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I've been to most of the cities in the poll, and none strike me as really being anything like Providence. New England is a unique part of the country. The only cities I can think of that really remotely resemble Providence are also in New England - just smaller or larger versions.
I've been to most of the cities in the poll, and none strike me as really being anything like Providence. New England is a unique part of the country. The only cities I can think of that really remotely resemble Providence are also in New England - just smaller or larger versions.
Fair post. Growing up 20 miles from Providence... Don't see much of a comparison between any of these and PVD
Tacoma, WA. Both cities are overshadowed by larger, more famous cities nearby but not too near (Boston and Seattle), but still have unique identities. Providence and Tacoma are both heavily influenced by water and seafaring traditions. I feel that being so close to a large body of water has been a major piece of Providence. It's something a lot of the more inland river cities on your list can't relate to, except Oakland, Newark, and maybe Wilmington, but those cities are also too close to their bigger neighbor. I can imagine Providence and Tacoma sitting down for a beer and understanding each other. Also, if you really squish downtown Tacoma together, make the streets narrow and not straight, and squint your eyes, it kind of looks a little like Providence. Kind of.
While I do regret not including Tacoma (and Baltimore) in the poll, but one problem I have with the comparison is that Tacoma comes across to be as being smaller than Providence? For one thing, even at its densest (?) downtown Tacoma seems so much more open and spacious than downtown Providence. Furthermore, in roughly the same land area as Tacoma (47.14 square miles vs Tacoma's 49.72) Providence and suburbs Central Falls, Pawtucket, North Providence, and East Providence have 351,872 vs Tacoma's 217,827. I know the openness can be attributed mostly to "old NE city vs new PNW city" but it still feels like an important difference to me.
St Paul has a pretty similar population density as PVD+its suburbs, but it's downtown is much taller and it's much closer to its larger neighbor. I thought Milwaukee might be a good match because I thought Summerfest and Waterfire might be similar despite having very different vibes. Could also compare Pabst to Gansett maybe. Think Louisville might be an underrated comparison, but I'll need to think about and research it more.
Of course none of the cities compare well to PVD demographically, with the city's Hispanic majority. However, taking those suburbs into account, it comes out to 45% non-hispanic white and 33% Hispanic. Guess the city of Providence's demographics are kind of similar to Milwaukee but with switched black and Hispanic percentages.
Anyway, I'm done rambling and should really go to bed.
As someone who used to live in Providence, I am enjoying this thread.
I can see the logic behind Tacoma, St Paul and Milwaukee. Of the three, I’ve only been to Tacoma and think Providence has a more developed downtown.
I can see similarities in urban form between Providence and Richmond. Both historic, state capitols, universities in the dense parts of town. The east side = the fan.
I also see similarities in the historic parts of Durham and Providence. Brown = Duke. Both cities has a progressive foodie culture.
Not really. It's more dangerous- but outside of homicide and car theft, the crime rates are comparable.
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Providence has nearly 2x as much property crime.
But aside from that Providence and Newark are extremely similar in built form, density, diversity and poverty. Overall you get a very similar "urban" vibe.
Id say Allentown PA, both are within the mid size 100-200k range, both a large dominant and growing Hispanic/Latino population of about 40-55% of each city especially from the Caribbean (Puerto Ricans and Dominicans), both are close to NYC and another city in the NE corridor (Philly/Boston). Both have a older build to them.
I think Allentown is probably more similar to an inland city that isn't as vibrant as Providence. Allentown is more like Springfield MA.
While I do regret not including Tacoma (and Baltimore) in the poll, but one problem I have with the comparison is that Tacoma comes across to be as being smaller than Providence? For one thing, even at its densest (?) downtown Tacoma seems so much more open and spacious than downtown Providence. Furthermore, in roughly the same land area as Tacoma (47.14 square miles vs Tacoma's 49.72) Providence and suburbs Central Falls, Pawtucket, North Providence, and East Providence have 351,872 vs Tacoma's 217,827. I know the openness can be attributed mostly to "old NE city vs new PNW city" but it still feels like an important difference to me.
St Paul has a pretty similar population density as PVD+its suburbs, but it's downtown is much taller and it's much closer to its larger neighbor. I thought Milwaukee might be a good match because I thought Summerfest and Waterfire might be similar despite having very different vibes. Could also compare Pabst to Gansett maybe. Think Louisville might be an underrated comparison, but I'll need to think about and research it more.
Of course none of the cities compare well to PVD demographically, with the city's Hispanic majority. However, taking those suburbs into account, it comes out to 45% non-hispanic white and 33% Hispanic. Guess the city of Providence's demographics are kind of similar to Milwaukee but with switched black and Hispanic percentages.
Anyway, I'm done rambling and should really go to bed.
Yea it's hard to find a really good match. Providence is a unique city, and I think it's more unique than a city like Tacoma. I still find the parallels that guy mentioned to be compelling but it's not a great fit either.
Providence could be like a mix of Tacoma and Rochester. Rochester feels similar in some ways. It also has a world renowned Eastman school of music up there. The metro is much smaller, but the city doesn't feel that much smaller. They are both on water(sort of), both old. Rochester is relatively dense. I dunno man, Prov's density and urbanform is probably more Buffalo than Rochester, but Providence really feels nothing like Buffalo either.
Wilmington, DE is an interesting Mid-Atlantic analogue. Smaller, yes. But similar in that it anchors a small state as the indisputable center of commerce/population and is more urban/vibrant that it gets credit for. Colonial history is a parallel between the two, as well.
Wilmington, DE is an interesting Mid-Atlantic analogue. Smaller, yes. But similar in that it anchors a small state as the indisputable center of commerce/population and is more urban/vibrant that it gets credit for. Colonial history is a parallel between the two, as well.
Wilmington is much smaller less diverse, with few urbanized suburbs. It is a rowhome city too. It's also a legitimate job center-unlike Providence which only has jobs (not very well-paying ones) because it's a big place.
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