Baltimore’s housing market typology was developed to assist the City in its efforts to strategically match available public resources to neighborhood housing market conditions. The typology is a critical tool used by the Department of Housing’s Vacants to Value program to address city-wide vacant housing challenges. Read more...

Cooperative Forecasting

Each year, every jurisdiction included in the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) is granted an opportunity to produce an update to their population, households, and jobs forecast. The revised figures go into BMC’s Travel Demand Model and then are adopted by the Baltimore Regional Transit Board. Read more…

Sustainable Communities

The State’s Sustainable Community (SC) program is a geographic designation to more efficiently allocate and concentrate resources to support coordinated revitalization efforts.  The program is managed by the State Housing Department’s Division of Neighborhood Revitalization.  Designation as a Sustainable Community is required to be eligible for such grant programs as Community Legacy, Strategic Demolition and Smart Growth Impact Funds and for Sustainable Communities Tax Credit. Read more…

Industrial Opportunity Inventory 

The Industrial Opportunity Project is an initiative aimed at promoting the redevelopment of vacant industrial buildings and lands as new centers for job creation and small business growth in Baltimore City. The project consists of the Industrial Opportunity Database,

a comprehensive listing of industrial vacancy throughout the city, rich with site specific data relevant to the redevelopment process, as well as an analysis of trends in re-zoning of industrial land. View the report and the database.

STAR

The STAR Community Rating System is the nation’s first comprehensive certification program for evaluating the sustainability of local communities. Baltimore City was one of the first 45 communities to apply, and was one of only three to earn a five-star rating for sustainability. The application required submission of detailed record keeping, mapping, and new statistical and spatial analysis in order for sustainability to be accurately measured. Read more…

Transform Baltimore

The Department of Planning is pleased present the rewrite of the Zoning Code (Ordinance #16-581) of the City of Baltimore that went into effect on Monday, June 5, 2017. The "Transform Baltimore" Zoning Code, which was passed by the City Council and signed into law on December 5, 2016, replaced Baltimore's original 1971 code. It is intended to simplify and streamline development review; provide an easy to understand set of rules; and create a more modern code that fosters growth and development, while maintaining the character of Baltimore's neighborhoods. Click here for more information.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS)

The City is creating a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) to help guide development over the next few years. The CEDS will provide a snapshot of where we are, a blueprint for where we can go and a proposed path to follow to further the growth of our economy. Read more...

Transit-Oriented Development

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is a development approach that encourages intensifying and inter-mixing land uses (residential, office, retail, and entertainment) around transit stations, integrating public amenities (open spaces and landscaping), and improving the quality of walking and bicycling as alternatives to automobile travel. Read more...