In addition, students are expected to complete one paper as part of this course on neighborhood development, change, planning, and policy. Students pick from among several Baltimore and surrounding neighborhoods.
- The paper is expected to be between 8-10-pages long (double-spaced)
- The paper should discuss the initial development of the selected neighborhood
- when it was built in the city’s development,
- how it was developed,
- the role the public sector planning may have played in shaping its development,
- the extent to which land uses were mixed,
- The type of housing built, and how it was financed
Students should discuss how the neighborhood evolved over time with special emphasis on the period after World-War II
- It will examine the forces that led to changes in the composition of its residents and the physical condition of its housing stock and other uses.
- It will discuss the extent to which the community is organized, the entities that claim to represent the community, and the nonprofits that now serve it.
- To the extent privately owned, publicly subsidized, or public housing is present, its development will be noted and discussed
Importantly, the theories of urbanization and history of interventions covered in the course should be used as a lens through which to view neighborhood changes and the roles played in them by market forces and government policy and planning.
A good paper will also look into how various key stakeholders (including residents, political leaders, institutions and major businesses in the area, and city staff) view the challenges facing the neighborhood
today and will assess how existing plans for the neighborhood respond to those perspectives.
Students will choose from a list of subjects on which to focus in their analysis, including gentrification, transportation, education and housing, housing design, and demographic shifts.