From the top of the bottom half to the bottom of the top
half
By Will Collette
This may come as a shock to those who believe Charlestown is
the direct center of the universe, but even among our 39 municipal peers in
Rhode Island, we’re ranked only in the middle of the pack. GoLocal has just
released its 2013 rankings of RI Best Cities and Towns. Last year, Charlestown
came in at #19, after finishing in 14th
place in 2011.
Well, good news for us, Charlestown has moved up two slots
in the new
2013 rankings to #17 best among RI’s 39 cities and towns.
But as most residents know, there’s a lot more to gauging our economic strength than that. We earned our highest marks (5th best in RI) for education, thanks to the much abused Chariho School system.
From GoLocalProv |
Year after year, we lose points due to affordability (#30
among 39) and arts and culture (also 30th place).
When GoLocal readers were polled on what they liked best
about Charlestown, the overwhelming majority said The Nordic Lodge (just under
53%), followed by Rhythm and Roots (30.14%).
As for the other cities and towns, Newport came in at #1. Warwick,
Cranston and Providence came in at 5th, 6th, and 7th
respectively.
South Kingstown and North Kingstown scored second place and
fourth place, respectively. In fact, most South County towns came in ahead of
Charlestown – Richmond (#8), Exeter (#11), Hopkinton (#13) and Narragansett
(#14.)
Jamestown came in just behind Charlestown at #18. Westerly
was 23rd. Block Island only scored a 28th place finish.
Central Falls was slotted in last place, though they have
high hopes for better under a bright young mayor. The other bottom five were
Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Johnston and North Providence.
Such ratings are to be taken for what they are worth. They
always reflect their own internal bias reflected in the formula the authors
create to generate the numbers.
I find such rankings useful mainly for what they say about
the way others see us. In this ranking, as in the two prior years, the study
does indeed pick out two areas where I think most Charlietowners would agree we
need to improve – affordability and things to do other than lie on the beach or
hike in the woods.