Why Baltimore's Downtown Just Doesn't Work

Baltimore's downtown sits on one of the most remarkable urban foundations in America. A dense historic core, two major hospital systems, multiple universities, a first Washington Monument that predates DC's, a library the Smithsonian called the most beautiful room in America, and a transit network more functional than most cities outside New York, DC, and Chicago. None of it is working the way it should. Howard Street, the city's most transit-connected corridor and effectively its front door, is arguably the most derelict commercial street in any comparable American downtown. The Superblock, a cluster of city-owned properties at the center of Howard Street, has been the subject of failed redevelopment plans for 25 consecutive years. A developer sits on two cleared lots at the literal center of downtown asking for larger tax breaks. And Baltimore has a $7 billion plan to fix it all, which is either the most promising news in years or the latest in a long line of announcements that did not result in construction.