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Revitalization: A look at the rebuilding of Middle-East Baltimore

Have you ever lived in a community where the destructive actions of others caused you to fear leaving your house? Where you did not feel comfortable allowing your children to go outside and play? Where your place of residence was just that, a place, not a community? This is the feeling of the residents residing in Middle East Baltimore today. Years ago one entering Middle East Baltimore was greeted with small ‘mom and pop’ shops, families sitting on their front steps, and the pleasant neighborhood bustle. Now the Middle East contains extended blocks of abandoned houses and vacant lots. The bustle has ceased, as the residents feel safe only in the confinement of their own homes. However, fleeing the hazardous actions of idle minds on the outside, residents are faced with the hazardous conditions of their homes on the inside. Though historically possessing attributes of prosperity and community, Middle East Baltimore has become a target area for the rebuilding of homes, businesses, and lives.

The Middle East Urban Renewal project currently being lead by East Baltimore Development Incorporated (EBDI) plans to revitalize the neighborhood entirely. With major partners such as Johns Hopkins, the project will replace and rebuild houses, bring in new businesses, and build a brand new Biotech Park. The project will open a number of employment opportunities in the neighborhood, as well as raise the property value. This project, however, is not the first with efforts to rebuild the community. In the 1980s, Johns Hopkins committed to renovating 139 row homes in addition to its own hospital expansion. Both then and now residents of the Middle East are advocates of initiatives to revitalize the community. At the same time, many are unhappy with the cost of these initiatives, such as relocation to other neighborhoods.

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