// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Providence?

Providence scores 37.8% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #181 of 297 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

37.8%

Rank

#181 / 297

Criteria present

11 / 86

Evidence coverage

61.6%

Providence's smart city score by area

Data, Digital & Smart Foundation45%

2 present · 5 partial · 3 absent · 5 not assessed

Mobility & Transport67%

3 present · 6 partial · 0 absent · 3 not assessed

Environment, Energy & Climate50%

0 present · 9 partial · 0 absent · 4 not assessed

Infrastructure, Water & Waste58%

1 present · 5 partial · 0 absent · 5 not assessed

Health, Education, Safety & Inclusion50%

1 present · 7 partial · 1 absent · 4 not assessed

Economy, Innovation & Employment71%

3 present · 4 partial · 0 absent · 1 not assessed

Governance, Resilience & Operating Model57%

1 present · 6 partial · 0 absent · 7 not assessed

Where Providence is strong

  • Public Transport & Real-Time Information
  • Innovation & Economic Development
  • Food Security & Urban Agriculture
  • Smart Traffic & Electric Vehicles
  • Climate Action & Emissions

Where the gaps are

  • Governance & Smart-City Operating Model
  • Green Space & Biodiversity
  • Inclusion & Civic Participation
  • Critical Infrastructure Resilience
  • Open Data & Transparency

Evidence highlights

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Public transport network

Providence has a public transport network, as evidenced by the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) providing real-time data for vehicle positions, trip updates, and service alerts.

https://www.providenceri.gov/planning/transportation/

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Open schedule data (GTFS)

Providence's public transit authority (RIPTA) publishes open schedule data in GTFS format, as indicated by the `format=gtfs.proto` in the URLs for vehicle positions, trip updates, and service alerts APIs.

http://realtime.ripta.com:81/api/vehiclepositions?format=gtfs.proto

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Real-time arrivals (GTFS-RT)

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) provides real-time arrival predictions and live vehicle positions through GTFS-RT feeds, as indicated by the `realtime.ripta.com` domain and API endpoints for vehicle positions, trip updates, and service ale…

http://realtime.ripta.com:81/api/vehiclepositions?format=gtfs.proto

Housing & Urban Planning · Affordable housing programme

The Providence Housing Authority provides and develops quality and safe affordable housing opportunities and services, serving 11,442 individuals, owning 2,606 units, and providing 2,668 vouchers and certificates.

https://www.provhousing.org/

About this assessment

Providence was assessed against the 86 criteria of the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework on 2026-07-10 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, and every finding links to where it was found. Scores refresh continuously as cities publish new evidence.