Reservoir Hill Improvement Council


Staff Discussion Paper


GROWING SMART IN BALTIMORE

This essay had its origins in an office discussion about the theme of RHIC’s work. During a routine staff meeting, one staffer put forward that what we are talking about is our own version of Smart Growth. Walkable communities, more green space, focusing reinvestment on improving existing housing, housing options for multiple income levels, and pedestrian-friendly retail. All these elements of RHIC’s concept of development are very much in sync with Smart Growth principles.

Smart Growth is a nationwide concept aimed at limiting the trend toward expanding suburban living and the problems that follow, such as more strain on infrastructure, paving over previously open space, and increased pollution affecting the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways. The underlying premise is making conscious choices about development based on a set of principles.

Making conscious choices about development is what RHIC and most community associations do. What has the experience of the last few years taught us as to the fundamentals of what growing smart in Baltimore might mean?

In 1998, RHIC coordinated a community-wide discussion, the result of which was a goals chart, including a category called Uplifting the People. Uplifting the People focused on improving the living standards and quality of life of the people who already lived in Reservoir Hill. This 1998 setting of goals became the foundation of what RHIC came to call community-based development or, later, equitable development. We wanted Reservoir Hill to grow, but grow in a certain way.

So, how did we want to grow? We saw neighborhood schools as important to revitalization. The restoration of parks and other green areas was a priority. Re-creating a center of community activity was important. Good public transportation that links residents to services and jobs was necessary. Programs for young people were needed. Quality housing, rental and homeownership, was needed for a range of incomes wide enough to encompass those who already live in the community.

While Smart Growth is usually thought of in a context larger than the neighborhood, how neighborhoods view their own development has an impact on city-wide or regional Smart Growth policies.

RHIC often refers to its approach by saying, “revitalization has to benefit everyone.” Therefore, how Reservoir Hill grows must benefit everyone, and the measurements of that growth have to indicate that the current residents of Reservoir Hill are living better than then they were when we began.

Growing Smart in Baltimore

Attachment: Word Document