Baltimore City is a diverse and culturally vibrant city. It’s a city with unique charm, made up of dozens of individual neighborhoods, each with their own distinct style and personality. It does however have its fair share of planning issues. Many of these problems are the result of a history of poor decisions made by government officials. Only through a thorough examination of the issues and a look at sustainable solutions that might improve the city can a planner help Baltimore be the vibrant, secure, and prosperous city it has the potential to be.
History Baltimore’s history has shaped the city it is today. Baltimore was founded in 1730 on a tobacco-centered economy. The trading town’s portside advantage lead to its rapid growth. Baltimore was bordered by the Inner Basin of the Patapsco River (now the inner harbor), “the Jones Falls River and marsh on the east; a bluff and woods on the north; and large gullies on the west” . Throughout the 18th and 19th century, Baltimore’s population and economy grew even more with the start of a thriving flour industry. With increased growth, Thomas Poppleton was hired in 1816 to map the City and prepare a plan for the city that “set in motion Baltimore’s basic development pattern of various sized row houses built on a
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The problem, however, comes down to the fact that although these planners are able to find solutions to neighborhood problems, they lack the power, money, and means to make real changes occur. Even if a solution is raised, the decision has to not only get the approval of the specific department in which it deals but it also must be approved by the Department head and the Planning Commission. For these reasons, the process to make change happen takes a very long time . The lengthy process prevents policies and changes from adapting quickly to fast pace urban
Chicago’s Cabrini-Green public housing project is notorious in the United States for being the most impoverished and crime-ridden public housing development ever established. Originally established as inexpensive housing in the 1940’s, it soon became a vast complex of unsightly concrete low and high-rise apartment structures. Originally touted as a giant step forward in the development of public housing, it quickly changed from a racially and economically diverse housing complex to a predominantly black, extremely poor ghetto. As it was left to rot, so to speak, Cabrini-Green harbored drug dealers, gangs and prostitution. It continued its downward spiral of despair until the mid 1990’s when the Federal Government assumed control the Chicago Housing Authority, the organization responsible for this abomination. Cabrini-Green has slowly been recovering from its dismal state of affairs recently, with developers building mixed-income and subsidized housing. The Chicago Housing Authority has also been demolishing the monolithic concrete high-rise slums, replacing them with public housing aimed at not repeating the mistakes of the past. Fortunately, a new era of public housing has dawned from the mistakes that were made, and the lessons that were learned from the things that went on for half a century in Cabrini-Green.
Stressors in the community is the real estate developer who proposed the development plan. The plan has added conflict between community organizations that don’t agree on the plan. Some members of community see that the plan can bring change to the community that will better life for the community. They see the plan will lead to a reestablished community with new order and hope. They also see that there will be new employment opportunities and stabilization in the areas. Those against the plan feel like there is a lack of trust with the developer since he has been buying properties from the community for several years without consulting the residents. They also don’t agree with the design of the plan and the for-profit real estate agent. The
U.S. cities experienced rapid growth and change, and also faced new challenges following the end of World War II. The consolidation of ghettos in the inner city and the rise of suburbs are two of the characteristics and problems that consequently arose for U.S. cities. One of the biggest projects created as a solution was the public housing project. These public houses however, although in paper they seemed like a great idea, in practice they actually proved not be such a great project because they brought several tensions and problems to cities and neighborhoods.
The practice of colonialism by several nations led to the possession and exploitation of weaker countries. It resulted in the strengthening of the mother country and oppression of the indigenous people of the colonies (Nowell, 2013). Colonial cities were deliberately developed within colonial societies in order to centralize political and economic control. Essentially, colonial cities facilitated the consolidation and exportation of wealth to the dominating nation (The Editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014).
Webber, M. M. (1973). Comprehensive planning and social responsibility: Toward an AIP consensus on the profession's roles and purposes. Journal of the American Institute of Planning, 232-241.
In the early 1990’s the crime rate in New York City was astronomical. Every category including the eight nature index crimes were all on the rise if not extremely high already. Mayor Giuliani a former federal United States prosecutor was elected into office and brought with him a reputation of viciousness against crime. His campaigns lead to the appointment of Commissioner William Joseph Bratton to hold the position of police commissioner of New York City. Giuliani learnt of Bratton’s amazing crime reduction plan that helped reduce crime in two other cities. He requested him for the position as police commissioner for New York City and was appointed in 1990. Bratton had previously helped establish an innovative policing program in Boston Back Bay neighborhood and Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. Using the same approach he would attempt to reorganize and help the New
An aging population, a younger generation who prefer walkable places, economic shifts, and the environmental impacts of suburban development are all contributing factors” (Beatz 141). Reshaping Metropolitan America gives an argument, as well as a blueprint, on how we can transform our infrastructure and housing demands by 2030.
