Institutional zoning in Providence originated in the mid-1980s as a response to the growing expansion of hospitals and universities, collectively known as “eds and meds,” into residential neighborhoods. These institutions, while vital to the city’s economy and services, are also major landowners exempt from property taxes, which has led to tensions with local communities. In 1986, amid concerns over Miriam Hospital’s campus growth and similar expansions by Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital, then-Mayor Joe Paolino Jr. and Councilor Thomas Glavin introduced a zoning package to regulate such growth. The proposal established specific institutional zoning overlays that roughly matched each institution’s property boundaries, requiring them to submit five-year expansion plans to the city. The zoning restricted expansions in residential areas by imposing rules on parking, building height, and green space, and mandated that institutions demonstrate why new buildings could not be placed on existing property before expanding into neighborhoods. This framework aimed to balance the institutions’ growth with neighborhood preservation and remains embedded in Providence’s ordinances today, continuing to influence current debates over university and hospital developments.