Providence Ranked No. 2 on List of Best Downtowns in America

PROVIDENCE, RI — Providence has proudly captured another national award for its quality of life. Rhode Island’s Capital City has been ranked the second best downtown in the nation Coast by Livability.com.

The award recognizes Providence among cities that foster creativity, inclusion and innovation by offering a diverse array of local architecture, art, lifestyles and things to do.

“Above all, the top-performing downtowns must maintain a high level of energy and give all residents in a city a reason to come on down,” according to Livability.com, an online publication that surveys metropolitan areas on a range of social issues. Included in the assessment of cities it reviewed were population growth, ratio of residents to jobs, income growth, home vacancy rates, affordability of housing and retail and office vacancy rates. http://livability.com/top-10/top-10-best-downtowns-2014/providence-/ri

“This recognition reaffirms that Providence is among the very best nationwide for quality of life and opportunity,” said Mayor Angel Taveras. “Rhode Island’s Capital City has enormous assets and an incredible quality of life that attracts residents and visitors and encourages them to stay.”

The editors of Livability.com noted that while they measure metrics for population gains, income growth, unemployment and the ratio of people who live and work downtown, “numbers alone can’t tell you what makes a downtown great. For that you need to see the skylines, hear the street sounds and talk to people who’ve been there.”

Providence – ranked No. 2 among the nation’s best downtowns for 2014 – was the only New England city to make the list. Providence was second only to Fort Worth, Texas, and was ranked ahead of Indianapolis, Indiana, Provo, Utah, Alexandria, Virginia,  Frederick, Maryland, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Bellingham, Washington, Eugene, Oregon and Birmingham, Alabama.

Providence also received high marks for the “significant investment downtown with new construction, major renovations and businesses moving in.”

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