Improving the Hospital District is a shared priority of the Smiley Administration, Southside community members, and institutional land owners. The mission of this planning process is to build upon years of community conversations to reimagine how underutilized land in the Hospital District can reconnect the Hospitals with the Southside of Providence, unlock community development and economic opportunity, and improve public and environmental health.
In March 2025, the Providence Department of Planning & Development (DPD) and the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) hosted a design charrette process at Community College of Rhode Island’s Liston Campus with Southside neighborhood leaders, institutional land-owners, youth, public agencies, and the development community.
With support from DPZ Co-Design, the goal of this process was to envision more productive uses of the Hospital District’s surface parking lots and discuss the feasibility of various implementation strategies. The summary Vision Plan document below aims to guide future conversations between the City, southside neighbors, institutional land owners, and other stakeholders about how the District can be developed to benefit all.
This effort was possible thanks to the CNU Legacy Project program, DPZ CoDesign, Urban3, Zimmerman/Volk and Associates, and the time and contributions of local stakeholders.
Hospital District Vision Plan Report
Have any questions or comments? Please submit them via this form below or contact Tim Shea, DPD’s Community Planning Manager, at tshea@providenceri.gov
What is CNU? CNU is a member-based nonprofit organization of architects, urban designers and planners that champions better design of cities and towns to improve lives and strengthen communities for all. The technical support accompanying this Legacy Project, provided by DPZ Co-Design, was awarded to the City of Providence as part of the ramp up to CNU hosting their annual congress in Providence from June 11-14, 2025.