City Settlement Patterns

12/2/2015

I was born and raised on the south side of Providence. Most of the houses in my neighborhood were two and three family homes, others were small one-family houses. There were many different languages spoken on my block, and so I grew up accepting and understanding of other cultures. For lunch I ate papo secos and kale soup with my portuguese neighbors, and for dinner, I had joloff rice and cassava leaf with my liberian comrades across the street. It wasn't the cleanest neighborhood, nor were the people the friendliest, but we all learned to live amongst each other in harmony. As you travel a mile or so down the main road, the houses get bigger and more beautiful. The cars also get nicer, and the storefronts morph from liquor stores and bodegas, into pharmacies and high-end boutiques. Trees line the litter-free sidewalks, and people travel aimlessly on them - towed by small dogs - seemingly without a care in the world. It gets quiet at night there. All you'd hear were crickets. It was a far cry from what I was used to, a very different world. What is it like in your neighborhoods? What do the houses and businesses look like? The people? Are there fences? Do folks get along? Can you borrow sugar from your neighbor? What do the surrounding neighborhoods look like? Are there distinct sections determined by class status or racial classification? Tell me all about it. I want to know. Be sure to comment on the stories of others, but most importantly, respect the rules of our blogosphere.

57 Comments

Justin E

12/2/2015 11:40:16 am

I live in the Silver Lake area in Providence. The neighborhood has a lot of different cultures. Most families are hispanic in my neighborhood and there is very few african american and white families. The neighborhood has a lot of two and three family houses. My neighborhood has very few one family homes. I know most of the kids in my neighborhood. I get along with both of my neighbors and my neighbors in the house in front of me. My neighbors are dominican, guatemalan, and white. Every weekend our dominican neighbors invite us over to eat or they invite us. As you may know Marlon is my neighbor, and we are always playing together with my brother. There isn’t a fence between me and Marlon’s house but there is a fence next to me and my white neighbors house. My family gets along very well with our white neighbors! Whenever they notice that I’m locked out of the house they invite me into their house. My surrounding neighborhoods are also very peaceful. Out of my 13 years living in that neighborhood, only one shooting has occurred. Everybody in my neighborhood gets along very well, there is no hate between anybody. There is many bodegas near my house and 2 liquor stores. My neighborhood is great, but many people think that it is a horrible neighborhood because it is supposedly in a bad area but it’s actually not. The way you treat people, they’ll treat you the same way. I really love my neighborhood.

Justin E

12/2/2015 11:58:04 am

I made a mistake in one of the senences, so it should say "or we invited them to our house"

Law-Rel B

12/2/2015 01:47:13 pm

Your neighborhood is similar to mine in the sense that it doesn't have a lot of white families. Also I know most of the kids in my neighborhood as well and have a good relationship with my neighbors.

Micah W

12/2/2015 01:59:34 pm

Nice Job, I used to live there and I would of said the same things you did

Mr. Husband

12/2/2015 06:45:13 pm

Silver Lake used to be primarily white when I was a kid… Things have certainly changed. From reading the section, why would you guess that change occurred?

Melissa E.

12/2/2015 11:54:51 am

For all of my life I’ve always lived in the same household with the same people and same surroundings. My neighborhood would be more on the quiet side since it’s placed behind a main road in the exact middle of Providence. Not south Providence, not north Providence, it’s just smack in the middle. Off of Reservoir Ave to be exact. It’s rarely busy and there’s never more than 3 cars that drive by within an hour span. Everyone just keeps to themselves unless it’s a casual “Hello, how are you?” when you both happen to walk out of your houses at the same time. Unless it’s the 4th of July or when one of my Spanish neighbors has a birthday party, you can expect some sereneness. The houses are generally 3-floored two family houses, but if not, they’re 2-floored one family houses. Most don’t look like they’re falling apart or trashed from the outside, but who know what goes on in the inside? One of my neighbors has chickens in their basement, and another has a dad obsessed with always changing his front yard. It's not something you'd typically see in a higher-class neighborhood. Most of the businesses in my neighborhood are family run and the businesses know their customers. Meaning that you’ll always get stopped to have a 10 minute long conversation about how so and so’s doing. It’s quite homely.
There’s fences that border off the properties and then there’s a fence secluding civilization from a bacterial wasteland. Even though there's signs saying to not enter, there’s a precipitous high school built right on the land. I’ve rarely heard any arguments among my neighbors. We never really talk so there’s honestly no reason for us to fight. I would never see myself going to a neighbor’s house to ask for sugar because that’d be just too awkward. Most of them probably wouldn’t even answer the door either since the only visitors my neighbors get are product survey people. The surrounding neighborhoods have the same vibe that I have in my neighborhood. Small family businesses, occasional hello’s, and a semi-clean sidewalk. If you were to go to the outskirts of my neighborhood, you’d see the same thing. There wouldn’t be any snobby rich people nor huge mansions surrounding the people who are less than them. Unless you went to Newport or Narragansett, you’d wouldn’t really see any of that. My neighborhood is a complete mix of races and class. I have an African-American family living to my right and a Spanish family living to my left. We’re all diverse and silently in support of each other.

Aliyah

12/2/2015 01:34:09 pm

Your neighborhood seems like a really good neighborhood to live in. Also, good job with your writing!

Adrian F.

