Rhode Island — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in Rhode Island during 2025.
Rhode Island indexed 1,030 projects with decisions in 2025 across 4 counties, with 1,356 approved and 7 denied actions (99.5% approval rate). Kent County led with 620 projects (60% of the state), followed by Newport County (203) and Providence County (190). Together those three counties accounted for 98% of indexed activity.
Read the Complete Rhode Island Planning Commission Guide for context on how planning decisions work in Rhode Island.
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
By county
| County | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | 620 | 889 | 3 | 99.7% |
| Newport | 203 | 237 | 4 | 98.3% |
| Providence | 190 | 213 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Washington | 17 | 17 | 0 | 100.0% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Boardwalk. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities and counties are included.