Too Many Row Homes (Baltimore: fit in, crime rate, how much)
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Jonj-- although i have stated many times that there are nice row houses in Baltimore, you seem to persist in this insinuation that I have said I don't like any of Baltimore's row houses. So, I will say it again-- Baltimore has some amazing housing stock. I wouldn't be looking into moving to Baltimore if I thought Baltimore was a **** hole. I've seen amazing homes for sale that were boarded up as well as newly put on the market. However, I have also seen many areas that where really bad
and then i took a google map drive down route 40, and that was very dismaying. i even looked at some areas in the johnson square area. I looked at some druid hill homes, washington square too.
(the above links i just located).
you act like that the pictures you show, some of them not so great, are the houses and areas to which im referring. They are not. The only reason I suggested adding more space to the city lots in certain areas is to be able to add more green on the property and/or more space for the residents who decide to live in the home.
If you view the google map link and go down the street, you'll see that some blocks only have 1 tree on them and some have absolutely none. The architecture on those streets is completely uninspiring.
And yes Mr. Boltonman some those blighted areas could be so awesome, but not all of them. Some of them seem like they would be pure hell to live in.
Jonj-- although i have stated many times that there are nice row houses in Baltimore, you seem to persist in this insinuation that I have said I don't like any of Baltimore's row houses. So, I will say it again-- Baltimore has some amazing housing stock. I wouldn't be looking into moving to Baltimore if I thought Baltimore was a **** hole. I've seen amazing homes for sale that were boarded up as well as newly put on the market. However, I have also seen many areas that where really bad
and then i took a google map drive down route 40, and that was very dismaying. i even looked at some areas in the johnson square area. I looked at some druid hill homes, washington square too.
(the above links i just located).
you act like that the pictures you show, some of them not so great, are the houses and areas to which im referring. They are not. The only reason I suggested adding more space to the city lots in certain areas is to be able to add more green on the property and/or more space for the residents who decide to live in the home.
If you view the google map link and go down the street, you'll see that some blocks only have 1 tree on them and some have absolutely none. The architecture on those streets is completely uninspiring.
And yes Mr. Boltonman some those blighted areas could be so awesome, but not all of them. Some of them seem like they would be pure hell to live in.
I dont have to google a picture. I live here. You have softened your stance since your previous statements. Cool.
I still disagree about your statement about the architecture. It's not the architecture that is horrid; it's the present condition of some neighborhoods that are horrid and I think everyone agrees with you. For example, Route 40 east (Orleans, Pulaski) is overrun with traffic leaving the blocks often vacant and in dismay. It is depressing to drive it, probably more depressing to live it. I don't think the style of the home has anything to do with that scenario. In past posts I have agreed with you that the city definitely needs more greenery (trees, plants, cleaner parks).
Sidenote: I think it's funny that you mentioned the 100 block of North Curley. That particular block just planted 29 trees on it in November, 2010 as part of our neighborhood greening project.
And yes Mr. Boltonman some those blighted areas could be so awesome, but not all of them. Some of them seem like they would be pure hell to live in.
Well fine - don't live in them. Surely you can find a house here whose architecture is inoffensive to you and with enough greenery on the street.
This is a different, much less aflluent city than Boston, with a far greater number of problems. You can't expect have it exactly the same here as you did there. That wouldn't apply anywhere, but especially not here. It's going to require a lot of patience here - the slower service, inertia on the part of city government, living in close proximity to those you may deem "unsavory."
So if you're already nitpicking and complaining about the architecture and green space, and you haven't even visited yet, believe me - you're going to have plenty more things to complain about.
Hey guys, per Rhemy's ideas, I have come up with the following list of things to solve all of Baltimore's crappy housing problems:
1. Re-draw the city limits to include ONLY the area between Fulton and Broadway and Druid Hill Park and the Inner Harbor
2. Tear down any rowhouses that are identical. We can only have a maximum of 20 blocks of identical rowhouses per rowhouse design scheme. Replace with single family dwellings, perhaps in a Cape Cod style, because that's really a lovely design.
3. Narrow streets even more so that we can plant front yards in all rowhouse neighborhoods that currently do not have them.
4. Change the name to "New Boston" or "San Francisco East."
5. Kick out all residents who actually like the character of Baltimore's rowhouse-centric scheme and bring in other people from the East Coast to drive up real estate prices.
Having moved from Atlanta not too long ago where they knock everything down in the name of "revitalization; and having lived in many major cities, including Columbia, MD, near Baltimore, I say keep the row houses. It is a part of the history of the city. The homes in Old Towne Alexandria, Va are even more narrow and no one is proposing to knock those down. Cities such as Baltimore have their own identity and personality and the white steps on the row houses happens to be a part of that. Leave them be.
I think Gen. Sherman effectively ended any chance of a historic district in Atlanta.
One of the problems of the old rows, and really most late 19th, early 20th century workforce housing is that the amenities don't match what people desire now in their living arrangements. Folks want multiple bathrooms, open living spaces, a bedroom for each adult.
Most of the old housing stock just doesn't stack up on paper with the suburban 2200 sq ft. pressboard houses in a box. This means demand goes down for the old homes, prices go down, and many get bought up by landlords and become the bottom tier housing in the community. Those that stay in the family are often inherited by people with less work ethic than their blue collar parents ( I call it generational decline) and end up just slumming it up.
I much lament that the proud, honest, law abiding, working poor are nearly extinct. Those were the people that once occupied this type of housing. I don't think we are bringing them back anytime soon since the blue collar jobs are gone and the welfare state has made it more easier and more profitable for these people's kids not to find legitimate work. As for the pride in self, family, and community, It is something to work on, but being a thug drug addict/dealer with a criminal record carries more clout in many communities than the hard working mom or dad that is content with their ordinary low income life.
Well Mr. Whizkid you post is actually quite funny. In away that's probably what will happen to bmore over time, especially if Baltimore becomes a world class city. As people move from other places they will want different things than the people in Baltimore want now. Over time baltimores culture will change.
Baltimores row houses only rep. a particular time in bmores culture-- a time when bmore was a great city. That part of bmores history should be prized but not at the expense of moving forward into the future. In a way it's funny that you advocate adding trees to Patterson park area. The trees aren't part of baltimores Historical culture either. Even those kind of changes will change the overall feel of the city.
Baltimores row houses were designed for a time when Baltimore had almost a million people to continue in maintaining a culture designed for a million people when there are only 600000 people is rridiculous, as cities become more succesful attract more people the culture changes Boston, Dc their culture changed. Some areas stay the same and dome areas change
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