'Green Harbor', Urban Ecotopia

Right now, "Aside from the green swath of Middle Branch Park on the south shore, the waterfront west of the bridge is a patchwork of industrial sites, scruffy woods, and brownfields, interspersed with unglamorous public properties" including an incinerator and large garage. "Despite five miles of shoreline, nearby freeways, and a five-minute drive to downtown, Middle Branch has remained a secluded backwater, home to wading birds and rowing teams."

"Five or six years from now, if all goes as planned, the riverbanks will be crowned with glittering condominiums, townhouses, shopping arcades, and entertainment venues. Where factories once belched smoke, well-heeled taxpayers will be stacked 10 stories deep."

"For 25 years, city agencies and nonprofit groups have been planning and pushing to make Middle Branch a model of environmentally sensitive urban design, entirely different from what architects call the 'hardscape' of the William Donald Schaefer-era harbor. Key to this vision is the recently completed Gwynns Falls Trail, which winds along roughly half of the Middle Branch shoreline, linking parks and neighborhoods as it reaches from Harbor Hospital to the Inner Harbor and seven miles north along the Gwynns Falls. The 'green harbor' concept [is] enshrined in the city's master plan for the area..."