An art-house cinema. Technically, we have one. It is on Thayer Street, it has one screen, and it has been run by the same family since 1938. The programming is sparse. How it stays open is not something the programming explains. It stays open.

A music venue downtown. Technically. It is where Lupo's used to be, and it is a shadow of what used to be there. There was another room right next to it. That one is gone.

A grocery store. Technically, more than one, depending on what you mean by grocery store. There is a Japanese one, and it is very good at being Japanese. There is a Trader Joe's, which may or may not be downtown, depending on where you think downtown stops. It is not Whole Foods. It is not Stop & Shop. It is about a third vegetables, a third protein and a third snacks, and it is where you shop after you have moved out of the dorm and are still, in every way that counts, a postdoc.

An art gallery. Technically. It is in East Providence, which is close to Providence.

A place to shop. Technically, the mall. It is a shadow of its former self, which is a thing you can say about a mall and mean it kindly.

Green space. Technically. India Point Park has a big lawn that looks out over the water. A big part of the park is closed right now. The part that's open has hardly a tree on it. 195 District Park is the gem of the city, and it is new, and its trees are new, which is to say there are not many of them yet.

Public transit. Technically. There is a commuter train, and it goes to Boston, and it is there for Boston. There are buses. Rhode Island spent about $18 a person on public transit in 2021. Delaware, which is also small, spent more than $80 more. Massachusetts spent more than $238. Technically, $18 is a bus.

Other ways to get around. Technically, scooters and bikes. They are zombie infrastructure. They are still standing. They are not alive.

A music scene. Technically. It is in Olneyville. You will not find it anywhere else.

Lofts downtown. Technically. The space looks like a loft. It is a loft. But is that what we mean, when we say loft?

A food city. Technically, by certain measures: restaurants per person. Technically, yes. Go to New York, or Boston, or Cambridge, or Portland, Maine, and you see something there. Then there is Providence.

A downtown. Technically. We call it that.