12/2/2015 01:53:51 pm

Your neighborhood seems like decent place to live in, looks good from the way you described it. Good job in your writing.

Alaijah P.

12/2/2015 08:20:25 pm

That neighborhood sounds great. It seems as though all the people there respect and get along with each other.

Raymond D.

12/2/2015 08:31:18 pm

Wow, I have a friend who lives right n the border of Providence and Pawtucket. I wonder what it is like to live between two cities.

Gavin link

12/2/2015 11:55:50 am

I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but moved here with my new-born brother when I was two. I obscurely remember the neatly-trimmed lawns, the mellow houses, and the neighbors congregating on the lawn next door. It wasn't palaces, but it certainly wasn't nothing. When we moved, it was to a small yellow house on a side street. Slowly, my family and I became acquainted with our new neighbors. Some were much older. Some were younger than I. None of them were hostile. Those that had fences used them for keeping the dogs in. Any time I liked I could walk across the backyard and play frisbee with the college-age kids who lived their. We would sometimes walk up to the boulevard and walk a couple blocks along it to the community center and play sports. Most of my immediate neighbors were European-descended, but up the street I met an Indian family with two young children, whom I would play with frequently. I can't say I ever knew what it was like to go without a meal for lack of resources to make it, nor can I say that I've ever gotten anything more than a kindle for my birthday. I'm happy with and proud of the life I live.
-Gavin

Makayla R.

12/2/2015 01:45:20 pm

Great writing. Your neighborhood seems very friendly and I think that it is good that you are grateful for the life that you have.

Isabella R.

12/2/2015 04:33:48 pm

It is really amazing that you live in such a friendly neighborhood, also I never knew you lived in Boston. Even though it was for a short time!

Aliyah Paulino

12/2/2015 01:30:19 pm

In my neighborhood, it is very quiet. I live in Pawtucket and most people don't like Pawtucket, but where I live it is perfectly fine. I moved to where I live now when I was about 4-6 years old. I don't really remember. There are regular sized houses meaning 1-2 floored houses. The people in my neghborhood are very kind and always say hi when they see us. When I was younger, I also used to have a friend who came in our backyard to play with us. She moved, so she doesn't live around anymore. My brother has 2 friends also who are our neghbors, and they still talk to him. However, they never come to our backyard because they are afraid of my dog. There is a tall wood fence around the perimeter of my house, but not too tall that you can't see through it. Everyone else on the blcok has small metal fences that don't really give you privacy. I'm not really sure if I would be able to borrow sugar from my neighbor becasue I've never asked them for some. They probably would if we ever asked. There is also pretty good diversity in my neghborhood because they are white, black, and hispanic people as our neighbors or people who live around us. One thing that I know about my neighborhood, is that it has changed. Right in front of our house, there used to be an empty building that mostly looked abandoned. Now they turned it into an apartment complex which looks really nice. There is a swimming pool, gym, basketball court, etc. I am happy where I live and it is not a bad neghborhood to go to.

Makayla R.

12/2/2015 01:40:05 pm

I have been living in the same city and in the same house for all my life. I live in a quiet neighborhood in the town of Providence. Most of the houses and apartments in my neighborhood are small and have two or three families living in each of them. Almost everyday in the summertime I would go my neighbor's house. She lived across the street from me and every time I would go over there, we play video games or watch TV or go outside. For the most my neighborhood is pretty calm and only sometimes will I hear people arguing and noise from the houses or other people hear noise coming from my house. The street that I live on intersects with a very long street that most people would consider dangerous and loud. There would be many robberies from the houses and apartments there. Although my neighborhood isn't always sunshine and rainbows, there are people that have it a lot worse than I do. I am grateful for the life that I have.

Justin Enriquez

12/2/2015 02:26:48 pm

It sound great that you like your neighborhood and that you are grateful for it.

Hugo G.

12/2/2015 07:11:43 pm

I used to live a street over to one of those neighborhoods. It was bad. You'd most likely be shot if you were at that street past 9.

Law-Rel B

12/2/2015 01:44:24 pm

In my neighborhood there are a lot of Black, African, and Spanish people. There are a lot of one family houses that have two floors, and there are also a lot of houses that are three family. I also live near a complex so it has a lot of different house that are all together. There are a lot of trees in my neighborhood that look like they have been planted by the city. As far as businesses there are a lot of fast food places, and also different types of meat markets. I live near two main streets in providence so there are a lot of different businesses. For example there are barber shops and hair salons, phone stores, and a couple of pharmacies. A lot of homes in my neighborhood have fences. Some are they wooden fences, some of the wire fences, and some are the fences with the metal rods. The people get along, and there aren't really any arguments made by the adults. Also people tend to keep to themselves and not really know there neighbors. Well some of my neighbors my family knows them so I could borrow sugar form my neighbors if i ever needed it. The surrounding neighborhoods don't look as clean as mine. They are also a bunch of three family houses. That need some form of remodeling. I don't think that there are any signs that show how wealthy you are in my neighborhood. Everyone in my neighborhood seems to be middle class.

Paul E.

12/2/2015 01:58:18 pm

Nice response. Where you said you could borrow sugar from a neighbor, I didn't expect that since I heard you know people but they don't know you. Anyway something new I found out was that Spanish people live in your neighborhood. Although I expected black and African people to live in your neighborhood, Spanish was a nice surprise that you mentioned. Otherwise I liked the detail and thought you put into it.

