Does Baltimore lag behind other East Coast cities? (house, neighborhood)

[pwduvall]

Originally Posted by choccity

Baltimore Gentrification Maps and Data

Some change has happened

It still bums me out that the Abell/Oakensawe tract ungentrified according to this study. In my opinion, the tract has been and remains gentrified. 63% of people over age 25 living in the tract have a college degree, a sure sign of gentrification.

[Infinite_heights77]

Of course it lags behind.

Don't be so certain that others share this view.

Originally Posted by pwduvall

Of course it lags behind. A more productive question might be: How is Baltimore going to catch up to other East Coast cities?

[ktaadin]

Yes, but I agree with others above that it's not a very useful point of comparison. Baltimore will never "catch up" with NYC/DC etc in terms of size/wealth/amenities etc. That said, Baltimore could potentially do quite a bit to improve its quality of life, which would be a worthwhile goal. I do think that location and history both play a role in creating the impression of lagging behind or failure: location because of our obviously more prosperous neighbors, and history because Baltimore used to be a major American city in the nineteenth century, and even up until the middle of the twentieth or so had a much larger urban profile nationally than it does now. Thus, by comparison with its past, it looks bad.

[KodeBlue]

Originally Posted by ktaadin

Yes, but I agree with others above that it's not a very useful point of comparison. Baltimore will never "catch up" with NYC/DC etc in terms of size/wealth/amenities etc. That said, Baltimore could potentially do quite a bit to improve its quality of life, which would be a worthwhile goal. I do think that location and history both play a role in creating the impression of lagging behind or failure: location because of our obviously more prosperous neighbors, and history because Baltimore used to be a major American city in the nineteenth century, and even up until the middle of the twentieth or so had a much larger urban profile nationally than it does now. Thus, by comparison with its past, it looks bad.

Baltimore can absolutely catch cities in terms of size (not NYC), amenties, and quality of life. The first thing that needs to happen is getting the word "can't" out of the collective vocabulary of the people in the region.

[ktaadin]

Originally Posted by KodeBlue

Baltimore can absolutely catch cities in terms of size (not NYC), amenties, and quality of life. The first thing that needs to happen is getting the word "can't" out of the collective vocabulary of the people in the region.

Population within city limits proper maybe, since Baltimore isn't too much smaller than DC or Boston by that metric, but as far as the metropolitan area population it has quite a way to go. Both Boston & DC metros are in the 5 million+ range, Bmore is in the 2.2 million range-I don't see that difference being overcome in our lifetimes. Economically by metro GDP, Boston is the the next one bigger than us of the larger east coast metros, and it has over 2x our metro GDP, which will also take many, many years to overcome.

[KodeBlue]

Originally Posted by ktaadin

Population within city limits proper maybe, since Baltimore isn't too much smaller than DC or Boston by that metric, but as far as the metropolitan area population it has quite a way to go. Both Boston & DC metros are in the 5 million+ range, Bmore is in the 2.2 million range-I don't see that difference being overcome in our lifetimes. Economically by metro GDP, Boston is the the next one bigger than us of the larger east coast metros, and it has over 2x our metro GDP, which will also take many, many years to overcome.

I agree that populations within the city propers are reachable. DC is getting pretty close to full build-out, and only passed Baltimore in the last couple of years. Boston can't seem to get an accurate count of their population with all the college students in the city. Baltimore is right behind them with plenty of room to grow. As far as metros DC is a little over 6m, Boston at 4.7m and Baltimore is at 2.8 m people, so I doubt Baltimore is catch either metro. Baltimore as a city can certainly keep up with Boston and DC, though. Baltimore in its currently state is grossly underrated, and the city seems to have bottomed out over the last few years, so we have no place to go but up.

[rjf1958]

Originally Posted by KodeBlue

...Baltimore in its currently state is grossly underrated, and the city seems to have bottomed out over the last few years, so we have no place to go but up.

Don't be too sure. Unless the crime problem gets under control (which will mean the police get support from the city government so they will work the streets again), Baltimore may continue to decline. If Port Covington doesn't get done due to political issues, it is possible for Plank to pull out of Baltimore completely. House prices have declined in the city since the riots and right now the city is not welcoming to whites.

What the city leaders are not recognizing is that Baltimore isn't that important to Maryland. Many people both live and work in suburbs and have no need to go to the city. The only thing I can't get in the county is Camden Yards. Shopping, dining, and recreation are much better in the county. I rarely go the city further than Miss Shirley's cafe.

Getting homebuyers into Baltimore city is difficult anyway due to the property tax differential with Baltimore county; add the unrest and increased crime to that, and it's very possible Baltimore can decline to St. Louis levels without significant change.

[james777]

Originally Posted by rjf1958

Don't be too sure. Unless the crime problem gets under control (which will mean the police get support from the city government so they will work the streets again), Baltimore may continue to decline. If Port Covington doesn't get done due to political issues, it is possible for Plank to pull out of Baltimore completely. House prices have declined in the city since the riots and right now the city is not welcoming to whites.

What the city leaders are not recognizing is that Baltimore isn't that important to Maryland. Many people both live and work in suburbs and have no need to go to the city. The only thing I can't get in the county is Camden Yards. Shopping, dining, and recreation are much better in the county. I rarely go the city further than Miss Shirley's cafe.

Getting homebuyers into Baltimore city is difficult anyway due to the property tax differential with Baltimore county; add the unrest and increased crime to that, and it's very possible Baltimore can decline to St. Louis levels without significant change.

The truth is spoken. ^^^ This post sums it up better than anyone has. The mayor, the city council, and the housing department just don't get it, and until they catch on and try to do what is best for Baltimore City, this city isn't going anywhere.

[KodeBlue]

Originally Posted by rjf1958

Don't be too sure. Unless the crime problem gets under control (which will mean the police get support from the city government so they will work the streets again), Baltimore may continue to decline. If Port Covington doesn't get done due to political issues, it is possible for Plank to pull out of Baltimore completely. House prices have declined in the city since the riots and right now the city is not welcoming to whites.

What the city leaders are not recognizing is that Baltimore isn't that important to Maryland. Many people both live and work in suburbs and have no need to go to the city. The only thing I can't get in the county is Camden Yards. Shopping, dining, and recreation are much better in the county. I rarely go the city further than Miss Shirley's cafe.

Getting homebuyers into Baltimore city is difficult anyway due to the property tax differential with Baltimore county; add the unrest and increased crime to that, and it's very possible Baltimore can decline to St. Louis levels without significant change.

I would have to agree with everything you said. Sad state of affairs, and the majority of the population who vote for leaders vote Democrat. Everybody wants change, but won't to take the steps necessary to assuring changes are made.

[Infinite_heights77]

Question?

How do you think Baltimore lost its "urban profile?"

Originally Posted by ktaadin

Yes, but I agree with others above that it's not a very useful point of comparison. Baltimore will never "catch up" with NYC/DC etc in terms of size/wealth/amenities etc. That said, Baltimore could potentially do quite a bit to improve its quality of life, which would be a worthwhile goal. I do think that location and history both play a role in creating the impression of lagging behind or failure: location because of our obviously more prosperous neighbors, and history because Baltimore used to be a major American city in the nineteenth century, and even up until the middle of the twentieth or so had a much larger urban profile nationally than it does now. Thus, by comparison with its past, it looks bad.