A new phenomenon happening in our city is the rebirth of many of our older and rundown areas. One of the best examples of this is the "Soulard" area of town, which now has an established nightlife as well as exquisite historical antique homes. Lafayette Square has also enjoyed the same type of success as Soulard. It is still in the middle of a high crime area, but is populated by upper-class people with beautiful homes with elaborate wrought iron fences and intricate security systems. This trend of fixing up old flats is spreading out from the areas of Soulard and Lafayette Square to neighboring communities at a rapid pace. The Compton Heights area is coming back with rebuilt old Victorian styled houses and private gated streets that contrast the French styled flats of Soulard. The Shaw and Tower Grove area are also following the lead of revitalization similar to these charming old neighborhoods.
The beautiful city of Baltimore, Maryland, nicknamed “Charm City” is full of historical cites and landmarks. It was founded July 30, 1729, and it was named after Lord Baltimore, the first proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland1. It was founded to serve the economic needs of 18th century farmers2. The waterways in Baltimore have been a passage for ships carrying commercial cargo and new citizens since the 1600s. Baltimore became the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States during the 1800s. Shipbuilding was one of the earliest industries in Baltimore, and it increased during the Revolution and the War of 1812. When the British controlled Philadelphia in 1777, Baltimore became the meeting place of the Continental Congress, which was the federal legislature of the thirteen colonies and later of the United States in the American Revolution. The city of Baltimore played a crucial role in the War of 1812, when the soldiers who were stationed in Fort McHenry successfully held off British attack on Baltimore. The victory for Baltimore was remembered in the poem by Francis Scott Key, “the Star-Spangled Banner,” which has now become the national anthem of the United States. When the war ended in 1815, the people of Baltimore resumed their vital foreign trade efforts and the city grew into the second largest city in the United States3. In 1851, Baltimore became an independent city, being detached from Baltimore County at that time.
Gentrification is the keystone for the progression of the basic standards of living in urban environments. A prerequisite for the advancement of urban areas is an improvement of housing, dining, and general social services. One of the most revered and illustrious examples of gentrification in an urban setting is New York City. New York City’s gentrification projects are seen as a model for gentrification for not only America, but also the rest of the world. Gentrification in an urban setting is much more complex and has deeper ramifications than seen at face value. With changes in housing, modifications to the quality of life in the surrounding area must be considered as well. Constant lifestyle changes in a community can push out life-time
One of the problems today is that America’s distrust for their leaders because they view them as ineffectual and removed. There is a need in America to democratize the public planning process and decision-making process. Many times projects, developments, and policy decisions are made without significant public input and participation. This often leads to m...
"Building Partnerships to Revitalize America's Neighborhoods." HBCU Central (Winter 2002): 1-6. Winter 2002. Web. 2 May 2012.
Gentrification is described as the renovation of certain neighborhoods in order to accommodate to young workers and the middle-class. For an area to be considered gentrified, a neighborhood must meet a certain median home value and hold a percentage of adults earning Bachelor’s degree. Philadelphia’s gentrification rate is among the top in the nation; different neighborhoods have pushed for gentrification and have seen immense changes as a result. However, deciding on whether or not gentrification is a beneficial process can become complicated. Various groups of people believe that cities should implementing policy on advancing gentrification, and others believe that this process shouldn’t executed. Both sides are impacted by the decision to progress gentrification; it is unclear of the true implications of completely renovating impoverished urban areas; gentrification surely doesn’t solve all of a community’s issues. I personally believe that gentrification is not necessarily a good or bad process; gentrification should occur as a natural progression of innovative economies and novel lifestyles collide within certain areas. Policy involving gentrification should not support the removal of people out of their neighborhood for the sake of advancement.
The successful use of team practice aims to better serve respected stakeholders. In urban planning, the unity and cohesiveness of a finished work signifies professionalism and clarity, which can only be arrived from a great team. In order to achieve solidarity, good decision making tactics must be enforced. Decision making involves making a logical choice influenced by, and not limited to, facts and information, time, and emotions. These factors may be a sole factor or combined together. Thus, decision making aims to solve a problem. In regards to urban planning, decision making has great influence on the overall success or failure of a plan. This plan may involve key stakeholders or the public, regardless of what party is at stake, decision making must be based on rationality. This paper will examine four decision making practices: (1) decision by authority, (2) decision by majority vote/rule, (3) decision by averaging opinions, and (4) decision by consensus.
Schonwandt, Walter L. 2008. Planning in Crisis? Theoretical Orientations for Architecture and Planning. Ashgate Publishing: Burlington, VT. pp. 10