Joe Nathanson: Overcoming the city’s disconnect

Some 200 people packed into the Bolton Street Synagogue in early December to hear and participate in a discussion of “The Future of Baltimore.” The topic was billed as “Looking at the city and metro area and what it might look like years from now.”

The discussion moderator was Dan Rodricks, the Baltimore Sun columnist and host of Midday on WYPR, who engaged with a distinguished — and eclectic — six-person panel. Rodricks started the discussion by asking what one thing each panelist might work on if they had the power to improve Baltimore.

The initial responses were largely predictable. Freeman Hrabowski III, president of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, focused on educational excellence and applauded the progress being made in the Baltimore City public schools. He also stressed the importance of thinking regionally.

Janet Marie Smith, the architect and urban planner who inspired the retro-look of the Orioles’ Camden Yards stadium, was interested in restoring vitality to the city’s physical fabric. Joe Ehrmann, a one-time favorite with the Baltimore Colts and now an ordained minister, cited the importance of the appropriate socialization of males, teaching boys how to become men.

When it became Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake‘s time to respond, she noted that in her official role she does not have the luxury to focus on only one thing. But stepping out of her role and reflecting on her experience as a Baltimore resident, public defender, City Council member and president, she was able to identify one thing: ending drug addiction in the city.

As a public defender, more than 90 percent of her caseload was related to the consequences of drug addiction, she said. She cited the petty crimes, the shoplifting, car break-ins, auto thefts and the many violations, linked to addiction, that diminish our quality of life. And, she noted, so much of the violence on our streets is linked to the drug trade.

At this point it became clear that the panel was considering two Baltimores.

Madison Smartt Bell, the novelist and Goucher College English professor, articulated this very explicitly. He looked out over the audience, almost all white and middle class, and suggested that though we are all aware of the area’s “two enormous corridors of urban blight,” wracked by crime and poverty, most Baltimoreans live in isolation from this urban reality. Many Baltimoreans only confront these conditions when they watch episodes of “The Wire” or happen to be called for jury duty.

With the problems of crime, drug addiction and poverty at the center of the discussion, Rodricks pushed the panel to consider ways to overcome the disconnect between those in comfortable neighborhoods and those in the distressed communities.

Lester Spence, assistant professor of political science and Africana studies at The Johns Hopkins University, decried the fact that we are not helping the problem by training young people for jobs that no longer exist. On the topic of decriminalization of drug addiction brought up by an audience member, he suggested that, if it is a political nonstarter, the response might take the form of civil disobedience.

Hrabowski wanted to remind everyone that people have jobs in the drug trade, that people can make money to help their families by selling drugs.  We have to find ways of giving them alternatives for securing a financial footing and prestige in the community, he said.

Ehrmann suggested that as a community we suffer from an “empathy deficit disorder.” To overcome this we can look to Big Brother programs, going into underserved communities and stepping up mentoring activities.  Ehrmann urged that all of us have to take responsibility.

On some hopeful notes, Smith noted that Baltimore has done a good job of transforming older industrial areas for use by new industries in funky spaces near the waterfront. Hrabowski said he is encouraged that more young people are interested in staying in Baltimore upon completing their college programs.

The overall theme of this lively discussion was fascinating in that it had very little to do with what Baltimore would look like in a physical sense.  It was clearly focused on how to build our human resources and bringing those who Spence referred to as “knuckleheads” into the picture. At first, appearing to be a pejorative term, the professor made clear that these were people who, by harnessing their energy and creativity, had to be included as part of the solution.

The message to take away from this 90-minute discussion didn’t have so much to do with the bricks and mortar of the city. The future does depend on building bridges between those who live in the region’s “safe zones” and underserved areas, as well as creating paths for the young people of our distressed communities to participate fully in the economy and society of the 21st century.

Joe Nathanson heads Urban Information Associates, a Baltimore-based economic and community development consulting firm. He can be reached at urbaninfo@comcast.net.