Providence

## Summary

Providence, once the shining city on a hill, home to some of the most wealthy plantation owners in Aurum, the area went from a rural community to tightly-packed barrios *(see United States definition)*, which teem with some of the worst crime in Aurum.

## Geography

### Political Geography

The district of Providence is a peripheral zone of Aurum, bordered by Sharpton Annex, the Pig-Iron District, and Chinatown. Its location makes goods and services more difficult to come by. Coupled with heightened criminal activity in the area, goods and services are almost non-existent, save for critical maintenance services which come almost entirely to make sure rotting infrastructure does not cause a disaster.

### Physical Geography

Providence is an area primarily built on uneven terrain and hills. Because of this, structures are more expensive to build and maintain. Therefore, it is not uncommon to find buildings that had been leveled long ago sitting as rubble or for empty lots to be filled with trash, refuse and camps of bums.

## Sub-Districts

### 1. Providence Hills

Providence Hills is a zone that includes some of the most tightly-packed urban development in the world. It is often the end point for a large amount of contraband coming from Chinatown and the Pig-Iron District's ports.

### 2. Providence South

The central area of Providence, simply called Providence South, contains some of the larger residential development in the area, including some dozens of 20+ story-tall tower blocks. Additionally, it is an area which has some of the worst pollution, both water and air, in the world. Locals can tell that someone is new to the area when they hang their clothes up to dry outside on a indy day, where the masses of air pollution from the Pig-Iron District turn clothing items dark colors.

### 3. Providence North

Providence North is an area not dissimilar to much of Rhodesburg overall, with poor infrastructure to the point where there are even empty lots of rubble, garbage or shantytowns. Crime in this area differs from most of Providence in that theft is more common, and homicide is less common, a quality more akin to most of Rhodesburg.

## Public Safety

### Police

Although police presence in most of Aurum is spotty at best, police rarely ever come to Providence. Their reasoning is simple: It's simply not safe for them. People residing in Providence, especially those long-term have an acute, distrust or even hatred for the police, who they see as oppressors. It isn't uncommon for drug stings to happen in Providence.

### Fire

Although the police will often not dispatch in response to calls in Providence, the fire department will. However, due to poor infrastructure and poor city planning, the fire department will not necessarily be able to service areas in a timely manner, if at all.

## Economy

### Businesses

Businesses in Providence are mostly legit, but also contain many unlicensed businesses. Providence nearly uniquely has a illegitimate shopping centers located in old subway networks and other subterranean infrastructure, called Mole Markets, which sell anything from legitimate handcrafted goods to re-selling goods of questionable origin.

Additionally, strip clubs, massage parlors and other prostitution fronts are more common in Providence.