Greater City: Providence is a new group that hopes to influence the "livability of the city." Their public launch meeting is tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 27), the first of what they hope will be monthly Greater City: Exchange meetings at different venues around the urban center. The kickoff spot is Jewel Cafe and Lounge at 15 Elbow St. between Chestnut and Ship Streets (where The Last Call, later The Call, used to be).

Jef Nickerson (photoblogger Woneffe) is the group's president. The mingling starts at 5:30 p.m. He writes that there'll be "a brief presentation about the organization at 6:30 p.m. It will formally end at 7:30 p.m., however all are welcome to remain with us throughout the evening for more drinks, conversation, and live music."

Here's the thinking behind the meeting, from his post announcing it:

...The goal of the Greater City: Exchange is to gather together people from across the city and around the region to exchange ideas, information, resources, and passion for the city. There are plenty of organizations and plenty of people out there championing the city and working hard on specific projects. The Greater City: Exchange gives us urban minded individuals a chance to gather together and discuss what we’re working on individually and the challenges we are facing in our own corners of the city. By setting a time and place to exchange ideas we can come up with new solutions and combine resources to work together on initiatives that work to improve the entire city...

GCP's main initiatives are,
- Transportation
- Public Spaces
- Zoning and Land Use
- "Civic Style" (aesthetics, infrastructure, architecture, etc)

but they're willing to listen to your ideas, too. Sounds like it might be worth dropping into, see what they're up to.