Daybue H.

12/2/2015 01:58:38 pm

Thats crazy, your new neighborhood seems a lot better than the one you used to live in , that had the same conditions as mine.

Adrian F.

12/2/2015 01:46:09 pm

In the house I currently live in, to where I moved to two years ago is an apartment. It's in edge of Providence right next to Johnston, near Mount Pleasant. My apartment is in a small apartment building called The Falls because there is a small waterfall right next to it. There are a lot of different races of people living in my building, mostly White families but many Black and Asian families. Old people are usually the ones that live there, so I don't have many friends in the building, but in the neighborhood, there are many different houses. Mostly Hispanics, so I have a few friends that I hang out with, it's easier because I am also Hispanic. When I ride my bike it's usually a busy road because many people go through the road. I think the reason is because I live next to a Stop & Shop, a Wendys, barber shop, CVS, Dollar Tree, Sam's food Store, a Liquor Store, and a Dog Groomer's. I don't really talk to my neighbors, certainly not ask for sugar because I can walk for 3 minutes to our corner store. The only time I would talk to them was if I saw them entering their house the same time I was, and it's only a "Hello" or "Hi". The streets are cracked, a fair bit of liter on the sidewalk. My neighborhood is usually quiet except for the incoming cars. The only fences are the ones that separate the houses from each other. I can't say my neighborhood is a good one, but it certainly isn't a bad one, sometimes the police get called to the houses nearby. But other than that, that's my neighborhood.

Niamiah J

12/2/2015 08:59:53 pm

I live next to stop & shop and dollar tree too. It's nice to know that you feel safe in your neighborhood.

Paul E.

12/2/2015 01:51:30 pm

I was born in Virginia, but raised in Providence. My neighborhood is not the best, but better than what I mostly grew up seeing and smelling every day. I have an aging black lady on one side of my house that throws family parties every once in a while, and a white family on the other side. The only noise is of cars rolling by or my brother and/or me playing basketball. There is a couple kids on my street that are around my age, but I don't really see them to often. On the other side of the street opposite my house there are two houses occupied by two Spanish families. English is spoken in every house except for the Spanish families. My neighborhood is fairly quiet at night and during the day unless you hear someone doing yard work or something outside. The houses on my street are one family houses, and there a couple businesses close by. The people that live closest to me smoke every once in a while so I sometimes could smell it, but they are friendly enough unlike the dogs. We are friendly enough to say hi when we see each other but otherwise we stay out of each other's way. The only collaboration between on my street is the black lady, and a white lady talking early on Saturday morning. Rather than the black lady apologizing for her dogs barking at us when we pull up to our house. There are fences separating everyone's property on my street so that there is no mix up. Most likely I would be able to borrow sugar from any of the families that live close to me considering I at least know the names of some of the people that live there.. The surrounding neighborhoods get a bit better and have bigger houses than my street, and are densely white populated.

Kayla P.

12/2/2015 04:22:51 pm

It's nice to be able to feel that you can trust your neighbors enough to borrow sugar from them.

Emmanuel P.

12/2/2015 09:11:48 pm

It's funny how there are some similarities to what I shared and to what you shared. Anyways, that was a nice explanation of your neighborhood.

Daybue H.

12/2/2015 01:55:21 pm

I was born south side of providence. In my neighborhood its very loud and busy. There's nothing but Spanish and Black people. Whenever a white person comes over in our area everyone has their eye on them. My neighbors are nice and we all get along but we aren't so close that we would borrow sugar from each other. Its sort of like a hi and bye conversation every time we see each other. There are different parts to my hood as well, there is the part where everyone is middle class and you can tell they are the bourgeoisie black families with a decent amount of money and then there is the lower class area where its dirty and everyone is loud, the kids are bad and there is lots of violence. On most street corners there are memorials for people who were shot and their family and friends go there and drink and have parties for them. The homes that are in the lower class area are either ; 1 , 2 , 3 bedroom apartments or small houses. Most of the houses have little fences that separate the backyards of neighboring houses. In my neighborhood there are also a lot of drug addicts walking around and sleeping at bus stops, but that's only because the vast amount of liquor stores. On one main street there are at least 4 liquor stores. The surrounding neighborhoods get better the further you go down because it travels into Cranston and the houses get a lot better and bigger. You go from seeing Toyotas, Lexus and Hondas to seeing BMWs and Corvettes. People that aren't from our area don't know what really goes on there but these are just some of the many things. My side of town isn't the best but i'm proud to come from there.

Shalom K.

12/2/2015 06:09:25 pm

I tthink your explanation of how the classes chnage using vehicles was very well put. Its also good to hear of your pride from there.

Micah W

12/2/2015 01:57:30 pm

I am originally from the Olneyville providence, real close to the west end. I lived there for 12 years. Things over there were loud, lively, fun, scary, exciting, and that will always feel like home. But in seventh grade I moved to the dull, boring, and all white Mt. Peasant. Now not all parts of Mt. Pleasent are dull and boring. Ifact some parts are close to my old neighborhood. However my street is not! It is secluded from everywhere else, the most noise you hear is the noise from the LaSalle football games. On my street there is no class Status. And also on my street there is one and only one Dominican woman, a crazy man that lives with his dad and is in love with a cat. A 76 year old Italian man. A lady who thinks that she is the neighborhood watch (she is always up in people’s business), A very rich and privileged woman, and I haven’t taken the time to meet the rest. I would only ever ask two neighbors for sugar. The Italian man (Tony) and the Dominican woman (Dolares). In my neighborhood there are two types of stores. Pizza joints and Dunkin Donuts.

