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Thursday, December 19, 2024
DRM and Partners Reach Agreement with Baltimore City to Improve Sidewalks and Ramps for People with Mobility Disabilities
Monday, December 16, 2024
Maryland Continues to be Not Affordable for Many
Recent census data indicates that the cost of housing in the Baltimore area and the Maryland is increasing at a slower rate than the US. However, The increase of Maryland's housing costs is over 15% higher than the national average and a larger percentage of renters are cost burdened. The median Maryland renter pays around $1,600 a month in rent and utilities, about $100 more than the average Baltimore-area renter. Renters’ costs have increased 22.5% statewide and 24% in the Baltimore region compared with 32% nationally.
Nationally, the number of cost-burdened renter households hit yet another record high in 2023. In 2023, the number of renter households spending more than 30% of their incomes on rent and utilities was an all-time high of 22.6 million. A record-high 12.1 million severely burdened households spent over half of their incomes on housing costs. About half of all renter households were cost burdened in 2023. This rate was essentially unchanged compared to 2022, but rose 3.2 percentage points from pre-pandemic levels and 9.0 percentage points since 2001.
Nationally and within Maryland, renters are more likely to spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Statewide more than 46% of renters are cost burdened compared with a quarter of homeowners. In the Baltimore area (including Queen Anne’s County, Baltimore City, and the five surrounding counties) the same share of renters are cost burdened while the rate for mortgage holders is over a percentage point lower.
Baltimore City
The City has a mismatch between rental costs and the kind of rental units being constructed. Despite the growing unaffordability of housing in Maryland and especially the Baltimore area, luxury apartment buildings continue to be built. Since 2020, 80% newly constructed apartment buildings in Baltimore were luxury housing, according to real estate data firm the Costar Group. Most housing development worldwide is higher-end because of the higher profit potential for developers.
Some areas of Baltimore have a particularly high cost burden for renters. Tract 907 in Baltimore’s Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood, for example, 70% of households are cost burdened. Rental units are just over half of the housing stock. The Community Development Network of Maryland said incomes were not rising to meet the costs of rent, emphasizing the mismatch between the high number of luxury units versus what Baltimoreans can afford.
Anne Arundel County
In Arundel's tract 7305.11 in the Glen Burnie area, 67% of households are cost burdened. County Executive Steuart Pittman said the disparity was part of a “housing crisis.” “Affordability is more important than just supply,” Pittman said. “The affordability problem doesn’t get any better when all you build is luxury housing.”
Current housing developments across the county are not required to have affordable housing, but new projects will be. Under the Housing Attainability Act, becoming effective in July, new housing developments over 20 units will be required to have 15% of its units for affordable rentals and 10% for affordable homes for sale.
Howard County
Maryland’s most expensive jurisdiction for renters and mortgage holders, Howard - where 28% of housing units are rented - has the largest affordability gap between homeowners and renters. Some 44% of County renters were cost burdened compared to 20% of homeowners. The median rent in the county is $2,040 a month, while median monthly housing costs for homeowners was $2,950.
The County has recently made investments to stabilize the housing situation in the area, such as $2 million invested to subsidize rentals and security deposit guarantees for the families of county students experiencing homelessness. The County’s Moderate Income Housing Unit Program requires a percentage of housing built to be affordable to households of moderate income - with moderate income level defined as “household income less than 80% of the Howard County median income (AMI) for units for sale and household income less than 60% of the Howard County median income for rental units."
Friday, December 13, 2024
BOOK REVIEW: "The Black Butterfly: The Harmful Politics of Race and Space in America" Examines Baltimore's Segregation
The Black Butterfly: The Harmful Politics of Race and Space in America by Lawrence T. Brown. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022. 384 pages. Paperback. $19.95.
