Move over, Cambridge. And see you later, New Haven. The American Planning Association selected College Hill as one of the top 10 great neighborhoods in America this year. Denny Johnson, the association's public affairs coordinator, said over 75 places were considered before the top neighborhoods, streets and spaces were named Oct. 4.
According to the association's website, the 10 neighborhoods on the list are "places where people want to be — not only to visit, but to live and work every day."
Johnson said anyone can submit suggestions for great places. Staff members then look at the places and invite the best ones to apply. This year, around 45 neighborhoods applied for one of the 30 spots on the three lists.
The association was already familiar with Providence after designating Water Place a great public space in 2008, Johnson said.
This year, a staff member suggested College Hill as a great neighborhood on account of its architectural history and a 1959 report on historic area renewal by the Providence Preservation Society. The study, which affirmed that restoring historic sites was more valuable than tearing them down and starting over, "became a national model for how areas can be redeveloped," Johnson said.
Once invited to apply, Providence city planners put together a detailed application that outlined how the neighborhood fit the association's qualifying criteria, which emphasize quality of life, safety and aesthetic design.
"There was not much question in our mind," Johnson said. "There's so much (to College Hill), in terms of the architecture, the participation of the community and the planning."
Dietrich Neumann, professor of history of art and architecture, who currently teaches a class on the history and architecture of downtown Providence, said the neighborhood offers an interesting architectural mix, with buildings from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
"Here we have such a compact neighborhood that seems to fulfill all the criteria for good urbanism," he said, explaining that the buildings are close together and of similar heights.
Neumann said the neighborhood's cultural history — particularly its Portuguese roots — has also left behind interesting details such as bathtub Madonnas and grape vines over driveways.
He cited the neighborhood's proximity to downtown, the nearby Narragansett Bay, affordability and Brown's presence as part of a "rare and positive mix."
Johnson said civic engagement and the neighborhood's partnerships and productive dialogue with Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design were also characteristics that helped College Hill make the list.
Allison Spooner, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, said her organization, in conjunction with the Providence Preservation Society, helps advocate for the preservation of the neighborhood's historic design.
"We're continuing to advocate for things — whether it's the cobblestone on the streets or other original details from hundreds of years ago," Spooner said.
Spooner said she thinks many people are drawn to the neighborhood because of its college town feel and the resources offered by the two universities it encompasses.
Two other neighborhoods on the list — Highland Park in Birmingham, Ala., and Northbrae in Berkeley, Calif. — are also near universities, but Johnson said few neighborhoods enjoy the same level of integration with their universities as College Hill does with Brown and RISD.
Ebae Kim, a junior at RISD, said she considers College Hill a great place to live. "It's cool other people think so, too," she said.