Raymond D.

12/2/2015 01:57:45 pm

In my neighborhood, it is very quiet and peaceful. The only time I would see our neighborhood get obnoxious us when I am walking east from my house to my mom's friend's house and I would see a lot of savages fighting and yelling outside to another house. But, other that that it is a pretty nice place. The houses look very nice and there are corner stores all around there. There are liquor stores and barber shops around there too. There is even a speedway gas Station near them. I also live near a Stop n' Shop. The houses look very fancy, and I have one of the biggest houses in my neighborhood. Some houses have pools and huge garages. There are even some houses that hold up to three families. George J. West is a seven-minute walk from my house. I went there for kindergarten and half of first grade. The people there are very nice, they will always want to help out with your house. My neighbor offered to fix my fence when it got ruined. My other neighbor will give you anything you need. I asked him if I could use his lawn mower and he will basically let us keep it. So, I am pretty sure I can get some sugar from my neighbors. All the houses have fences. They have it to keep their dogs in and keep trespassers out. In my neighborhood, it is a mix of different types of races. There are white people, Latinos, and African-Americans, including me.

Tiffanie P.

12/2/2015 01:58:07 pm

I live on The South Side of Providence on Elmwood Ave. I have lived in the same house, on the same street, with the same people my whole life. My neighborhood is mostly quiet but I think it’s only because there is a sign in the beginning of the street that says their is a fine of $100,000 if your music is too loud, but there are still people who come onto my street a few times and BLAST their music!! The houses on my street are usually one family houses but there are two, two family houses in the beginning of my street. There are mostly spanish people on my street. There is one black women but she is married to a spanish guy so I don't know if that counts. Some houses have fences but others don’t. My house doesn't have a fence but my neighbor’s neighbor has a fence between both of them. People generally get along on my street mainly because we are all mostly of the same ethnicity and share similar life's.Yes I could borrow sugar for a neighbor but it would be awkward because I don't really talk to my neighbors, my dad does. Around the left side of the street facing my house there is a liquor store, a laundromat, a pizzeria, a barber shop/mattress store/ creation store and much more. On the right side of my street is “La Broa” where there are bodegas, spanish restaurants, a CVS, a liquor store (family owned) and much more. Where I live there aren't really sides of poor and rich it's more of who ever has either the big houses were considered “rich or wealth” and who ever has smaller houses were “poor”. People always thought that I was rich and had everything because my dad was the senator and because I had a bigger house than they did, but I am not. That is my neighborhood talk. Thank you for reading! Have a good rest of your day!:)

Xzayah B.

12/2/2015 04:59:29 pm

This was really well put together and it's nice to know that if you needed sugar you could borrow it from a neighbor.

Ronald W.

12/2/2015 01:58:53 pm

I was born in Pawtucket Rhode Island, when I was born my family lived in a small yellow house but when I was 4 months old I moved into a 2 story white house on a small dead end street. Across the street from my house is a 3 floor apartment building along with a 1 story house next to it where an old married couple live and another house next to it. My neighborhood is very nice and none of the houses are old a run down. Up the street is a CVS a Cumberland farms a pizza place and a bank.Many of my neighbors had kids that were 1-2 years older than me and others had kids that were 1-2 years younger than me so we all played together and watched each other grow. As we got older we all started to drift apart. Everyone who lives on my street as lived there since I moved there so everyone is very friendly and know each other. There are many different races, there is a Dominican white mix couple, a Puerto rican couple, blacks and white people so there is a lot of diversity. We all have fences but it’s mainly due to having pets. My uncle also lives across the street from me so I could borrow sugar from him but besides him that’s it. The surrounding neighborhoods look very similar as there are many side streets but I haven’t really met them.

Kayla P.