This best-selling book looks at how American cities can promote racial equity, end redlining, and reverse the damaging health- and wealth-related effects of segregation. It was the winner of the IPPY Book Award Current Events II by the Independent Publisher, and a Finalist for the Pattis Family Foundation Global Cities by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Amazon.com's description:
"The world gasped in April 2015 as Baltimore erupted and Black Lives Matter activists, incensed by Freddie Gray's brutal death in police custody, shut down highways and marched on city streets. In The Black Butterfly - a reference to the fact that Baltimore's majority-Black population spreads out like a butterfly's wings on both sides of the coveted strip of real estate running down the center of the city - Lawrence T. Brown reveals that ongoing historical trauma caused by a combination of policies, practices, systems, and budgets is at the root of uprisings and crises in hypersegregated cities around the country.
Putting Baltimore under a microscope, Brown looks closely at the causes of segregation, many of which exist in current legislation and regulatory policy despite the common belief that overtly racist policies are a thing of the past. Drawing on social science research, policy analysis, and archival materials, Brown reveals the long history of racial segregation's impact on health, from toxic pollution to police brutality. Beginning with an analysis of the current political moment, Brown delves into how Baltimore's history influenced actions in sister cities such as St. Louis and Cleveland, as well as Baltimore's adoption of increasingly oppressive techniques from cities such as Chicago. But there is reason to hope. Throughout the book, Brown offers a clear five-step plan for activists, nonprofits, and public officials to achieve racial equity. Not content to simply describe and decry urban problems, Brown offers up a wide range of innovative solutions to help heal and restore redlined Black neighborhoods, including municipal reparations. Persuasively arguing that, since urban apartheid was intentionally erected, it can be intentionally dismantled, The Black Butterfly demonstrates that America cannot reflect that Black lives matter until we see how Black neighborhoods matter."
Go to The Black Butterfly: The Harmful Politics of Race and Space in America book's website.
Listen to a 2020 America Walks interview/webinar with Lawrence T. Brown.
New Book "Slow and Sudden Violence" Treats Baltimore's Real Estate History
Derek Hyra, Slow and Sudden Violence: Why and When Uprisings Occur. University of California Press, 2024. 365 pages. Paperback. $29.95.
To Hyra in his new book, "equitable development involving residents of affected communities is essential to avoid continual displacement, increasing segregation, and social unrest." The Amazon.com description:
"In Slow and Sudden Violence, Derek Hyra links police violence to an ongoing cycle of racial and spatial urban redevelopment repression. By delving into the real estate histories of St. Louis and Baltimore, he shows how housing and community development policies advance neighborhood inequality by segregating, gentrifying, and displacing Black communities. Repeated decisions to “upgrade” the urban fabric and uproot low-income Black populations have resulted in pockets of poverty inhabited by people experiencing displacement trauma and police surveillance. These interconnected sets of divestments and accumulated frustrations have contributed to eruptions of violence in response to tragic, unjust police killings. To confront American unrest, Hyra urges that we end racialized policing, stop Black community destruction and displacement, and reduce neighborhood inequality."
Hyra is Professor of Public Administration and Policy and founding director of the Metropolitan Policy Center at American University.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
The 2024 Mid-Atlantic Regional Affordable Housing Conference is December 17-19 in Baltimore
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Friday, November 15, 2024
City of Baltimore's Settlement Agreement in ADA Lawsuit Includes $44 Million for Pedestrian Infrastructure
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Coffee Break with Alice This Friday October 11th!
The next Coffee Break with Alice takes place Friday, October 11, 2024, at Noon. Scan the QR Code or use the registration link below to receive the meeting link. Register to receive meeting link: CoffeeBreakOCT ### |
Friday, September 27, 2024
31st Baltimore Civil Rights Breakfast on October 7th - Get Your Tickets Today!
