Amber Wendland (B.S. Architecture ’10, M.ARCH ‘13, M.C.P. '13), a senior associate at Ayers Saint Gross in Baltimore, spoke with Baltimore’s Fox 45 about the dearth of grocery stores and fresh food markets in disinvested areas of Baltimore City, and of talks that would allow grocery stores to sell wine and beer, potentially bringing more grocery stores to the city’s food deserts.
“It’s an age-old saying in planning that retail follows rooftops and we know population density and housing vacancy all play a role in the ability to support grocery stores,” she said. “The number-one thing we hear from community members is they need grocery stores, they need markets, they need places to buy food. Anything we can do to help subsidize grocery stores coming into these neighborhoods is critical.”