Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
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.
Where did you get the idea that Baltimore would become a world class city? That certainly isn't going to happen this century. Don't get me wrong, Baltimore is an awesome place with and awesome "personality" but it is nothing like NYC or LA. Or Boston, Philly, and Chicago either. At best I could see the place becoming a tourist trap and a home for people people that produce/trade commodities. But not way is the place going to become a cultural power house for the country/world. Delusions of grandeur don't have much place in city planning, especially not when you're talking about trying to attract homeowners that fit in the currently projected paradigms.
The existing housing stock remains because it is historical. New construction resembles the historic because it is a good fit for the current work force in the city. Large, separated homes are what you find in the suburbs of Baltimore but not in the city because the city hasn't had much luck creating jobs that are attractive to people who need the extra space for both cars and all 3 school-aged kids. This is a city full of young professionals, retirees, and poor families with service industry jobs.
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.
I don't think developers or people moving into the city are particularly held back by the local obsession with the row house. If anything, the ubiquity of the rowhouse in Baltimore is something of a rarity to Americans from places other than the big East Coast cities, and it might actually be an advantage.
Most of my friends from the Midwest marvel at the all the rows because they are used to the detached homes with garages and yards and all that, and some have even expressed envy that I live in such a "cool" house. The terraced house is attractive to a lot of people in the US because it reminds them of something foreign (possibly because it's a very European style of architecture.
I also think that it's a myth that people want detached homes. Places like Detroit and Cleveland, which have experienced even more dramatic and devastating population loss than Baltimore, have tons of detached houses that are empty and falling down. If people really want to live in those types of homes, why aren't they flocking to those cities and fixing them up? The issue has more to do with factors other than housing stock.
They are in some areas! Depends all on location and condition. Federal Hill, Ridgley's delight, and some other neighborhoods around the harbor in the 70s had the dollar home program - speak of cheap housing! Now look at these neighborhoods! I want the city to make some houses $1 again!
So are any of the neighborhoods with these cheaper rowhouses safe and when you say in need of obvious renovations how how much work do you mean? Are you talking minor improvements like say a new paint job or are they inhospitably rundown?
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.
That's sad....I hear Baltimore's crime rate is outrageously high but I find it hard to believe that most live on those rowhouses in poor section of the city are unemployed welfare recipients and or drug pushers/abusers.
Another thing...I'm not sure about what you mean by bedrooms for each adult but on average how many bedrooms would you say are in an average Baltimore rowhouse? Judging by pics I can see what you mean that it may be a cramp feeling in some but I would think it would be similar to an apartment feel but with more space and I would think the rowhouses with multiple floors would have atleast 2 bathrooms....Living in Baltimore's rowhouses wouldn't bother me...It's living in an crime infested and unstable community would deter me more than anything.
That's sad....I hear Baltimore's crime rate is outrageously high but I find it hard to believe that most live on those rowhouses in poor section of the city are unemployed welfare recipients and or drug pushers/abusers.
Another thing...I'm not sure about what you mean by bedrooms for each adult but on average how many bedrooms would you say are in an average Baltimore rowhouse? Judging by pics I can see what you mean that it may be a cramp feeling in some but I would think it would be similar to an apartment feel but with more space and I would think the rowhouses with multiple floors would have atleast 2 bathrooms....Living in Baltimore's rowhouses wouldn't bother me...It's living in an crime infested and unstable community would deter me more than anything.
Most rowhouses started out with one bathroom ... upstairs. Over the years, many, many rowhouse owners installed a small bathroom in the basement. This is the case in the rowhouse in which I presently live as well as the one in which my grandmother lived for about 55 years.
The number of bedrooms varies. Two or three are the most common.
Baltimore is not crime infested nor unstable, but certain areas are both. Just don't live in those areas and it'll be ok.
That's sad....I hear Baltimore's crime rate is outrageously high but I find it hard to believe that most live on those rowhouses in poor section of the city are unemployed welfare recipients and or drug pushers/abusers.
Another thing...I'm not sure about what you mean by bedrooms for each adult but on average how many bedrooms would you say are in an average Baltimore rowhouse? Judging by pics I can see what you mean that it may be a cramp feeling in some but I would think it would be similar to an apartment feel but with more space and I would think the rowhouses with multiple floors would have atleast 2 bathrooms....Living in Baltimore's rowhouses wouldn't bother me...It's living in an crime infested and unstable community would deter me more than anything.
