Rhode Island at the Millennium
Defining Rhode Island's Role in the Metro and World Economies:
How Do We Win Economically Without Losing Out Soul?
Study Guide prepared by the RI Economic
Policy Council
Images are the work of Consultant Michael Gallis and Associates
Produced in conjunction with with the Televised Town Meeting first aired
on Cox Communications Channel 3 on Monday, May 24, 1999
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1. The Divided World 2. The New World of Trading Blocs 3. The North American Grid 4. The Northeastern Trade Network
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Global Change The economic map of the world is defined by markets, competitive units, and connections. Five times in human history there have been changes in global trade routes so profound that they rewrote the economic history of cities and even whole continents. The disintegration of the Soviet Union, the evolution of new transportation and communication technologies, and global economic integration are creating such a change today. As trade routes shift so do billions of dollars of economic activity. Just a decade ago, nations competed within the free world against the communist bloc. In the new world order, the pattern of connection is based on trade blocs instead of ideological blocs, and the fundamental competitive unit is the metropolitan region, not the nation. The fastest growing trade route in the world, called the Suez Express, brings trade from Southeast Asia through the Mediterranean to the East Coast of the US. The fastest growing continental trade route is the NAFTA Corridor, shown in red on figure 3, which links Canada to Mexico through the Midwest and provides the major north-south connection within the North American trading bloc. Economic growth will take place along these major trade routes, and the major unrealized opportunity is connecting the trade from Asia and Europe with the NAFTA Corridor. At every other major revolution in trade patterns, the Northeast aggressively invested to make itself a conduit for trade. But, today there is the potential of New England becoming a giant cul- de-sac in the global network if the connections between the Suez Express and the NAFTA evolve around us. We need to establish New England as a key part of this trade network if we desire economic growth. |
Regional Change
5. Cities as Distinct Economic Places,
1945
In the 1940s Boston, Providence and the many small villages around them were all distinct places. The connections were slow on sinuous local highways. In the last 50 years the region has been integrated so that Providence blends into the Boston metro region. Interstates and commuter rail make Providence a part of the Boston labor market.
6. Integration of the Boston Metro,
1999
7. Composite Map of Transportation
Links and Cultural Institutions
Functionally, Providence is the second major hub in the Boston Metro economy, on the second major transportation corridor. It combines a cluster of cultural institutions and strong air, sea, and rail, and road links. It is also the only hub outside of Boston with waterfront property. It is well positioned to serve as the primary hub for the 3 million people of the South Metro market and to serve as a center in certain niche area, such as design and transportation logistics, for the entire region.
While we are increasingly one place economically, major investments for the region like infrastructure and environmental protection are managed by a government system fractured into states and hundreds of municipalities. Political boundaries have economic meaning primarily as they create cliffs and valleys in economic competitiveness through unequal taxes and services.
Development & the Environment
8.
Population Density  |
9.
Population Change  |
When we look at population density in New England we don't see the once-feared endless megalopolis. We see two distinct metropolitan regions-Boston and New York. The population change map shows population loss in purples and growth in warm colors. Population trends reinforce the importance of metropolitan regions. Population loss is taking place in the Connecticut River Valley and in the urban cores. The Boston region is growing particularly on a northern swath up Route 3 into New Hampshire and between Route 128 and I-495 to the south. Population within Rhode Island is shifting from Providence south along the bay front.
Between the Connecticut River and Boston we see an area of very low urbanization and population loss. This gap in development is a distinct asset. At the same time the Rhode Island seeks to connect with the global grid and strengthen economic ties within the Boston Region, we need to protect the natural resources that have regional significance. Undeveloped regions within reach of a major metro on the North Atlantic coast are rare and endangered.
Discussion Questions
Global ChangeAn increasing volume of trade from Asia is entering North America through east coast ports.
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The consolidation of railroads from Montreal to Mexico City is establishing a principal north-south trade route linking NAFTA economies.
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Regional Change
The Boston Metro Region has evolved into a continuous urbanized area which
includes Providence and most of Rhode Island.
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Greater Providence is the second most important hub in the Boston region.
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While the region is economically integrated, it is still politically fractured.
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Development and the Environment
Providence is the only hub in the region other than Boston which is on
the water. The area between the Connecticut River and Greater Providence
is one of the few undeveloped regions within reach of a major metro on
the North Atlantic coast.
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