Water Fire

As part of my Introduction to Urban Design and Development class, we took a class trip to Providence, Rhode Island on 10/25/14. This is first time I have been there and an in-depth look at the area really allows one to see how the city developed.

Providence train station

After a 2 hour train ride from Boston's South Station, we arrived in a humble but interesting building. The Providence train station is a modest and simple concrete building with a clock tower and a large dome above the main waiting area. However, it is the vast lawn in front of the station that caught my attention. Such a expansive field and so severely underutilized on a sunny and warm Saturday.

The narrow Providence River is the centerpiece of the city, and we were specifically there to see the "Water Fire Festival". The wood was already set up on the water, and we were getting a first glimpse of what is to come.

new apartments

Along the river are a number of new apartments that overlook the area. 

The mall above the river

The riverwalk is all for public recreation, and all commercial activity are centralized in the mall built above the river. And although New Urbanists may have a problem with the scale of the mall and the apartments, I feel that here it works quite well. The riverwalk does not need to be activated with commercial activities because it is attractive enough as an urban element in itself. The historical filling of Providence River to reach its narrow state helps to bring the entire area to human scale. Not only do people interact on one side of the river, they can visually connect with those on the other side. The mall serves as an anchor that provides the necessary amenities for adjacent residents as well as visitors.

Water Fire in action