WEST END, PROVIDENCE, RI

ANALYTICAL MODEL

Urban development in Providence over time has disregarded the voices of underrepresented groups and destroyed the natural landscape which led to surges in unfavorable health outcomes in said communities. In this project, two elements of urbanism were analyzed and cross-examined to find links that manifest as health conditions. Throughout history, health conditions affecting minorities at-large were researched, beginning with the decimation of Rhode Island’s Indigenous population from plague and other European- introduced diseases. Today, residents suffer disproportionately from asthma, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions due to environmental racism, industry, and a lack of resources like fresh produce in the area. Ben argues that industrialization, urbanization, and the population of the West End are directed related to each other and increased health risk is the consequence of this relationship.

Indigenous peoples’ first contact with Europeans happened in Rhode Island in the 1600s which led to a 90% decrease in population. Today, the occupants of the modern-day West End, most of which are people of color, are more likely to suffer most from common health conditions due to the lack of resources and the highly urbanized landscape of the lower-income neighborhood.

In one axis, Ben tracked the demographics of the West End (middle), while in the other, he depicts development in the city of Providence, from the site to the center of Water Place (right). In the third dimension, the prevalence of urbanization-related health outcomes exists as the connection, the intersection, between the axes of development, race, and time (right). Materials were cast in resin and placed in the model to resemble the health condition it represents. For example, diabetes is represented by highly-processed food packaging, COVID is represented by a medical mask, and asthma is represented by dust.