Providence Social Ground

In 2018, the Rhode Island Public Transportation Association (RIPTA) announced that it would soon begin piloting an Autonomous Vehicle (AV) shuttle program for the city of Providence and the TRIP Mobility Challenge. The challenge asked people to imagine and reimagine Providence with AV’s integrated into the fabric of the city. RIPTA hopes that with the addition of AV’s there would be less need for parking, resulting in space possible design interventions.

My project partner and I collaborated to create an in depth assessment of Providence on a micro and macro scale through which we found that many of the city’s outer neighborhoods, a majority of which are comprised of minority communities, were not being serviced via the existing public transit infrastructure. We planned an AV route that connected these communities into the downtown, financial, and government districts as well as picking a site along the route to reclaim and design. We came across a parking lot in the center of converging populations; low-income housing to the South and West, a new millennial population to the North, and three of the Providence’s Public High Schools directly adjacent to the East.

The community we focused on shows the change in demographics as well as the need for a safe and open social hub. Keeping this in mind, we attempted to find commonalities between the many communities and needs that could be met. From this, we derived a project that attracts people of all ages and backgrounds through performance, food, and activity, we created a space with guided activities and spontaneous social interactions. This space is meant to be claimed by those who use it and cherished by those who need it. For the final design, my partner and I reclaimed an underused space as a new park and adapted old building nearby as a community center.

Proposed AV Route

Site Photos

Original Concept Drawings

Final Design