Community Intervention for Urban Demolition

In the US, urban demolition is an all too common occurrence in minority and low income communities. Baltimore residents expressed their concerns about the negative health impacts of current practices which expose them to dust, possible lead in dust, waste water, unsafe debris, noise, vibration, rats and other pests. The Center investigators' analysis of dust samples and observations of demolition practices confirmed residents' concerns. Accordingly, a series of fact finding and educational meetings were conducted with city agencies, community members and organizations in order to establish a policy intervention for changing how demolition should be conducted. We also conducted a series of focus groups in the communities that had experienced demolition. With the help of our stakeholders, we designed training and educational pamphlets that were used to demonstrate how to conduct proper community outreach and education before demolition. East Baltimore Development, Inc., the agency managing the large scale demolition and redevelopment of 80 acres north of the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore campus, has adopted and enhanced the prototype designed by the Center's investigators to conduct demolition in a way that responds to the concerns of the residents.