The Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project is a catalyst for renewal along the Woonasquatucket River in Providence. The green linear park revitalizes the major hidden natural resource on the West Side of the City and is a destination for neighborhood residents and people throughout Providence and Rhode Island. A bicycle/pedestrian path links recreational areas, green spaces, destination sites, and the neighborhoods of Manton, Hartford, Olneyville, Valley, and Smith Hill to each other and Waterplace Park in downtown Providence.

The Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project was initiated in 1993 by Fred Lippitt, then Chairman of The Providence Plan. The primary area of concern at that time was the neighborhood of Olneyville, the most impoverished and underserved neighborhood in Providence. Fred and others realized that Olneyville had a hidden and untapped asset – the Woonasquatucket River, and determined to restore the river and adjacent, abandoned industrial lands as a catalyst for positive change in Olneyville and other neighborhoods along the river. The river itself was hard to find, lined by abandoned, contaminated industrial sites and overgrown riverbanks filled with trash and debris. Children climbed over massive piles of illegally dumped debris to play along the river. Of the three parks along the river, one was undeveloped space (state owned Dyerville Park) and scheduled to be sold for development, one was officially closed (Merino Park), and one was abandoned (Donigian Park) .