12/2/2015 01:59:20 pm

I spent about half of my life living in Boston at my grandmother's house and then in an apartment with my mom in Framingham, Massachusetts. My grandmother has lived in the same apartment complex for over 40 years now and some of the people there I've known my whole life. The people that live there are a variety of everything, there are Asians, Spanish people, white people and most definitely black people. With different races come different languages, different food and way of life. I didn't really grow up around that and when I was younger in elementary school I didn't pay attention to the differences around me. Although now I think of it my best friend was Puerto Rican and I had friends of many other races. In my grandmother's apartment complex there aren't any problems except the little ones that occur due to time. Everyone knows everyone and is respectful of everyone else's way of life. Near my grandmother’s house there is a strip of stores. The corner store, a pizza shop, Chinese restaurant, and another store I've never paid attention to. That strip leads to Commonwealth Ave, which is like our broad street in the way that it's a long street. There's many banks, corner stores, there's a 7/11, a bakery, a Whole Foods, and if you travel down a little bit you’ll come across an infinite number of stores like car dealerships, cvs and Starbucks. I forgot to mention a train passes by on the railroad every so often. My dad lives in Cambridge and that's a very different neighborhood than any I have lived in before. The people are of a higher class and the stores aren't as common. There's no McDonalds or Walmart near by. Something else that's different about Cambridge and Massachusetts in general is that there are bikers and there are things made available for bikers. The transportation system is better, Rhode Island doesn't have a ton of bikers and the roads aren't specially designed for the safety of bikers like Boston’s roads are. Also the only real transportation system Rhode Island has in the bus system and there are still problems with that. Also in Cambridge you'll see more people walking by themselves or with their families and there are tons of things to do. Cambridge is more family friendly than any city I've been to in Rhode Island. After my mom moved out of my grandmother's house we moved to Framingham to an apartment building that was very expensive. They had a pool, a gym, a place where you could rent movies, they had many parks that as a kid appealed to me, they of course had a laundry room and I was very happy there. The actual apartment itself was lovely and I really liked it. The people and staff were really friendly and nearby there was a stop and shop, friendly’s that I went to every time I was well behaved or was doing well in school, a chucky cheese and many other stores and restaurants. We lived there for maybe 3-4 years before we moved to Rhode Island. It was the most depressing time of my life, Rhode Island’s setup and structure is different from that of Massachusetts. I feel that majority of the cities in mass care about their people and it reflects, I feel the opposite about Rhode Island and I also feel that it reflects. My neighborhood in Rhode Island is ok, there's no violence or loud noises except the occasional cars that pass by. Everyone is respectful and friendly and willing. Down the street it turns into a heavily Caucasian populated area with stores and restaurants that appeal to that crowd. Further down it becomes a Main Street where the population of people becomes diverse again. Also after driving for what feels like forever you come across your first Walmart.

Xzayah B.

12/2/2015 01:59:53 pm

Currently I live in between Manton Ave and Chalkstone Ave. My street is usually pretty quiet but sometimes throughout the day cars will speed down my street blasting music. My street is a little side street off of Manton Ave that has mostly one family homes with a few two family homes. However, if you drive down Manton Ave, you will see liquor stores, gas stations, and bodegas. The people on my street are either hispanic or African American. Not many people on my street have fences and if they do have fences it is for their dog. In my neighborhood I wouldn’t say that people don’t get along, but most of the people on our street don’t talk to each other. I would never ask my neighbors or people on my street for sugar because I don’t talk to them and know them well enough. Many people think that I live in a bad neighborhood because I live right off of Manton , but my neighborhood isn’t to bad.

Wolfgang C.

12/2/2015 05:53:31 pm

In my neighborhood, most of the people don't talk to each other and I wouldn't ask most of them for sugar as well.

Willa G.

12/2/2015 06:49:17 pm

I liked your blog. It was very well put together. I think that I also wouldn't be able to ask people for sugar or something else if it weren't for one or two people.

Dante D.

12/2/2015 02:10:44 pm

I live in Providence and my neighborhood is a little ways off of Branch Ave. Nobody in my neighborhood is really friendly. All of us for the most part just mind our business and don't interfere with each other's lives. There are some shady people who live in our neighborhood but there has to be people like that in every neighborhood right? Our house is the smallest on our street and there aren't many like ours on or around our street as well. The houses look nice and old-fashioned but some people have renovated their homes and made them more modern. The houses around us are somewhat large and they actually have backyards in good condition and the two houses on either side of mine have nicely decorated patios to gaze upon. In one direction, there are really only corner stores that look like their inspection grade is a “C.” In the opposite direction however, you can go down the road and there are bigger businesses down the same road. There's a fancy type of liquor store and a Benny’s as well. Savers is even farther down the road and across that is a Stop & Shop. Anyway, the more local neighbors don't really go out much and we don't interact with them at all so I couldn't tell you how they act other than they're not really friendly with us. So no, you wouldn't really be able to go and borrow a cup of sugar. The neighborhoods around us are about the same but farther out past the corner stores and pawn shops, there's a route you can take to get to Moses Brown easily if you just follow the road. There's also a YMCA building that's not too far away but isn't really part of our particular neighborhood. I started to kind of say this before but there are larger houses with patios and porches all around my house. The most I could tell you is that they're all occupied by white men and women who look like they have a good career when they leave for work in the morning. The smaller houses like mine without lawns or porches or patios are where the darker skinned people live so there is a sort of separation by class status. Then again it almost always seems to be like this, doesn't it? Sometimes I wonder when we can all see eye to eye again like the good ole days before I was even alive.

Gianna G.

12/2/2015 06:48:54 pm

Very interesting, my neighbors don't really interact either. It's cool that you have a YMCA near your house. Do you ever go there? I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't, but it's still a nice thing to have near you.

Isabella R.

12/2/2015 04:30:15 pm

I live in very close to North Providence, in a neighborhood sometimes called Elmhurst (Though I don’t call it Elmhurst). Providence College is on my street, and so I am surronded by college kids. There are only 3 families including me on my street. One is a nice older couple who I could defenitely go over to if I ever needed something, or if I was home alone and something went wrong. The other family is a spanish family and all are very young, they are sometimes irresponsible and break out into fights so I would never go talk to them. The rest of the houses are either filled with college kids or mystery people whom I never see. My house itself is an apartment that I share with my great-grandmother. It is not that people don’t get along, but people don’t interact in general. If you go closer to North Providence and further away from the college, the houses get nicer, and the streets are a lot cleaner. Their is also more families and condos around there. If you go closer to the state house ( which is not particulary close ) then there is more litter, less houses, and more bars, liqour stores, and corner stores. I live somewhat in the middle of that. Providence College kids are dominantly caucasian, so it is mostly young, always drunk and partying, white, rich, college kids. I am sure there are nice college kids around me, but their annoying parties keep me up at night so I put them all under that box. I probably would not walk out in my neighborhood during the weekends because of college parties, and other weirdos walking around. Although on the weekdays I will ocasionally walk out during the evening and am fine. That is what my neighborhood is like.

