Providence: Olneyville

After our morning session at Providence's New Commons, we toured Olneyville, where beautiful old mill buildings house retail shops, industries, artists, and homes...or sit empty. Olneyville is the crucible for the challenge that Providence leaders asked Charlie to address:

"Providence has experienced a shift away from an industrial economy. It has all but lost its industrial base. The artist community has occupied the numerous deserted industrial spaces left by the loss of the industrial economy. We have a hugely talented and active artist community that is nationally recognized, but gets little recognition at a local level. Hence, the artist community is in stress. There is very little link between the ‘creative economy’ elements of web, design and software sectors, and artists and artisans....
Providence is struggling with the development of its ‘next economy’, and is looking to see how it can link the above conditions to: a) a better way of leveraging its RISD, and especially keeping graduates in Providence; b) create work for dislocated workers who have been left behind with the loss of industrial jobs; c) leverage the significant immigrant population in Providence and Rhode Island: immigrants have always been a primary force in innovating new economic growth – how can Providence facilitate this?"

photo by: Christopher Reyes

Mayor David Cicilline joined Charlie and other Providence leaders for a discussion at The Steelyard, a mill transformation effected by Clay Rockefeller and Nick Bauta that "offers arts and technical training programs designed to increase opportunities for cultural and artistic expression, career-oriented training, and small business incubation." Sitting on the rooftop deck overlooking the mills and, in the (near) distance, downtown Providence, we discussed ways of tapping into the creativity and community spirit of a broad swathe of citizens in order to define and implement a plan--or, as Clay suggested, a platform--for Olneyville's mill spaces.

photo by: Christopher Reyes

  

Frymaster Speck, June 27, 2007

I tagged along on this tour/meeting and heard a most remarkable and heartwarming statement about mill development. It addressed the fact that, in addition to nice housing and services, creative communities want to have access to cheap, flexible (ie, run down) space. To that thought, it was said, "Keep some of it crappy." Now that's fresh thinking, and I completely agree. I also learned a lot in the discussion of a cooling toward the use of historical tax credits for all-residential mill conversions. This entry on my blog applauds a recent proposal for a not-yet-officially historic building in nearby Pawtucket as being all-jobs, which seemed to be the most desirable type of development. Thanks so much to CEOs for Cities for a memorable day in Providence.

Link: http://pawtucketri.blogspot.com/

Larry Quick, July 26, 2007

Living and working in RI, and with an economic development strategy discipline I think what Olneyville shows is that you can't focus on the built environment as the panacea for community revitalization. Build it and they will come doesn't work. Also, adding the 'creative economy' (whatever that means to a community) to the built part does no more than exacerbate the problem for the like of Olneyville. Where the built environment does work for places like Olneyville is as part of a more systemic strategy that includes the social, economic, ecological, community knowledge and community creativity elements of a 'whole place'. That, albeit a more complex view, is what Charlie most highlighted when in Providence. Simplistic and superficial 'plans' are not what is needed. New thinking, processes that are more wholistic and deal with systemic issues are. Without this view, places like Olneyville will continue to be a Mayor's worst nightmare. Larry Quick

Link: http://www.newcommons.com

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