Baltimore
More than a century ago, the Baltimore waterfront was a working harbor. After a massive 1970s redevelopment that turned the area into the centerpiece of Baltimore’s tourism industry, the American Institute of Architects called it “one of the supreme achievements of large-scale urban design and development in U.S. history.” Yet it became insolvent in 2019. Key lessons learned here can prevent this cycle from repeating as we envision what the next 100 years might hold for the center of Charm City.
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor has long been a symbol of urban revitalization and economic resurgence. In fact, when ULI bestowed its Heritage Award to the site in 2009, it declared the Inner Harbor was “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world.”
During the summer of 1910, W. Ashbie Hawkins, an African American lawyer, purchased a home at 1834 McCulloh Street, an affluent—and all-white—neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. He rented the home to his law partner (and brother-in-law), George McMechen, an African American graduate of Yale Law School.
Revisions to Baltimore’s zoning code include a new zoning category—“industrial mixed-use”—which both city officials and local developers hope will spur economic development while preserving neighborhood character throughout the city.
ULI Baltimore provided expertise for the city of Annapolis’s Weather it Together Program to raise awareness of the threat of sea-level rise and urban flooding to historic properties.
Premiering this week, Light City Baltimore is the first large-scale, international “light festival” in the United States. Similar festivals have been held in Berlin, Singapore, Rio de Janeiro, and Sydney, Australia. Light City Baltimore provides a backdrop for the celebration of ideas, ingenuity and creativity through art, music and innovation.
