8
One of the key partners chosen for the localization effort was the Baltimore Neighborhood
Indicators Alliance (BNIA) at the University of
Baltimore, which is the local member of the
National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership
(NNIP). Since 2000, BNIA has served as the
“data intermediary” for Baltimore, focusing on
acquiring and disseminating local data to neighborhoods and other multi-sector stakeholders.
Having the local community indicators project
be a part of the SDG localization process
became critical to ensuring Baltimore saw the
effort to fruition for reasons which will be discussed in this chapter. First, given its longstanding mission to improve quality of life in
distressed communities, BNIA already had
deep connections with local governmental
agencies as well as neighborhoods impacted by
the unrest without seeming like an intrusive outsider during a sensitive time in the city. Second,
BNIA was able to quickly align existing, locally
relevant indicators to the SDG targets and identify gaps in data that allowed stakeholders to
focus on ways to measure equity and justice.
Over the course of a year the USA-SCI effort
in Baltimore yielded a wealth of insights and ideas
for furthering inclusive, coordinated sustainable
development efforts in Baltimore. This chapter
provides a glimpse of how the process of localization unfolded in Baltimore and how the challenges
and opportunities became clear over time which
serves as a resource for local stakeholders in other
US cities, providing a summary of current achievements of SCI-Baltimore and recommendations for
achieving long-term, equitable sustainable development benefits for Baltimoreans by aligning
local efforts with the SDGs.
2.2
Baltimore and the USA
Sustainable Cities Initiative
As one of the oldest cities in the USA,
Baltimore is a vibrant and diverse community
that nevertheless faces significant development
challenges, such as depopulation, inequality,
poverty, unemployment, and infrastructure
degradation. For example, in 2017, 32.9% of
children in Baltimore lived below the poverty
line, in comparison to the national average of
20.3% (American Community Survey). Similar
to a number of other cities, revitalization tends
to be concentrated around the downtown area
and, in the case of Baltimore, it includes the
scenic waterfront of the city’s historic harbor.
High-rise office buildings in the historic downtown have been converted into luxury living
spaces for millennials and wealthy emptynesters. A short distance away from the city
center, however, are over 16,000 vacant houses
along with significant abandoned industrial
sites and strikingly empty storefronts. As
American manufacturing declined, so went the
jobs in Baltimore as the city continues to adapt
to the new, post- industrial age.
In 2012, the Department of Public Works
reported the level of lead in Baltimore’s drinking
water at the Environmental Protection Agency
“action level” of 15 ppb, indicating the water
unsafe for children and pregnant women to consume through drinking and cooking. Furthermore,
Baltimore Harbor continues to experience
unhealthy levels of pollution due to the city’s
beleaguered sewer system, which is causing
damage to the natural ecosystem and restricting
people’s access to the water.
Beginning in September 2015, the SCIBaltimore team (described below) worked to
develop the institutional infrastructure for
engaging multi-sector stakeholders who could
provide substantive input into the establishment
of quantitative targets and indicators as part of
an ongoing effort to localize the SDGs and integrate their comprehensive principles into the
city’s development activities. The primary activities of the process, described in this chapter,
were (1) convening local stakeholders, (2) stocktaking of existing plans and policies, and (3)
choosing indicators for tracking the SDGs in
Baltimore.
S. D. Iyer
One of the key partners chosen for the localization effort was the Baltimore Neighborhood
Indicators Alliance (BNIA) at the University of
Baltimore, which is the local member of the
National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership
(NNIP). Since 2000, BNIA has served as the
“data intermediary” for Baltimore, focusing on
acquiring and disseminating local data to neighborhoods and other multi-sector stakeholders.
Having the local community indicators project
be a part of the SDG localization process
became critical to ensuring Baltimore saw the
effort to fruition for reasons which will be discussed in this chapter. First, given its longstanding mission to improve quality of life in
distressed communities, BNIA already had
deep connections with local governmental
agencies as well as neighborhoods impacted by
the unrest without seeming like an intrusive outsider during a sensitive time in the city. Second,
BNIA was able to quickly align existing, locally
relevant indicators to the SDG targets and identify gaps in data that allowed stakeholders to
focus on ways to measure equity and justice.
Over the course of a year the USA-SCI effort
in Baltimore yielded a wealth of insights and ideas
for furthering inclusive, coordinated sustainable
development efforts in Baltimore. This chapter
provides a glimpse of how the process of localization unfolded in Baltimore and how the challenges
and opportunities became clear over time which
serves as a resource for local stakeholders in other
US cities, providing a summary of current achievements of SCI-Baltimore and recommendations for
achieving long-term, equitable sustainable development benefits for Baltimoreans by aligning
local efforts with the SDGs.
2.2
Baltimore and the USA
Sustainable Cities Initiative
As one of the oldest cities in the USA,
Baltimore is a vibrant and diverse community
that nevertheless faces significant development
challenges, such as depopulation, inequality,
poverty, unemployment, and infrastructure
degradation. For example, in 2017, 32.9% of
children in Baltimore lived below the poverty
line, in comparison to the national average of
20.3% (American Community Survey). Similar
to a number of other cities, revitalization tends
to be concentrated around the downtown area
and, in the case of Baltimore, it includes the
scenic waterfront of the city’s historic harbor.
High-rise office buildings in the historic downtown have been converted into luxury living
spaces for millennials and wealthy emptynesters. A short distance away from the city
center, however, are over 16,000 vacant houses
along with significant abandoned industrial
sites and strikingly empty storefronts. As
American manufacturing declined, so went the
jobs in Baltimore as the city continues to adapt
to the new, post- industrial age.
In 2012, the Department of Public Works
reported the level of lead in Baltimore’s drinking
water at the Environmental Protection Agency
“action level” of 15 ppb, indicating the water
unsafe for children and pregnant women to consume through drinking and cooking. Furthermore,
Baltimore Harbor continues to experience
unhealthy levels of pollution due to the city’s
beleaguered sewer system, which is causing
damage to the natural ecosystem and restricting
people’s access to the water.
Beginning in September 2015, the SCIBaltimore team (described below) worked to
develop the institutional infrastructure for
engaging multi-sector stakeholders who could
provide substantive input into the establishment
of quantitative targets and indicators as part of
an ongoing effort to localize the SDGs and integrate their comprehensive principles into the
city’s development activities. The primary activities of the process, described in this chapter,
were (1) convening local stakeholders, (2) stocktaking of existing plans and policies, and (3)
choosing indicators for tracking the SDGs in
Baltimore.
S. D. Iyer