I love this city but everything I love about is always under threat. I grew up in Providence and I’ve lived around the world. What’s great about providence is that it has the amenities of larger cities while still holding on to the home town feeling. That feeling of knowing how to get around the local way and avoid the tourist traps. That fact that their is a tourist trap and a local alternative to begin with. The local artists whose work you can follow by visiting local galleries or knowing the streets to walk down to see their new “installation”. I love the immigrant communities from all over the world that make this city diverse and actually add culture instead of a commercial version of it. This city really is a creative hub not so much because the artists and creatives are leading the decision making but because people from all walks of life come together to cover the metaphorical pot holes left behind by our governing body. I’ve seen geriatric refugees show 10 year olds how to dance the way they did when they were young. I’ve seen communities at odds come together and mourn and respect each other due to their loss. This city will take your breath away with its beauty if you let it. And at the same time there are people who actively try to push the poor out and sanitize this city in the name of profit and greed and so many people are more than happy to let them do it and that’s why I get sad and complain about this mess.