It’s commendable to speak of educating the city’s youth, but how can the young adults that dropped out of high school who became gang members be enticed or convinced to become a constructive force within the city?

Sustainable practices are admirable as a goal, especially considering the city’s vulnerability with any climate driven change in sea level. Providence could reduce its carbon footprint easily by reverting to transit modes and service that were dominant sixty years ago. What about the heating of buildings? Perhaps a new industry could be developed that could innovate heating methods less reliant on fossil fuel with resulting carbon emissions. Besides education, healthcare, and design what other industries knowledge-based or otherwise might be created?

The report references the highest quality streetscapes, public spaces, civic buildings, landscaping and alike, but is vague or timid regarding the city’s future growth and development. How might the city regain its mid-20th century population of 250,000? Besides demographic shifts, since the 1950s housing has steadily disappeared due to highway construction, urban renewal, and the recurrent abandonment/demolition of residential buildings during declining economic periods or for creation of parking. Other than downtown, current land-use policies really don’t encourage development. Rampant NIMBY-ism from residential zones stretches well beyond their boundaries to effectively dwarf or eliminate development proposals elsewhere.

The next steps following the Providence Foundation’s vision plan would be to create a roadmap to show how these goals might be improved upon or achieved. If there’s the political will, much of this plan could be attained in this decade.