The housing bubble helped the city spur redevelopment of its central core. With the downturn, officials wonder if Baltimore can hold onto the progress it made towards revitalization.
"As home sales dry up, tax revenues fade, foreclosures have surged, hiring is down and a new caution is inhibiting activity.
"I don't see a recession mentality," said Atwood Collins III, executive vice president of the M&T Bank Corporation, who complains that the national media are amplifying the bad news. "But you would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to be a little infected by what is being said."
How broadly the infection will spread is still not clear. By no means is every metropolitan area around the country experiencing similar problems. Even in Baltimore there are strengths. The port is thriving from trade. Financial services companies are strong, and the federal government is channeling money into medical research and to companies that locate here, having won contracts with the National Security Agency, headquartered nearby.
But the fallout from the housing downturn is already showing up as a setback in this struggling city's effort to reinvent itself as a robust commercial center, one in which a spruced up and rebuilt downtown has attracted new residents, particularly young people, as well as more office workers."
FULL STORY: For Baltimore, Housing Slump Slows a Revival
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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