The Department of Planning is launching a multi-year planning process, Our Baltimore. Our Baltimore is a comprehensive plan for Baltimore’s future. The plan will guide development of the City over the next ten years and beyond.  

This will be the first substantial effort to update our City’s Comprehensive Plan since 2006. The 2006 update of the Comprehensive Plan spurred a major effort to modernize Baltimore’s zoning code. 

Our Baltimore will respond to the 2020 Census data findings, as required by the State of Maryland. Through this planning process, we will ask ourselves How can Baltimore retain and support residents?  

How can we work together collaboratively to make Baltimore a great place to live so residents will: 

• Want to stay 
• Benefit from staying 
• Invite their friends to live in Baltimore 

A major goal for Our Baltimore is to guide equitable neighborhood development for years to come. As part of a broad public process, the Department of Planning will work with Baltimore city residents to define a vision for equitable neighborhood development, and determine a road map to get there. 

According to Planning Director Chris Ryer, “Our Baltimore is an opportunity for our agency to elevate equitable neighborhood development as a priority, and for residents to define what this term means and how government can work towards it in Baltimore”.  

The public engagement process begins today, and is critical to the success of this project. The Department of Planning is expanding our approach by prioritizing a process that listens to Baltimore; focuses on building civic trust and prioritizes equity.  

The Department has convened a Community Engagement Leadership team. This team, composed of community based organizations across Baltimore, will design and implement engagement strategies that resonate with the communities they serve every day. These groups will work to amplify the voices of residents often unheard during the civic process. 

We are also piloting a Storytelling Ambassadors strategy. Our Chief Storyteller, Dr. David Fakunle, will prepare a cohort of resident Ambassadors to employ storytelling as a mechanism for social change. The Ambassadors will facilitate storytelling spaces in their community to capture the lived experience and wisdom of Baltimore residents. 

In addition to these approaches, the Department of Planning will also convene a series of Open Houses in May and June to jumpstart the public conversation. Community and neighborhood associations are encouraged to plug into this process by facilitating their own community conversation through our Meeting in a Box toolkit. And, a broad public survey is available in multiple languages.  

Please visit our website planourbaltimore.com to learn more and sign up to stay informed.