Residents Fuming As Housing Threatens Park

A master-planned community in Baltimore is up in arms over plans to replace the community's iconic country club parkspace with a senior housing center.

1 minute read

August 21, 2008, 5:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"The red, white and blue bunting that drapes the porches here has given way recently to bed sheets hung on front fences and scrawled with protest slogans. And local teenagers have begun trading their pastel Polos for white T-shirts that read, 'Keep the Park in Roland Park.'"

"The unrest stems from plans to build an expansive new home for the elderly in the middle of this neighborhood's 30-acre country club."

"Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of the mastermind behind Central Park in New York City, the neighborhood was created and later preserved to interrupt this city's concrete sprawl with an oasis of big sky and lush fields."

"Residents say the proposed development is a betrayal of that vision, and the project has sparked a family feud of sorts, pitting those who stayed in the neighborhood against those who run the country club but have moved to grander suburbs."

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

3 hours ago - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

4 hours ago - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

5 hours ago - The Daily Yonder