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Monday, September 23, 2024
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
NBC's Beyond Boundaries Conference is September 28th
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Neighborhood leaders and activists throughout the city will gather in Central West Baltimore for a day devoted to celebrating democracy and increasing engagement. The conference will offer a wide range of workshops and conversations including: Advocating for Transportation; Ballot Initiatives: Friend or Foe of a Racially Just Democracy in Baltimore?; Baybrook; Violence Reduction Plan; Democratizing the Local Economy; Dos and Don’ts of Inclusive Community Building, and more. Register here. It is held by the No Boundaries Coalition, Inc. (NBC). According to their website: Since 2008, the NBC has brought Central West Baltimore together to address racial and economic segregation by breaking down barriers and fostering commUNITY. The work of the coalition began with the first Boundary Block Party, organized by neighbors from either side of Eutaw Place, a historic neighborhood and racial dividing line. Out of the success of the first several Boundary Block Parties, new connections were formed. In 2010, neighborhood leaders from across Central West Baltimore met for a lasagna dinner at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church on Fremont Street. They discussed a larger vision of organizing, advocacy, and capacity building together as a commUNITY. The No Boundaries Coalition was born. Since then, the No Boundaries Coalition has organized peace rallies, launched a produce market, advocated for equitable school construction and funding, provided leadership development, commissioned public art projects, hosted block parties, conducted walking tours and listening campaigns, and more. One of the No Boundaries Coalition’s most important contributions has been in police accountability. |
Monday, September 16, 2024
Economic Action Maryland Annual Awards Ceremony is November 7th
Thursday, November 7, 2024
5:30 p.m. EST - 8:30 p.m. EST
The Baltimore Museum of Industry
1415 Key Hwy
Baltimore, MD 21230
Economic Action Maryland works to expand economic rights and financial inclusion in Maryland. Its Awards Celebration brings together community, policy, and government leaders working to advance consumer protections and economic justice in Maryland. The Awards Celebration honors our economic action champions, enjoy good food and good drinks, and relish in the company of your compatriots.
Join us on Thursday, November 7 from 5:30-8:30 at the Baltimore Museum of Industry for the Annual Awards Celebration! We will be celebrating our economic rights leaders, community champions, and the gains we’ve made in 2024. Make sure to buy your ticket now – Early bird pricing ends TODAY!
At this year’s ceremony, we are thrilled to present the Consumer Advocate Award of the Year Award to CASA Maryland for their work on the Access to Care Act and the Tenant Safety Act, alongside their critical direct services for their community members. CASA Maryland is an immigration advocacy and assistance organization serving thousands of people across the state. For decades, CASA has been advocating for legislative change in the Maryland General Assembly. CASA's policy team works to ensure that immigrant voices as well as the voices of working class people are heard and amplified in Annapolis.
On top of that, CASA provides crucial direct services to members of the immigrant community in Maryland, from citizenship education and interview preparation, to tax preparation, to providing employment through partnerships. Recently, CASA worked to raise funds for the families of the victims of the Key Bridge collapse, all of whom were immigrants from Latin America. For all of these reasons, we could not think of an organization more deserving of this award.
Please join us as we honor their accomplishments while enjoying delicious food and drink at our Annual Awards Ceremony! Click here to buy a ticket, or click here if you would like to sponsor the event.
2209 Maryland Ave | Baltimore, Maryland 21218
(410) 220-0494 | info@econaction.org
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
The 31st Annual Baltimore City Civil Rights Breakfast is October 7th
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Wednesday, August 28, 2024
31st Baltimore Civil Rights Breakfast on October 7th
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Monday, August 5, 2024
Anne Arundel County Launches New Housing Resources Portal
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, the Office of Equity and Human Rights (OEHR), and Arundel Community Development Services, Inc. (ACDS) recently launched a new online housing portal that serves as a one-stop hub for users to get access to needed housing-related resources and information.
It includes detailed and helpful information and links regarding:
Financial Assistance.
Health & Safety Conditions.
Educational & Legal Resources.
Homeowners & Homebuyers.
Renters.
Temporary & Permanent Housing.
Emergency Assistance.
Go to the Anne Arundel Housing Portal.
The new portal serves as a hub for resources offered by government, local partners, and private community-based organizations, providing a very broad range of housing-related resources. Prospective homebuyers, veterans, real estate agents, renters, older adults, and organizations that support individuals with housing-related needs can all find helpful resources.
The State of Maryland, Baltimore City, and the other counties in our metro also have similar online housing-related resource portals:
Baltimore City has a great Housing Resource Guide that has a wealth of information and links to various housing and housing-related resources in the City. Go to the City's online Housing Resource Guide.
Baltimore County has a Supportive Housing Programs portal that has information and links to available housing-related resources. Go to the Baltimore County housing portal.
