EQUITY BALTIMORE
The Baltimore Equity Toolkit and Power Mapping is a collaborative project between the University of Baltimore School of Law’s Community Development Clinic and Morgan State University’s Department of Public Health Community Need and Solutions Course.
About Equity Baltimore
Baltimore was the first city in America to develop and pass a comprehensive racial zoning law in 1910. Since then, Baltimore has utilized multiple policies and practices to enforce racial segregation. After creating hypersegregated communities, racial segregation was weaponized into what the scholar Noliwe Rooks calls “segrenomics.”
In a hypersegregated city, segrenomics results in the redlining of majority Black communities and the green-lining of mixed-race and majority White communities. Our map seeks to reflect the status of power for each of Baltimore 55 Community Statistical Areas. The greener a community, the greater its access to capital and resources. The more red a community, the more it has been restricted from accessing capital and resources. Yellow communities are in the middle.
The Equity Baltimore Powermap is an analytical tool for community members, students, policymakers, and researchers to use to both understand the impact of segrenomics and work to change the trajectory of Baltimore’s redlined communities so that we can create a more equitable city for all. We utilize what we call Community Equity Metrics to illustrate the seven domains by which segrenomics has impacted communities—housing market, planning history, public safety & policing, education readiness, capital access, health, and transportation access.
The original concept was developed and data collection was performed by Lawrence Brown and his 2016-2017 public health students in his Community Needs and Solutions course at Morgan State University—Adedoyin, Beatrice, Kerri, Madiha, Mary, Omolola, and Shenika. The web coding and graphic design for the map was created by Joseph Fioramonti at DarkSquare and his students at the University of Baltimore, Chelsey Armstrong, Tracy Hirsch, and Sydney Allen. Please note that the data used to generate the map is currently in beta phase. We plan to update and refine the Community Equity Metrics over time.
We hope that people living in redlined and yellow-lined communities can use the Baltimore Equity Toolkit & Powermap to develop strategies for improving and developing their communities. To that end, we recommend several organizations to contact for consulting for developing and implementing equity strategies in developing sustainable communities.
- University of Baltimore Community Development Clinic for technical and legal assistance
- Equity Matters for assistance with developing an equity strategy and approach for your community
- Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy if you plan to jumpstart a cooperative enterprise such as a worker cooperative
- Black Church Food Security Network to boost food security and access to fresh fruits and vegetables
These organizations can assist with a variety of issues needed to develop redlined communities and help them transform into more sustainable neighborhoods. These organizations have a track record of working with communities and providing technical expertise for equitable development.