aren't living there... People who live there don't care about paying a premium to live there.. Money is no object..

The other East Side hoods, Mt Hope, Hope, Wayland, and Foxpoint and some College Hill aren't any different.. They are about the same as Mt Pleasant, Elmhurst, Manton, Fed Hill...

If you disagree, then maybe you should take a drive through those hoods nowadays.. If by attitude and feel you mean diversity, then you are probably correct.. It seems to me that people think diversity is a good idea, as long as it is not around them.. Is diversity a NIMBY?

Now, the South Side; West End, South Prov, Elmwood, lower Fed Hill.. Is like the old Combat Zone in Boston.. Horrific.. I drive around there every 6 months or so to see if there is improvement.. there is none..

The East Side hasn't change in 5 years.. The "West Side" is booming, and the South Side hasn't changed either.. Horrible there..

As far as price, The East Side from 2002 has appreciated only 31%, whereas the West Side has appreciated 105%.. These are the stats for multifamilies..

The mean was 129k in 2002 for Prov and 286k for East Side.. Now the means are 265k and 374k, respectively...

Move back to 2000, and the change is 231% for West Side, and only 84% for the East Side..

Like I said, the two are evening out.. Only people who live on the East Side still try to keep the stigma alive..

So the West Side has the South Side to bring its mean down, and the East Side has blackstone to bring its mean upward..

So, they are about the same..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That article in the ProJo.. Did that alert people to the fact that the East Side isn't all its cracked up to be?

Is there anyway some one could post the article here?

[Cotuit]

Journal perpetuates the myth that developement vs. open space at Fox's Point is an either/or proposition.

They do however re-endorse the idea of the Ship Street Canal.

[Garris]

Cotuit, on Aug 10 2005, 08:48 AM, said:

Journal perpetuates the myth that developement vs. open space at Fox's Point is an either/or proposition.

They do however re-endorse the idea of the Ship Street Canal.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, that was an interesting op-ed... I like the Ship Street Canal idea, but I think Sasaki has thrown that one out 100% (it won't jive with their Ship St park being the center of 195 idea...). Where they perpetuating an either/or, or were they pushing for a reasoned compromise?

- Garris

[Cotuit]

Garris, on Aug 10 2005, 11:13 AM, said:

Where they perpetuating an either/or, or were they pushing for a reasoned compromise?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, this made me think they were looking at it as an either/or issue:

Quote

Will the Cicilline adminstration build upon this progress by ensuring adequate public access and green space at the grand confluence of the Providence and the Seekonk rivers? Or will this prime land be made available only to high-rise developers?

[citygirl]

Despite what appears to be a deep summer lull, the city planning department will soon re-engage with the proposed changes in the city's zoning ordinances, one of the most heinous elements of which is to remove special protection for waterfront uses and access. There will also be an attempt to dump the woefully deficient Sasaki plan into the city's existing comprehensive plan. Next Monday, September 26, the City Council will hold hearings on the city's proposed stormwater ordinances, whose requirements are being left to the tender mercies of the DPW. And finally, the City Council earlier this summer voted to spend as much as $75K each for their urban design and land-use consultants to "review" the city's proposed zoning changes and explain the implications to them. I attended that particular council meeting, and the comments from the Council members ranged from puzzled to downright hostility to any idea of urban density. One of the members, for example, complained that there were already too many people in Providence, and that 4-story buildings were too crowded!

Wheter one agrees with the proposed re-zoning or not, there has been an absolute failure to involve the public and to help people get a good idea of what good urban design looks and feels like. The canned presentations at the poorly advertized neighborhood meetings are no substitute for engaged public discussion about what we want the city to become. And the Sasaki plan, which calls itself Providence 2020, but which only concerns itself with downtown and a sliver of the waterfront, is not the platform to launch a real vision for the city and the region.

The participants in this forum are all highly knowledgeable, articulate, passionate defenders of real urban life. We should make it a point to turn up at every public forum with the goal of providing thoughtful informed insight and of pressing the city to open up the planning process to the residents, not just the developers and usual suspects.

[CtownMikey]

One of the members, for example, complained that there were already too many people in Providence, and that 4-story buildings were too crowded!


One of the members, for example, complained that there were already too many people in Providence, and that 4-story buildings were too crowded!


One of the members, for example, complained that there were already too many people in Providence, and that 4-story buildings were too crowded!



ummm

[Recchia]

citygirl, on Sep 19 2005, 10:30 PM, said:

I attended that particular council meeting, and the comments from the Council members ranged from puzzled to downright hostility to any idea of urban density.  One of the members, for example, complained that there were already too many people in Providence, and that 4-story buildings were too crowded!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That member needs to be slapped. Typical ignorant Providence attitude.

Did anyone in the Providence Planning Dept bother to explain to that person that density is a good thing in a city??

Edited by Recchia, 20 September 2005 - 05:41 AM.

[Baines]

Recchia, on Sep 20 2005, 05:38 AM, said:

That member needs to be slapped.  Typical ignorant Providence attitude.

Did anyone in the Providence Planning Dept bother to explain to that person that density is a good thing in a city??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I do not know who that council member is but he does not belong living in one of America's most urban cities....perhaps Hopedale, Mass.

These are the type of people that have put a damper on efforts to cast Providence as a major northeastern city and all that comes with that. But I belive he is a thing of the past.

[Garris]

Distressing stuff... Does anyone know when these meetings are? I try to follow the local news, but I don't recall seeing anything recently about this... I would definitely want to go!

- Garris

[Cotuit]

Cotuit, on May 5 2005, 12:20 AM, said:

The first old bag that spoke about wanting to have trees along 95 instead of buildings was the best, I think if you were sitting near me you could actually hear my eyes rolling.

I walked home along the west side Service Road today, from Washington to Broadway. Guess what? THERE ARE FVCKING TREES ALONG THE HIGHWAY, THEY'RE ALL DEAD!

No more money should be wasted on trees along the highway until all the neighborhoods have a healthy tree canopy. By then the oil crisis will have erased the entire concept of personal mechanized transport and the highway ditch will have been filled in.

[Recchia]

Cotuit, on May 8 2006, 06:17 PM, said:

By then the oil crisis will have erased the entire concept of personal mechanized transport and the highway ditch will have been filled in.

Ohh, wouldn't that be fun!

[jencoleslaw]

Cotuit, on May 8 2006, 06:17 PM, said:

I walked home along the west side Service Road today, from Washington to Broadway. Guess what? THERE ARE FVCKING TREES ALONG THE HIGHWAY, THEY'RE ALL DEAD!

No more money should be wasted on trees along the highway until all the neighborhoods have a healthy tree canopy. By then the oil crisis will have erased the entire concept of personal mechanized transport and the highway ditch will have been filled in.

call DOT. they're the entity that planted them. i think anyway. I know Forestry didn't do it, and neither did I...