I would bet many of us have heard the remark, “you’re from Baltimore? Have you seen The Wire?” and I can guarantee you, nothing aggravates me more. The widespread media portrayal of our city implants a preconceived notion we as residents must balance with the greater picture. I have seen The Wire. And while there is lots of truth to the visual disgrace and social injustice captured by HBO, there’s more to Baltimore than Bunk and Bubbles. In our city, poverty is constantly around the corner from stability.
In 2010 I heard community revitalization guru Storm Cunningham speak at TEDxMidAtlantic. Inspired by his approach, I insisted on showing him around when he came to Baltimore in 2011. We looped around the inner harbor and down The Block. With the Pussycat Club providing the appropriate backdrop, he made a remark to the tune of “this is right here? And the harbor is right there? I would have had no idea. They’re just two blocks apart.” We certainly aren’t all crabcakes and waterfront, but we aren’t all Lake Trout and vacants either.
There is often the “out of sight, out of mind” excuse for inaction, yet in the City of Baltimore this is impossible. The social equity discrepancies of the city are perhaps especially jarring because of the proximate adjacencies. It’s hard to find the bad without driving through the good, and vice versa. But I advocate that seeing the other side of the coin can dispel ignorance and foster comprehensive planning.
People proximate to us in place are more likely to have opinions we consider to be valid, though there are only so many recommendations for the familiar. The beauty of distinct neighborhoods is the ability to find the best of something different. Walking outside my census tract I’m opened up to new food, markets, services. The ability to exchange information and break out of sameness is an action any of us can take to transcend the cross-neighborhood divide and enhance and diversify our own community.
Perhaps planning in Baltimore is slow or, dare I say, one-note when it comes to alleviating the impoverished, but by going one street further we can get new references for a world that is not our own, integrating something new, and perhaps eventually, define our neighborhood as one block larger than it used to be.
Hi Lindsey, Nice piece of writing! I love that you are working on this. We need a LOT more of this focus on revitalization. Keep it up! Wouldn’t it be great if there was a working group, a new team of journalists who picked at this subject as an ongoing project? Picking up on your theme, let me title this comment, if you please, “On the difference of having an Edge !” Seems to me that your comment: “…ability to exchange information and break out of sameness…” (to, “enhance and diversify our own community.”) hits the nail on the head. However, if upcoming renewal citizens, (or “ReCitizens” as renewal guru Cunningham calls them) are to inflict any serious action in the community, then their voices are going to have to have an Edge. With a Capital E – Edge. I’m beginning to feel, after years of being a Revitalization Advocate, that any attempts at creating inspiration in neighborhood community leaders, let alone their fellow neighbors, for leading the population into a higher realm of revitalization advocacy and action, is simply shoveling dirt out of one hole and into a another. What’s missing? The landscape does not change. Literally and figuratively does not change. So the big question here is, what does it take to inspire a person; a group of persons; a neighborhood of persons to want to advocate and act on making a community shift into the renewal mode? I think my call for heightened renewal inspiration needs another TEDx talk. We’re talking new altitude here. Certainly more articles. Certainly more action. Perhaps a drive to create a “What does it take?” survey ! When I look at some of the words in your bio: facilitation-experiential education-leadership development-place creation, it makes me want to challenge you to do the survey; to challenge anybody like you to gather the gleaners and harvest some new energy. Can I do that? How would you respond? And what could be offered to the ReCitizenry to challenge them to step up and participate in a survey on how to inspire renewal inspiration? Is there a corporation or organization that might provide incentives? Cause it sure-as-heck doesn’t seem like people just want to volunteer to do good out of the goodness of their hearts (Lord knows it’s there) when they are beating themselves up to survive in a tight time on the planet. I feel any of us might prefer to use our energy in a more uplifting way. So let’s uplift and shift as best we can…there, that’s my gift with my very small plan.
Yours,
In the Quest for Better Places and more Happiness,
David Marcmann
Community Revitalization Advocate
David- So much thanks for your thoughts.
I think your idea of a journalist group is a good one – I’d like to expand it to anyone who is passionate enough about revitalization to put thoughts and potential solutions into writing. The simple act of getting more people to read and record these thoughts is worthwhile – as raising the awareness of difference, planning, and poverty is the first step in alleviating the actual problems. Additionally, when someone commits to write about a place, they commit to look critically at the subject, thus connecting all of us more deeply with that we recognize as flawed, perfect, or able to be improved.
Whenever I hear ‘shoveling dirt out of one hole and into another,’ I think about knocking down public housing and redistributing the residents: thereby deconcetrating poverty, but never actually changing anything fundamental. I do not equate inspiring community leaders to this type of fabricated problem solving, but perhaps more to running in circles. Inspiring more people to ‘want’ to do something and look to others for leadership, but never actually taking action, just perpetuates the talk and bolsters sentiment, but lacks that next step. You’re right- by doing this, the landscape won’t change. I argue though that the change isn’t just about the landscape, but acceptance becomes a quantifiable variable of change – reframing the perception of a place which has always ‘looked’ scary, but, in fact, is just different.
As far as harvesting new energy is concerned- I can smile and tell you many of us are most definitely working on it. After an energizing TedXBaltimore two weeks ago, there’s an event scheduled next week called CreateBaltimore (www.createbaltimore.org). Instead of simply energizing people to talk and exchange ideas, we’re adding an action element – so people can start working together to execute the energy you can hear, but the city can’t necessarily see.
One of the greatest changes as of late, in both thinking and practice, has to do with the ReThink. The disciplined and seasoned professionals beginning to challenge their thoughts and actions as inspired by people in different professions and from different backgrounds (academically, professionally, personally). I find this energy uplifting, By breaking out of traditional pathways, practices becomes more relateable for a more diverse audience, thus attracting a greater following.
So yes, there are groups in play, new people attending everyday and at every meeting. The next step is to harvest this energy and tie it into the policymakers – a challenge in itself. That said, people are strong, resilient, and loud. As we bring them together, we begin to build the strength that can ultimately make a difference. Perhaps instead of moving dirt from hole to hole or chasing our own tail around, we’re actually moving forward – and of not gaining speed, most definitely gaining more people who are willing to rethink and act.
Thoughts always welcome- thank you again for your words,
Lindsey