For decades, the Broadway East neighborhood has struggled with some of the highest vacancy and poverty rates in Baltimore. Economic disinvestment, housing abandonment, and crime have left the community destitute. While many residents have fled over the past few decades, a number of lifelong citizens and institutions remain, anchoring the neighborhood with hope and memories of a past vibrant village. In response to the Spring 2015 unrest that garnered national attention following the death of Freddie Gray, Reverend Donte Hickman, a neighborhood leader, met with Ayers Saint Gross, a planning firm. The need for a clear, collective vision and master plan for the future was evident, and it was essential that this vision be founded on community input. The public outreach was a comprehensive, three-step process, focused on empowering residents by teaching them about planning practices, terminology, and process. While the plan is founded on community input, the overall engagement extends across the city, through both the public and private sectors, building consensus, support, and resources for future development. With corporate partners, city leaders, and community members on board, development is beginning to take off at the fearless hands of Reverend Hickman and bold vision of this master plan.  


Learning Objectives:   At the completion of this course, participants will be able to: Describe the value that a comprehensive master plan vision and development framework can bring to an underserved community in East Baltimore; Summarize how the team’s design solutions strategically addressed issues of displacement in a neighborhood that is over 56 percent vacant and reintroduced absent social amenities; Identify the value of consensus building from a community and stakeholder engagement perspective and learn how the master plan leverages recent development and investment to generate   momentum and funding for future projects; and Explain how a community based plan can be used as a tool to secure funding and create hope and investment.  


Speaker: Amber Wendland - Senior Associate and Senior Planner, Ayers Saint Gross


Credits: 1.5 HSW|LUs; 1.5 GBCI Credits (Self-Report) 1.5 AICP CM; 1.5 LACES