Urban Design Committee News, September 2000

The Baltimore Chapter of the AIA is conducting a series of meetings with Mayor O’Malley and his staff, under the auspices of the Urban Design Committee. At the latest meeting, held on August 14th, the following agenda items were discussed with city administrators:

1. Planning Authority: The Planning Department should be leading the growth of the city, not reacting to it. We believe that the Planning Department should be responsible for setting goals and priorities for all changes to the physical fabric, infrastructure, and systems in the city. This includes transit systems and parking, open space, land use, and development and preservation initiatives.

2. West Side: The West Side is a great opportunity to promote an improved transit system. We believe that transportation, incorporating transit, parking, and open space/pedestrian networks, should be considered as an integral part of the West Side Guidelines. We believe that this initiative cannot succeed without consideration of these elements.

3. Transportation System: We believe that transportation in the city must be considered as a complete and integral system, as it is in all successful cities. Pedestrian movement, transit, traffic, and parking should be examined as aspects of this complex; in any mode, the people using the system should be the focus. The Planning Department is the only agency that can investigate the transportation system as a whole.

4. Demolition/Undercrowding: We believe that undercrowding is a key issue for the city as a whole, and that the demolition policy should be re-framed as a strategy to deal with undercrowding. We believe that the NDC New Strategies initiative and design competition should be used as a source of ideas for dealing with this complex issue. A lot of good people have investigated this issue; this work should not be wasted.

5. Smart Codes: We believe that the city must be made a friendlier environment for development and economic growth. We believe that more flexible and sympathetic codes and city authorities, modeled on the State initiatives, would draw investment dollars to Baltimore. Doing business in Baltimore should be as easy as doing business in the county.

6. Preservation: We support the targeted preservation of the best of Baltimore. It is a fact that the most lively and successful areas in Baltimore and other cities almost always have a strong preservation component. The human scale of these areas attracts residents and visitors, and once lost they cannot be replaced. We should celebrate the city’s rich historic fabric, not tear it down.

7. Residential Development: We support the promotion of residential development in downtown Baltimore. We feel that this cannot be achieved without considering all of the elements on this list, which together would go a long way towards creating a livable city that will attract new residents; they will not come unless they want to. A great downtown needs people who live there.

8. Open Space: We believe that a city cannot be livable, is not really a city at all, unless it contains a network of appropriate, properly scaled open spaces. These cannot be successful unless use, economics, transportation, scale, etc. are all considered; this is proven by the poor state of many of our newer public plazas and the popularity of many of the older ones. Open spaces interact with people to form the social life of the city.

9. Specific Initiatives: We suggest the following specific initiatives: The relocation of the Arena, an Orioles Victory Plaza in front of Camden Station, the creation of a true market square environment at Lexington Market, and a new recreational zone at the Middle Branch near the Ravens Stadium. These proposals could help to guide the future development of Baltimore.

10. What Can We Do for You?
As a result of this conference, additional meetings will be held with Charles Graves and Pat Payne. The Urban Design Committee welcomes participation from the AIA membership in these discussions. Those interested in the future of the city should contact Klaus Philipsen or Gordon Ingerson.