A series of maps that illustrate gaps in opportunity, developed by the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth (NCSG), was the basis for Baltimore’s first-ever comprehensive regional plan to create strong, sustainable communities and break the continuous cycle of poverty for many inner-city families. Presented on Monday to city and state policymakers by The Opportunity Collaborative (The Collaborative), The Baltimore Regional Plan for Sustainable Development (RPSD) is a comprehensive roadmap to help the region coordinate investments in housing, transportation and workforce development, reduce disparities and increase quality of life for the entire Baltimore metropolitan area.
“We need meaningful changes, not just in the city, but regionally,” said Councilman Bill Cole, Baltimore’s 11th District, at Monday’s event, which drew hundreds of stakeholders from around the region.
The NCSG developed the maps, known as opportunity maps, through an extensive, coordinated effort with The Collaborative and an Opportunity Mapping Advisory Panel (OMAP), consisting of regional experts and community stakeholders. Over a three-year period, NCSG researchers analyzed a vast and varied collection of data from public and private sources, resulting in maps that illustrate where economic, social and environmental strengths and weaknesses lie in the Baltimore metropolitan region, including Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard Counties. The maps examine regional opportunity in six categories: education; training and workforce development; housing and neighborhood quality; crime and social capital; public health and environment; employment; and transportation and mobility. To produce these maps, the NCSG and OMAP reviewed over 100 key indicators—including high school dropout rates and infant mortality, median income, poverty rates, access to transit, civic institutions and social capital. The project is the largest and most comprehensive snapshot of equity and opportunity in Baltimore’s history.
“I am so glad to be attending the launch of Baltimore’s RPSD,” Tweeted HUD Regional Administrator Jane Vincent. “This plan holds so much promise for the Baltimore region.”
Findings: Prosperity Begins at the City Limits
The maps illustrate a wide disparity between parts of the region—particularly in housing, safety, health, and education—with the City of Baltimore lagging grossly behind its suburban counterparts. The highest opportunity areas for education exist outside Baltimore City, with Howard County making the top of the list. The city also fared poorly in housing and neighborhood quality; based on home values, gross rents, and vacant abandoned units, the OMAP housing composite index, like the education index, results in the five counties all having an average percentile rank above 50 percent. Baltimore City fell in the 17th percentile, whereas Howard County was in the 87th percentile.
In constructing the public health and safety index, OMAP placed the largest emphasis on crime, low birth weight and access to greenspace. Consequently, the less-urban Carroll County received the highest score for this index, ranking in the 84th percentile. Baltimore City was the only jurisdiction to have an average score below the 50th percentile.
While Baltimore City has a higher level of mobility and job accessibility compared to other parts of the state, its workers have longer commute times and inadequate public transit to the state’s prospering job centers, many of which lie in the suburban areas. A single composite map, in which all of the six categories are combined and weighed equally, shows Howard County receiving the highest average opportunity score (83rd percentile), followed by Anne Arundel (67th), Baltimore (58th), Harford (41st) and Carroll (34th) Counties. Baltimore City has the lowest average opportunity score (24th percentile).
“The Baltimore Regional Plan for Sustainable Development is the region’s first comprehensive effort to develop and implement a regional strategy for economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, and social equity,” said Gerrit Knaap, Director of The National Center for Smart Growth, who served on the Opportunity Collaborative’s Steering and Nexus Committees. “As a member of the Opportunity Collaborative, The National Center for Smart Growth was pleased to have been engaged in the effort from start to finish.”
The Collaborative hopes outcomes of the RPSD will help direct policy decisions as the region moves forward to create more equity and opportunity for the region’s poorest citizens. By formalizing regional housing and workforce development strategies and connecting them with the regions Long Range Transportation Plan, the Opportunity Collaborative will seek to form new partnerships to continue the implementation effort.
The Opportunity Collaborative is a consortium that includes local governments, state agencies, universities and nonprofit organizations. The co-chairs of The Collaborative are William H. Cole IV, president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation, and Scot T. Spencer, of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.