The new "trend" in home construction is two master suites, one for each spouse. At minimum people want at least one bedroom per kid.
There are many nice rowhouses that are inhabited by normal people, but the poverty rate in Baltimore is very high, the % of people on public assistance is very high, the drug abuse rate is very high, the crime rate is very high, and most of those people cluster (by necessity) in the cheapest housing available, which is often the smallest most rundown rows. Check out Google maps and scan street level in East and West Baltimore. You will find vast seas of rundown or abandoned rows that are the neighborhoods even Baltimore's biggest supporters advise all but the stoutest urban pioneers to avoid.
I am not advocating their immediate demolition, what would you replace them with? Where would the people go? I do recognize the challenges in rehabbing those areas and improving the lives of, or replacing the residents that live there.
Replacing the structure someone lives in is a surface-level fix. What is more important is to replace the dogma that many people in this city (and country) have. The whole "why bother" attitude and the lack of want to pull oneself up by his or her bootstraps is the main issue.
Yes, it wouldn't hurt for improvements to occur in Baltimore's rundown areas and I agree that more variety may be a way to go. But until people themselves have a mindset to improve his or her own individual well-being, the problems will persist.
Not to say that does not already occur. There are many good people in Baltimore's run-down areas fighting to see a better life. That is what needs more encouragement.
Most rowhouses started out with one bathroom ... upstairs. Over the years, many, many rowhouse owners installed a small bathroom in the basement. This is the case in the rowhouse in which I presently live as well as the one in which my grandmother lived for about 55 years.
The number of bedrooms varies. Two or three are the most common.
Baltimore is not crime infested nor unstable, but certain areas are both. Just don't live in those areas and it'll be ok.
Okay that nice to hear.. the number of bathrooms wouldn't be the make or break for me(if I ever considered buying a Baltimore rowhouse) but atleast one more would be a bonus....2-3 bedrooms would be fine too since atleast for now i'm a single guy without a big family.
My bad...don't mean to generalize but Baltimore doesn't have the best image....I'm sure it has it's decent and rough areas like most cities but i'm concerned that some of the unbelievably too good to be true discounted rowhouses the guy mentioned earlier are probably more than likely in a sketchy sections of the city.
The new "trend" in home construction is two master suites, one for each spouse. At minimum people want at least one bedroom per kid.
There are many nice rowhouses that are inhabited by normal people, but the poverty rate in Baltimore is very high, the % of people on public assistance is very high, the drug abuse rate is very high, the crime rate is very high, and most of those people cluster (by necessity) in the cheapest housing available, which is often the smallest most rundown rows. Check out Google maps and scan street level in East and West Baltimore. You will find vast seas of rundown or abandoned rows that are the neighborhoods even Baltimore's biggest supporters advise all but the stoutest urban pioneers to avoid.
I am not advocating their immediate demolition, what would you replace them with? Where would the people go? I do recognize the challenges in rehabbing those areas and improving the lives of, or replacing the residents that live there.
Yeah I guess all those building schemes would be more ideal for an family than Baltimore's traditional rowhouses but I wouldn't know and going purely off your descriptions of the cramp living spaces...I myself come from a modest background so living in an financially challenged area wouldn't be that big of an issue...It's the crime that concerns me...Bodymore, Murdaland reputation precedes itself...Although I come from what I consider the hood Baltimore's hoods sound like a whole other animal than i'm accustomed to..Where i'm from you can live in the socalled hood but if you mind your own business and don't participate illicit activities you can still feel safe for the most part.....Hell dudes still fistfight here without it resorting to gun play most of the time...I hear in B-More dudes kill for nothing and you don't always have to be living that life to fall victim violent crime.
I don't know if they should be replaced unless measures are going to be made to provide Baltimore's underprivileged citzens with means to afford similar priced housing...Renovations to the existing housing stock would probably be the best look.
So are any of the neighborhoods with these cheaper rowhouses safe and when you say in need of obvious renovations how how much work do you mean? Are you talking minor improvements like say a new paint job or are they inhospitably rundown?
Anything in a decent area just needing a minor paint job will not be that cheap. Most likely those ridiculously cheap ones (like under $20,000) are either in bad areas or basically just shells where everything needs to be put in or replaced. But keep in mind that these houses are really freaking old.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