Renina W.

12/2/2015 06:30:11 pm

I enjoyed reading about your neighborhood! Mine is completely different compared to yours, plus your neighborhood seems bittersweet to be living in.

Wolfgang C.

12/2/2015 05:48:30 pm

For most of my life i’ve lived in the south of Pawtucket. It’s very quiet and very green. The houses are either large condos or medium sized one family homes, all of them very old and quiet. Most of the businesses are small businesses, but there’s an occasional pharmacy or grocery store. I don’t know most of my neighbors.We’re good friends with our next door neighbors, an old Portugese family that have lived there for over 40 years that we can borrow much more than sugar from, but that’s. One of the condos is blocked off by a fence, and we never talked to anyone else in our neighbourhood. Whether because didn’t like them or just never talked is something I was probably too young to remember. The neighbourhoods look the same until you reach blackstone Blvd where the houses get even bigger and nicer and smaller and more beat up towards central Pawtucket. The neighbourhood is very diverse. I’ve seen people of most racing walking through it, and every seems to be in the middle class.

Hugo G.

12/2/2015 07:07:54 pm

That part of pawtucket is pretty nice too but don't you live close to the nearly high-end homes?

Shalom K.

12/2/2015 06:07:44 pm

I just recently moved into my neighborhood in south Providence. Most of the time it is quiet but it’s a busy street with cars always passing by. All of the houses look pretty old and most of them have two to three floors like mine. There are few business around but they are Dunkin Donuts, a corner store, a car repairing shop, and on the other side of the block, The Met School. The houses all have gates or fences surrounding them but a few, like mine, aren’t that high and you can easily see into the neighbor’s yard. my neighbor is hispanic and isn’t very friendly when me or my cousins accidentally kick or throws a ball in her yard. Most of the other people on my block are black and some hispanic so there isn’t any sections of racial distinction.

Alani R.

12/2/2015 08:39:14 pm

I can relate because in my neighborhood it's quiet as well but the cars are usually the cause of all the noise. Most of the people that live in my neighborhood are African American or Hispanic too.

Jesse L.

12/2/2015 06:17:22 pm

I live on the south side of providence and I kind of live in Cranston but I consider myself from Providence. The houses in my neighborhood are one family houses and most of them are similar in design and normal size. The houses on my street are in normal condition and not to messed up or trashed, but as you go further north some of the houses are in really bad condition and there is graffiti and there are even some houses that have been on fire and not fixed. The businesses around my house are corner stores and stores like family dollar and there is a Mcdonald’s down the street. As I go further north on broad street the stores become hair salon’s, restaurants, little cell phone companies, childcare centers, and there are lots of car places. The people in my neighborhood are mostly Dominican, my whole street is Dominican except for my family. Then across the street the people are mostly African American and there are some Cambodian people. As I go further north on broad street it’s the same range of people except there are portuguese people. Mostly the people get along in my neighborhood but occasionally there are some arguments or shootings, but mostly everyone gets along. The surrounding neighborhoods are similar to mine except my neighborhood is in sort of a nicer place than the other neighborhoods because I live right near the park. There are no real distinct sections of racial division or anything like that but I can tell you for sure that there aren't many white people in South Providence and Portuguese people don't count. Basically south side is all diverse and you can find Dominican people living in the same place as black people. My neighbors are nice and I feel like I could ask my neighbor for sugar. One of my good friends lives one house over and him mom makes good food and I eat it all the time because I am welcomed like that because of how close a relationship I have to them.

Renina W.

12/2/2015 06:26:54 pm

I live in the South Side of Providence. My neighborhood is pretty loud, but not like crazy loud. In the morning it's pretty peaceful, but during the day it can get kind of crazy because my house is literally right next to to a soup kitchen, so at about 11:30-1:00 it can be very loud, and the street will get crazy as well. There are a lot of businesses by my house because my house is one house away from an inner section so right on to Elmwood between Lenox and Atlantic there are Liquor stores, Corner stores, Check cashing businesses, etc. I don't really notice people around the businesses, but they have been there forever. Houses in my neighborhood are mostly houses for a family of 4. A lot of the houses are actually good sizes, not to small, but not huge either. As you get farther from the inner section I would say the houses get a bit nicer, but they are all about the same.
In my neighborhood they are mostly Spanish people, for example if a religious group comes by they first ask do you speak espanol, and if not they keep it moving. Despite the fact there are really only Spanish people I feel the people all get along very well. My family is always waving to people and talking, saying hi, etc. My neighbors are very friendly considering I live next to a soup kitchen, but I have noticed the people in the soup kitchen dump food and trash right on the sidewalk between our houses causing not only the neighborhood to look unclean, but our property as well. My other two neighbors who happen to be gay like many others in my community are extremely friendly. Every winter they shovel our driveways for us, and do many other things as well for us.
My neighborhood is not the cleanest, most richest neighborhood, but businesses do well, folks get along, and there are rarely issues. That's my neighborhood.