Harford County Department of Housing and Community Development has an online portal with helpful housing and related information and links. Go to the Harford County housing portal.
Carroll County has an online Resources portal with links and information about various resources available in the area. Go to the Carroll County Resources portal.
The State of Maryland also has a housing portal that contains very helpful information and links to needed resources. Go to the Maryland Housing Resources Portal.
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Read the June 6, 2024 Anne Arundel County release.
Friday, August 2, 2024
KeyBank Criticized by Advocates for Not Improving Performance in Cleveland's Low-Moderate Neighborhoods
Cleveland-based KeyBank - which mortgage lends in Baltimore - has criticized for years that it has systematically failed minority residents in its own hometown. In November, 2023, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition released a critical report on the bank for "betraying" Black applicants in search of home loans. In 2022, the report found, just 2.6% of KeyBank's Cleveland lending went to Black borrowers, down from 3% the year prior.
While KeyBank denied the report's findings and cited recent improvements, Cleveland City Councilman Richard Starr, whose Ward 5 has had decades of disinvestment, criticized the bank. Starr describes his ward as “a low moderate neighborhood” that is diverse. The median household income is around $13,000. He agreed with the report's stance that KeyBank did not meet the criteria of what was supposed to be a promise to promote and work towards social and racial equity for Black and low-income homebuyers.
In 2016, KeyBank made a $16.5 billion dollar community benefits agreement, with a goal to invest $5 billion in lending to Black and low-income neighborhoods, but reports show it failed to do this. Starr also said "...they have shown that they have redlined in the neighborhoods that majority African Americans live in, and that is no way to call yourself a key player in the community.”
KeyBank denies Starr’s claims, saying that it has acted to increase Black and minority lending in Cleveland. “Nationally, our percentage of applications from Black borrowers has grown from 2.6% in FY20 to 7.6% YTD 2024,” according to KeyBank, adding that Black borrowers in Cleveland grew from 5.7% to 27% since 2020, and that the bank has hired a Community Lending team to create support for underserved communities in Cleveland and launched the Neighbors First Credit program in 2023, providing more than $200,000 in credits to homebuyers, and has helped 41 clients in the Cleveland metro.
Starr says the Black community has not seen the results of any of KeyBank’s investments: “Despite being headquartered in Cleveland, KeyBank has not made significant investments in our major underserved neighborhoods, leaving many areas in economic stagnation.” Starr says KeyBank’s performance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has been “unsatisfactory,” and they have not met the credit needs of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
He calls on KeyBank to improve their efforts and create real investments for Cleveland’s underserved communities. He asks how the bank has supported financial literacy, provide transparency in how much it has reinvested in Cleveland's poor neighborhoods recently, better support affordable housing projects, improve supplier diversity, and make more firm commitments.
Monday, July 29, 2024
Baltimore's nonprofit Parity Cited as an Example of a Fruitful Approach to Reducing Vacancies
The study, A different approach to boarded-up houses and devalued homes: Catalysts for community-led renewal in Black neighborhoods by Andre M. Perry and Manann Donoghoe, is featured in the latest edition of the Brookings Institution's website research section.
The term "hyper-vacancy" refers to a neighborhood with an excessively high rate of unoccupied homes. The Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance's "The Costs of Baltimore’s Vacant Housing" study found that in Baltimore about 15,000 residential properties in the city were unoccupied in 2022, and had been 7-8% of the housing stock for more than ten years. In 2010, older cities - e.g., Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland - have had large population declines due to the loss of industrial jobs and high rates of hyper-vacancy. In Baltimore, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy found that 29.5% of all census tracts were hyper-vacant in 2010 compared to 7.5% in 1990.
Many vacancies in a neighborhood can lead to devaluation (when a property’s value is lower than its worth) and displacement, producing cycles of disinvestment. In a 2018 study, Brookings found that homes in predominantly Black neighborhoods in the US are valued 21% to 23% lower, on average, than similar homes in white neighborhoods with the same socioeconomic demographics.
