Who Owns the City?
research questions
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What are the major categories of ownership in Providence in the early 2000s and currently?
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Who are the biggest individual and corporate owners of residential property?
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How has ownership changed between 2005 and 2017?
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context
The project was inspired by a rent stabilization ordinance proposed by grassroots Providence community group DARE (Direct Action for Rights and Equality). When DARE first presented the ordinance, it met with open resistance from many elected officials who thought the ordinance might hurt small individual landlords. Given the increased housing insecurity that its members experience firsthand, DARE wanted to know who the city’s major property owners are and if corporate landlords might be at fault. However, although property tax rolls are available from the city’s website, the names associated with each property often do not reveal who the actual owner is.
methods
The process was complex—involving extensive cross-referencing of data, interviews with local organizations, and analysis in ArcGIS, Excel, Python, and STATA. The property tax rolls contain numerous errors and internal codes that make data-cleaning difficult. Using definitions from similar studies in San Francisco and Boston, our team placed each of Providence’s 45,000 parcels into one of 12 ownership categories. Once cleaned, we visualized the data spatially in ArcGIS and graphically in Excel to highlight trends between 2005 and 2017. Corporate-owned residential properties increased throughout the city by 120% on average. These increases were more pronounced in some neighborhoods, often those with histories of displacement and gentrification. In some cases, increases indicate processes of gentrification and neighborhood change that studies of Census data alone do not reflect.
potential next steps
This is an ongoing project through Brown, and our team is continuing its work, collaborating with community groups such as DARE and RI Housing to provide a searchable map for local residents. This research will be an important tool for local organizations, tenant coalitions, and policy makers in Providence. Once complete, we hope to support housing equity efforts in Providence and to encourage the city to collect and disseminate ownership data more transparently.
researchers
Anna Messer, Urban Studies '19
Jennah Gosciak, Applied Math & Urban Studies '19
Jeremy Berman, Applied Math ’21
Martin Benencia, Economics ’22
community partners
DARE: Direct Action for Rights and Equality
Rhode Island Housing
The City of Providence