Gianna G.

12/2/2015 06:30:33 pm

I’ve lived in the same house and neighborhood for my entire life. I was raised in Providence, and my neighborhood has always felt pretty small to me. On my street everything is pretty much the same. All of the houses and the yards are basically the same size and none are really superior over the other. When it comes to my neighbors, I never really got to know any of them. There are almost no kids at all from what I’ve seen in the past 13 years. Although some kids other than my brother and I have been seen, none of us ever really became friends or from what I remember even talked. Most of the people that live on my street are pretty old. They walk their dogs up and down the street, we may wave a friendly wave, and then go along with our day. It's never anything much more though. There are no fights in our neighborhood most of the time, since none of us even speak to each other. After a few streets, the neighborhood looks and sounds completely different. While my neighborhood is usually quiet, only a few streets down in is extremely loud. There are stores, gas stations, and markets all around. The businesses are mostly chained places so there's not much to judge. There are fences in my neighborhood between each and every house. It's always been like that though and I like it that way a lot more than if there were none. I do not believe that there are distinct sections for classes and races. That is my neighborhood.

Dante D.

12/2/2015 09:30:43 pm

I've seen a small part of your neighborhood since we're on the same bus and it seems about the same as you're describing it. I've noticed that your neighbors houses look similar like you said and little details like evenly cut grass tell me that everyone respects each other's property unlike some neighborhoods I've seen. And to answer your question, no of course I don't go to the YMCA, who do you think I am?

Willa G.

12/2/2015 06:41:20 pm

I was born in California but only lived there until I was two so I don't remember much of my life there. The next place I lived after that was a two family apartment on River Ave when I was three. Again, I don't remember much but there was a family upstairs with a lot of kids. They were Guatemalan. Now I live right around Providence College and most of my street is Caucasian. One of my neighbors is and immigrant from Poland and there's one two family apartment across the street. But if you walk a little down the street there will be college apartments where ethnicity and class don't seem to matter all that much. My family likes going to local restaurants or other businesses in our neighborhood like Cheng's Kitchen, Taqueria Puebla, or Mount Pleasant Hardware. The neighborhood doesn't seem to have a lot of fences and the people are generally kind like I can go ask my neighbor for sugar or flour when I'm baking or the family across the street but I only feel like we know three or four families on the street personally out of about twenty or so. I do also distinctly remember some instances in the past when college students came to stay on the street. There have been two houses so far with college students that the adults haven't entirely appreciated having around. It wasn't because of race or class, it was the parties and beer bottles that they were disturbed by. Generally speaking, I like my neighbors and the community that I feel welcome in.

Grace J

12/2/2015 08:26:36 pm

I think that its really nice that you and your neighbors are so close to each other. I also think that is nice that you used to live on River Ave, because that means once we were neighbors and didn't even know it! :)

Hugo G.

12/2/2015 07:04:13 pm

I live in the area of pawtucket that goes down a long road called Armistice boulevard and the houses get bigger and the grass gets greener as you go down the road towards Slater Park. My neighboorhood is mostly comprised of white people. I have seen no hispanics or blacks around my neighboorhood. My street is quite and the people are nice which is kinda awkward for me since I used to live in the ghetto where there were shootings going on over on the next street. Everyone in my neighboorhood now has somewhere to be and is only out on the weekends either riding their segways or going places. I could go right next door and ask for sugar but that's too much work and I'm not used to that. There are fences that seperate each house but the fences are low enough to hop over and go into multiple yards. The houses are pretty nice and most people do have gardens. The people on my street don't communicate that often but I do have small talk with neigbors next door because their son faced us in soccer at PCD. That basically my neighborhood.

Grace

12/2/2015 08:16:50 pm

I was born in Newport RI, but have lived in the same house in Providence, RI. It is in Elmhurst, which is around PC and Lasalle. My neighborhood has a mix of people, with most of them being white, but there are also black people and Hispanic people, too. It is quiet at times, but there are always parties at the houses above me because I live in a hill from PC students, and one of my neighbors is always yelling about something which makes it loud at times, too. The houses are generally two-story family houses, but for some reason mine is only one floor. There aren't fences in the front of the houses, but there are on the sides. The businesses consist of an abundance of pizza places, Dunkin Donuts, and a bakery. There is also a Walgreens, library, and a little supermarket as well. I think that overall people get along, but on my street especially, it is filled with older people, so we mostly keep to ourselves. I could probably ask them for sugar though, even though it be awkward, but the times I have talked to them they have seemed nice. The surrounding neighborhoods pretty much look the same, and there aren't any divisions of race or class division that I know of.

Alaijah P.

