It’s a common problem in college towns where housing is in short supply: Students can make a tight market even tighter. This is the situation in Providence, home to Brown University, as well as the Rhode Island School of Design, among other institutions. In the last year alone, according to one survey, rent rose 6.9 percent in Providence, an increase surpassed by only one other U.S. city: Boston.

Ground-floor social spaces have generous windows looking out onto the street. Photo © Chris Cooper