When devaluation is coupled with hyper-vacancy, the damage to neighborhoods increases. A reduction in the quality of neighborhood amenities, flight, social decline, and less investment lower property prices, attracting investors, and paving the way for gentrification that displaces low-income residents. This was the case, for example, in the Middle East neighborhood of Baltimore, where legacy residents moved out when more affluent residents moved in. What could otherwise have been a beneficial process of renewal instead excluded the original residents from affordable housing in what had been their own neighborhood.
Revitalization is more difficult in these neighborhoods as investors find it harder to get proper financing. The assets of low-income and older residents who remain as their neighborhood continues to decline lose value. They are stranded in a blighted area.
The Brookings study cites a few nonprofit efforts across the US as examples of positive approaches to solving these problems:
(1) Parity, founded by former financial analyst Bree Jones and headquartered in West Baltimore, acquires and rehabilitates abandoned properties by the block. The process fundamentally upends the traditional approach to home purchasing. The organization, run and operated by Baltimore residents, is a direct response to the city’s high rates of gentrification.
(2) The Fitzgerald Revitalization Project, is another example. Operated by the City of Detroit, the project is transforming 400 publicly owned vacant land and buildings into community assets, including park lands and recreation areas. The core concept of the project is to work in partnership with residents and local stakeholders to guide redevelopment efforts. Importantly, the project emphasizes civic assets, like parks, neighborhood centers, and locally owned businesses. Members of the local community have an active role in choosing how to revitalize these neighborhoods by helping to decide where and what types of infrastructure and businesses to invest in.
(3) Other nonprofits, like The Works in Memphis, are pursuing a slightly different strategy to combat gentrification: leveraging existing community assets to create a more economically diverse and prosperous neighborhood. It uses a mix of tools (e.g., shared-equity) to subsidize the cost of home ownership in Klondike, a historic Black-majority neighborhood, to keep the neighborhood affordable.
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Baltimore Mayor and Police Commissioner Release Statements Condemning Recent Antisemitic Incidents
Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley released the following statements condemning recent antisemitic incidents that occurred in Baltimore City. Mayor Brandon M. Scott said:
“These recent incidents are a horrifying display of hate and simply will not be tolerated in the City of Baltimore. Our Baltimore Jewish community has endured violence, vandalism, and other acts of hate that only seek to intimidate and threaten. To those individuals who are responsible, we only have one message: these antisemitic acts are despicable, and you will be held accountable. We stand with those victims who have endured these acts and with the broader Jewish community who are deeply impacted by the concerning rise in these types of incidents. I have confidence that through BPD’s investigations, the perpetrators will be found and held responsible for their hateful actions.”
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said:
“Our Department has witnessed an alarming increase of hate crimes towards our Jewish community, to include antisemitism speech, vandalism, intimidation and even violence. We will not tolerate any form of hate, towards any community or any person in our city. I remain resolute that the BPD will investigate all acts of hate, intimidation or violence towards anyone or any community. Any individual found to be responsible will and must be held accountable, and we will work with our local, state and federal partners to pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law for these incidents.
"We know that hate crimes have a larger impact than just a singular offense, and its impact is felt by not only the victim(s), but also by their loved-ones and community. BPD will continue to support the victims and stand with communities against hate and harassment in all forms, towards anyone.”
Last week, WBFF, a Fox affiliate in Baltimore, reported that “Baltimore’s Jewish community is struggling with a soaring number of antisemitic acts.” As reported on June 29th, hate-filled symbols and offensive graffiti - yellow and black swastikas alongside profanity - were discovered spray-painted on the pavement of Fordham Court in northwest Baltimore, a street known for its Jewish residents, with the abhorrent messages targeting the heart of the community. The street the spray paint was found on has 10 homes and houses many Jewish residents. The act has been universally condemned by community leaders and advocates, such as Baltimore City Councilmember Issac "Yitzy" Schleifer, who has spoken out on social media against the defacement of his district. Howard Libit, the executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, expressed his dismay at the hate crime, lamenting the emotional toll on the families directly affected.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the number of antisemitic incidents tripled in 2023 compared to the previous year. Most of the incidents involved harassment, vandalism, and assault. The number of incidents climbed following Hamas' October attack on Israel.
Read the June 27, 2024 City of Baltimore release.