Providence was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers to settle. After being one of the first cities in the country to industrialize, Providence became noted for its jewelry and silverware industry. Today, Providence city proper alone is home to eight hospitals and seven institutions of higher learning, which has shifted the city's economy into service industries, though it still retains significant manufacturing work. The city was once nicknamed the "Beehive of Industry", while today "The Renaissance City" is more common, though as of 2000 census, its poverty rate was still among the ten highest for cities over 100,000.
As of the census of 2000, the population comprised 173,618 people, 62,389 households, and 35,859 families. The population density was 3,629.4/km² (9,401.7/sq mi), characteristic of comparatively older cities in New England such as New Haven, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut. Also like these cities, its population peaked in the 1940s just prior to the nationwide period of rapid suburbanization.
Providence has had a substantial Italian population since the turn of the century, with 14% (a plurality) of the population claiming Italian ancestry. Italian influence manifests itself in Providence's Little Italy in Federal Hill. Irish immigrants have also had considerable influence on the city's history, with 8% of residents claiming Irish heritage.
Belying Providence's traditionally white makeup is the sizable minority presence it has acquired in the last twenty years. Though nearby cities like Boston and Hartford have longer-standing black and Latino communities, Providence now surpasses both in the density of its minority population, with non-Hispanic whites comprising less than half (45.8%) of the population. Though salient contributions to this growth have been among Asians and unspecified races, the most dramatic change comes from Hispanics, whose presence has increased fivefold. Having origins in Puerto Rico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Central America (particularly Guatemala), Hispanics have strong influence in the neighborhoods of Elmwood, the West End, and Upper and Lower South Providence. Hispanic impact is even larger in the city's schools. Hispanics represent over half (55%) of all students in the city's school system while comprising only 30% of Providence's population.
In addition, Providence, like the nearby Massachusetts cities of Fall River and New Bedford, has a considerable community of immigrants from various Portuguese-speaking countries, living mostly in the areas of Washington Park and Fox Point. Portuguese is the city's third-largest nationality, (after Italian and Irish) at 4% of the population while Cape Verdeans make up another 2%.
African Americans constitute approximately 15% of the city with the largest percentages in Mount Hope and Upper and Lower South Providence neighborhoods. Asians are 6% of Providence's population and have enclaves scattered thoroughout the city. Another 6% of the city has multiracial ancestry. Native Americans and Pacific Islanders make up the remaining 1.3%. With Liberians comprising .4% of the population, the city is home to the one of the three largest Liberian immigrant populations in the country.
The Providence metropolitan area, which includes Providence, Fall River, Massachusetts, and Warwick is estimated to be 1,622,520. In 2006, this area was officially added to the Boston Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the fifth-largest CSA in the country. In the last fifteen years, Providence has experienced a sizable growth in its under-18 population, attributed to the influx of Hispanics. The median age of the city is 28 years, while the largest age cohort is 20 to 24 year olds, owing to the city's large student population.
The per capita income, as of the 2000 census, was $15,525, which is well below both the state average of $29,113, and the national average of $21,587. The median income for a household was $26,867, and the median income for a family in Providence was $32,058, according to the 2000 census. The city has one of the highest rates of poverty in the nation with 29.1% of the population and 23.9% of families living below the poverty line in 2000, the largest concentrations being found in the city's Olneyville, and Upper and Lower South Providence areas. Poverty has affected children at a disproportionately higher rate with 40.1% of those under the age of 18 living below the poverty line, concentrated particularly west of downtown in the neighborhoods of Hartford, Federal Hill, and Olneyville.
The rate of violent crime in the city has dropped for five consecutive years, running contrary to contemporaneous national trends in comparably-sized cities. The city's 11 homicides in 2006 represented a historic low. Averaged over three years, murders had highest concentrations in Olneyville and the West End neighborhoods. Of the 239 United States cities with populations over 100,000, Providence's violent crime rate ranked 84th in 2003, as compared with New York City at 94th and Boston at 28th. Notwithstanding its comparatively low rate of violent crime, Providence has the fifth-highest rate of property crime per 100,000 inhabitants in the country, which is 50% above the national average, with car theft in particular at 150% higher.
David Cicilline, mayor since 2002, is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a bi-partisan group with the goal of reducing illegal gun ownership. The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Providence is served by air primarily by the commercial airfield T. F. Green Airport in nearby Warwick. General aviation fields also serve the region. Due to overcrowding and Big Dig complications in Boston, Massport has been promoting T.F. Green as an alternative to Boston's Logan International Airport.
Providence Station, located between the Rhode Island State House and the downtown district, is served by Amtrak and MBTA Commuter Rail services, with a commuter rail running to Boston. Approximately 2400 passengers daily pass through the station. Additionally, funds have been allocated to extend the commuter rail from Providence to T. F. Green Airport terminating at a $222.5 million intermodal station to be completed in 2009.
I-95 runs from north to south through Providence while I-195 connects the city to eastern Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, including New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Cape Cod. I-295 encircles Providence while RI 146 provides a direct connection with Worcester, Massachusetts. The city has commissioned and begun a long-term project, the Iway, to move I-195 not only for safety reasons, but also to free up land and to reunify the Jewelry District with Downcity Providence, which had been split from one another by the highway. The project is estimated to cost $446 million and be completed in 2012.
Kennedy Plaza, in downtown Providence, serves as a transportation hub for local public transit as well as a departure point for Peter Pan and Greyhound bus lines. Public transit is managed by Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA). Through RIPTA alone Kennedy Plaza serves over 71,000 people a day. The majority of the area covered by RIPTA is served by traditional buses. Of particular note is the East Side Trolley Tunnel running under College Hill, the use of which is reserved for RIPTA buses. RIPTA also operates the Providence LINK, a system of tourist trolleys in downtown Providence, as well as a ferry to Newport between May and October.
Electricity and natural gas are provided by Narragansett Electric Company which is owned by National Grid USA. Providence Water is responsible for the distribution of drinking water, ninety percent of which comes from the Scituate Reservoir about ten miles (16 km) west of downtown, with contributions coming from four smaller bodies of water.
Providence has four sister cities designated by Sister Cities International: