Baltimore

In October 2021, I attended a conference on Race, Ethnicity, and Place which was held in Baltimore. It, being a geography conference made me realize how there is no talking about planning without geography. This was one of ASU’s first conferences as the main sponsor, thanks to the efforts of the JEDI committee.  

The reason why the conference was situated in Baltimore was that it allowed the researchers and academics to situate themselves in a city where the concepts that they studied play out in a clear and explicit way. In the few paragraphs below, I will be sharing with you all some key takeaways from the panel discussions and plenaries as it is closely related to most of the work we do in this course. For example, I did not know that redlining was being done in Baltimore, and I am sure in many other cities, to attract the immigrant demographic in an area called Highland, in a bid to prop up the property prices.

Baltimore has a distinct and defined spatial representation of redlining, structural racism, and segregation of neighborhoods. The city is characterized by the White L which encompasses majority White neighborhoods and a black butterfly which encompasses the majority African-American neighborhoods. (See pic below). 

The dissimilarity index is almost 71.8, which is higher than what I studied here in Phoenix. I was surprised to find out that there are cities that are more segregated than Baltimore. My friend and colleague, William Walker who used to frequent Baltimore some 20 years ago, remarked that this was not the Baltimore that he was used to. He expressed that it is more gentrified and segregated than before. 

When I visit a new city for the first time, I try to take public transportation because they give a more accurate impression of that city. Rightly so, I noticed that in the light rail that I took from the airport to downtown Baltimore, there was hardly any white population using it. I rode the light rail from the BWI airport until Mt.Vernon stop passing through the historic Black neighborhood of Lexington Market. Although I can only speak to the coach I was sitting in, I also did not notice any white population board the light rail in any of the stops. I later realized that maybe this was because the light rail passed only through majority-black neighborhoods, in the Black Butterfly. 

I also walked around the White L and the Black Butterfly.  It felt like there were two versions of Baltimore - the downtown and the harbor which is usually shown in pictures about Baltimore and the more ‘researched’ neighborhoods of Upton and Pennsylvania Avenue. Eviction, demolition, and repossession notices were a common sight in these neighborhoods. The many older and beautiful buildings in the Butterfly are facing immense pressure from gentrifying forces, now exacerbated by the pandemic. Each contemporary premium condominium standing next to a red-bricked house or gothic-style church signals the fall of a building or a block that once stood in the defense against these gentrifying forces. There is also a stark difference in the way the city is maintained between these neighborhoods. 

However, I noticed that in the Lexington market and also in one of the neighborhoods, there is an environment of accommodation for other minority groups be it the presence of a mosque or the co-existence of Korean, Japanese, and Indian shops in the Lexington market. I was also fortunate to listen to the stories of many local residents through the conference and how In the face of structural barriers, they persevered and found success in becoming a professor, owning their own business, or buying a new house. 

General takeaways from Panel discussion on researching geographies of race, racialization and anti-racism across sub disciplines

1. An important question to ponder upon was why people like the culture and not the people who profess that culture. For example, you might like food and music, but might be racist against people whose culture is that. 
2. The United States is becoming browner but it does not coincide with racial politics pointing to the fact that minorities can still dominate many aspects of the country. 
3. Environmental justice is very much associated with the concept of Habilus Corpus and those who don’t fit the definition of Habilus Corpus are not covered under this environmental justice.
4. When conducting research, it is very important to continue the relationship with the community even after the paper has been published. A lot of community distrust stems from the fact that the interaction between the researcher and the community is very short-lived and leaves them awaiting change. Avoid helicopter and parachute researching.
5. A good place to start would be going to grocery shops, local businesses run by minority communities. They would be more willing to talk and strike up a conversation.
6. Sometimes, universities have to follow protocols and we may not have the freedom to do things differently during research. Put money into the people we study, make them agents of change, and don’t treat them as just subjects.