12/2/2015 08:17:29 pm

For all my life I have lived in providence but moved to different areas. I had just recently moved as well. My current neighborhood is a small one but filled with lots of people. From what I heard from my father, it seems as though my neighbors are really nice people. I haven't gotten the chance to meet them but I will eventually. My neighborhood isn't usually a loud one, unless a type of celebration is going on. I know next door to my house there is an nice elderly couple that I talk to sometimes, and across the way a Hispanic family lives there. I haven't gotten the chance to meet them. By my house there is a gas station and some liquor stores. Since I am new to the neighborhood it might not be a good idea to ask to borrow sugar, unless I am well acquainted. which I will be eventually. My neighborhood consists of mainly white families and quite little Hispanics. There are only two Hispanic families that i know of. The surrounding neighborhoods are very similar as well. They are quite as well. There is also an abandoned house near mine as well but new neighbors will be moving in soon, and I'll be sure to welcome them to the neighborhood.

Alani R.

12/2/2015 08:34:30 pm

I was also born on the south side of Providence. I've lived in many different apartments so far, and the first was on Linwood. My parents and I only lived there for a couple of months after I was born. Since I was an infant, I don't remember anything and I also never asked.

Next we moved into my father's parents house on Elmwood until I was three. My aunts also lived there at the time so they helped take care of me and I became close to them. We moved into our own apartment when my sister was born and I was 8 years old. Both of these neighborhoods were very calm and friendly. The houses were well put together and there were fences. Our neighbors would help us when we needed it and we would do the same for them. The people in our neighborhood were all types of races, cultures, and classes. The buildings around there were caring centers for elderly, hospitals, auto-shops, and bodegas. The neighborhoods around us were the same as ours.

The summer before I entered sixth grade, I moved into the second floor of a three apartment building on Princeton. The people on the third floor were quiet and sometimes played music, but not loudly. The people beneath us, on the other hand, were very obnoxious. They would always fight and scream at each other and slam their doors. My mom didn't trust the neighborhood we were living in, so we didn't talk to anyone or go outside. The apartments could've used some work and there were no fences. The people around us were either African American or Hispanic of different classes. The buildings around there were schools, libraries, gas stations, and bodegas. The neighborhoods around us were the same except for the ones that were to the left of ours because they were more quiet and cleaner.

We now live a couple blocks away from school. These apartments are connected together and there are fences. The neighborhood is kind of quiet with an exception of cars. The Puerto Rican people next door to us like to play music late on Sunday nights also. We don't go outside or talk to people in our neighborhood. The buisnesses around here are bodegas, restaurants, and places that assist people (homeless). The people that live here are either Hispanic or African American and of different classes. The neighborhoods around us are the same.

Niamiah J

12/2/2015 08:55:37 pm

I live on Lincoln Ave in Cranston. I only know one of my 2 of my neighbors. They live in one big apartment. One of the family is the Lenus family. The whole family is kind and easy to get along with. The son, Devin goes everywhere with us. He is 12 years old and is Cj’s best friend. During the summer I play basketball and Football with him. He comes with us to fun events, church, and even grocery shopping I appreciate getting to know him and his family. My other friendly neighbors is the Tutt family. They are kind and nice as well. When i was in the 6th grade the grandmother (who is the landlord of the apartment) taught me Spanish. She taught me how to have simple conversations which helped to excel in Spanish in the 6th grade. The oldest brother Derick Tutt who is know in Community prep is nice too. When Cj and i used to come over his house his father was surprised about our intelligence. He asked where we went to school and I told him Community Prep. I gave him more information about the school and then he enrolled Derick. Next thing I know I see Derick walking side by side with me in the hallways. The littlest one, Olivia is best friends with my sister Myca. Together during the summer we play and make neighborhood memories.

Other than them, I know absolutely no one on my street. One time Devin was playing basketball and then out of nowhere a pit-bull came up to him and started biting him. He was able to jump over a fence but he couldn’t sit down for the next few days. A man that lives on my street told Devin that the dog didn’t like black people. Devin’s mother sued the owner and put the dog in the pound. So there is some sort of prejudice on my street against people of color but for the main part my street is safe and quiet.

Emmanuel

12/2/2015 09:06:42 pm

I live off Chalkstone Ave., near Mount Pleasant. I consider my neighborhood to be peaceful and quiet. Sometimes too quiet. Most of the houses near my house are one-story houses but there are about to that have about three floors in one house. One or two blocks away from my house, there are some big businesses/stores and also some small ones. Those including a Stop & Shop, Wendy’s, and more. Some sections of my neighborhood have fences/gates built near their houses, including my own. We have both fences and surrounding our home. My family built a fence on one of the sides of our house just so that we block our view of seeing a particular neighbor we have. I have some neighbors that I could “borrow sugar’ from, except for the one that we decided to ignore.. The surrounding neighborhood are just as quiet and look pretty much like the neighborhood that I live in. Most of the people that live in my neighborhood are white, while there’s a small percentage of hispanics also.

Anthony R

12/3/2015 11:56:55 am

I live near Mount pleasant off of Chalkstone ave. My neighborhood is usually quite quiet on my side of the street. I live in a one family house and on my side the houses are mostly one and two family houses. Near my house there is a park, a police station, some corner stores, mi guatemala restaurant and a italian bakery at the end of my street. There are many cultures and races on my street. There are africans, hispanic, irish and native americans. With all this diversity there are sections. At the beginning of my street the people aren’t very polite and make a lot of noise mostly hispanics. Than there is my section mostly african americans and some hispanics, it is very quiet and everyone gets along. We don’t borrow sugar but we do borrow rakes, and bags, and some give us foods as well. Everyone is usually polite and there are a lot of fences.

City Settlement Patterns

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