Happy National Community Planning Month!

In celebration of National Community Planning Month, we are kicking off our “Planner Chat” series. These interviews will highlight one of our Planners each month as well as the work they are doing in Baltimore.

We encourage residents to use this month to photograph your favorite locations throughout the City and post using the hashtag #planning and tagging our department (IG: @baltplan). 

At the Baltimore Department of Planning, we are dedicated to collaborating with residents for a Baltimore that everyone can enjoy and thrive in. As always, continue to follow our social media, newsletters, and reach out to our staff!

Chris Ryer, Director
City of Baltimore Department of Planning

On any given weekend in Baltimore, local artists are actively invigorating communities by prioritizing creativity in public spaces. These living art exhibits have surely drawn in your gaze, from art walks to galleries to citywide events.  Unfortunately, if you travel down Liberty Heights Avenue most days, you won’t see much in the way of creative expression. What you will see are cars -- lots of them. Driving, idling, sitting in parking stalls or lots flanking the corridor.  But for one day on Friday, September 20^th, Baltimore’s young people changed that with their own vision for more creative placemaking.

The original PARK(ing) Day concept began in 2005 by Rebar Group (www.rebargroup.org). A small group of people rolled out sod strips, a tree, and a bench over an existing parking space to encourage serendipitous conversations among passersby. It began with one parking spot, a single effort that rippled into a major urban movement.  

Having organized events elsewhere before for this celebration, Danielle Bilot, DOP Greening Coordinator, wanted to invigorate the event with new energy here in Baltimore. The Department of Planning, Morgan State Landscape Architecture students, 8^th District Councilman Kristerfer Burnett, ASLA-MD, Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center, and other youth-focused organizations joined forces with over 1,000 students at Calvin Rodwell Elementary/Middle School and Forest Park High School to put the “park” back in parking lots.

Over 1,000 young Baltimoreans took charge, turning emotionless spaces usually occupied by automobiles into a lively oasis of activity, embodying a sense of shared identity and celebration. Amidst a sea of chalk art and bubbles, staff and teachers organized activity stations around the parking lots.  Onlookers saw children getting their faces painted, contributing to a group mural, dancing to millennial one-hit wonders, playing games like Twister and hopscotch, and enjoying a Zen Garden where they could ironically scream while digging in the sand. Following the event theme of “native plants," Perennial Farms donated 30 large shrubs and grasses to fill empty planting areas at both schools, which middle school students installed as a method of hands-on learning. Representatives from ASLA-MD and local landscape architecture firms spoke with students about urban planning and design, engaging them further with planning map activities.

While this event happens once a year, it’s worthwhile for Baltimoreans to consider daily the idea of activating underutilized spaces in a way that invites and involves everyone. With thousands of vacant properties, vast asphalt terrain, and plenty of parking lots across the city that could arguably be put to better use, we have a lot to work with.  The Department of Planning is devising a plan to grow this event next year, but in the meantime, we're always looking for ideas on ways residents can activate their community in novel ways. If your school or organization is interested in participating in PARK(ing) Day next year, contact Danielle Bilot, Greening Coordinator at danielle.bilot@baltimorecity.gov to get on the contact list for future information sessions! 

What area of the city do you serve?  

I am the West District Planner, which covers 46 neighborhoods roughly from I-83/MLK BLVD to the East, Route 40 to the South, Leakin Park to the West and Wabash Ave/Druid Hill Park to the North.

How long have you been with DOP? 

I have been with DOP for about 15 months, and I have worked in urban planning and zoning for over 20 years in NYC and D.C. areas.

What inspired you to pursue a career in city planning? 

I grew up in inner city Brooklyn NY and as I got older, I began to wonder why certain neighborhoods looked and functioned one way and why mine did not. Why was my neighborhood like this and that neighborhood like that? I knew there had to be more to it than my neighborhood was predominately Black, and another neighborhood was not. Those questions led me into the field of Urban Planning.

What are your favorite ways to engage with the community? 

Although we are using more and more innovative technologies for community engagement, I still prefer the in-person community presentation. I have found there is nothing like being able to read the energy in the room and gauge in real time how well the audience is absorbing your message. This allows you to adjust the message as needed. I also find you can get people to open up more when you can read their faces and know what points to elaborate on. That said I am embracing the newer ways community engagement is evolving knowing you can reach WAY more people than ever before.  

How do you promote equity as a City Planner? 

I am a firm believer in closing the knowledge gap as it pertains to urban development and community planning. Land Use Regulations, Capital project decisions, long range planning policy; all directly affect the everyday lives of people in communities, yet few members of most communities really understand how these processes work or how decisions are made. I feel it is my duty to empower my neighborhoods with at least the basic knowledge of how things get done development wise so they can be on stronger footing in discussions about what is happening in their communities.

What advice would you give anyone interested in becoming a City Planner? 

Be proud of what you are bringing to the table as a Planner. Most of us have similar education and have read the same books and theories. It is your unique personal experiences that add to the general knowledge we all have that will make the difference in your assigned area, and to your team. I currently work with Planners from all walks of life who each have different life and professional experiences and know things I hadn’t thought of that could help my communities. We are in the business of improving the conditions people live in, there is more than one right answer. You bring more value than you realize.

What actions do you feel are important for residents to take to engage more with city planners and DOP?  

Learn as much as you can about how city processes work. Once you better understand how things get done, than you can better engage with your community planners on how to make those processes work for you

On the evening of September 11^th, we launched our 11^th Planning Academy Cohort since 2018. To date, we’ve trained over 300 community members on the basics of planning and development within the City of Baltimore. Throughout the evening, we shared food, engaged in community building activities, heard from a range of speakers (including DOP leadership and members of the Baltimore Planning Academy Alumni Committee), and discussed the history of racism in our city’s development. We always start with this history so that everyone participating has a clear understanding of the systemic causes that have led to the reality of today. It is from this shared understanding of our city’s complex past that we can build a new way forward that centers equity and healing. We’re looking forward to working and learning with this cohort over the next six weeks!

On September 25, 2024, the Food Policy and Planning Division (FPP) held its quarterly Food PAC meeting at Lexington Market, celebrating the accomplishments of the 4th cohort of Resident Food Equity Advisors (RFEA). The meeting explored topics such as Online SNAP, digital equity, and virtual food resources in Baltimore City. FPP also reviewed policy and program recommendations developed by the advisors, underscoring their integral role in shaping city-wide food initiatives. In recognition of their contributions to advancing food equity, the advisors were awarded certificates of achievement, signed by Mayor Brandon Scott, and presented by Stephanie Smith, DOP Assistant Director. A special thanks goes out to Lexington Market for sponsoring the event and to the Housing Authority of Baltimore City for their valued partnership

We're now halfway through the Fall 2024 Planning Academy Cohort! At the end of September, we toured the Perkins Homes, Phase 2, in partnership with our colleagues at HABC.

A group of close to 40 people, including those from past cohorts, gathered to learn about HABC's approach to creating mixed-income housing in the PSO Transformation developments.