HISTORY
In 2013, Baltimore's Department of Planning and Citizens' Planning and Housing Association (CPHA) hosted a three-day capacity building workshop series: the East Baltimore Leadership Academy. Over 150 East Baltimore residents attended this workshop, which was designed to provide community residents with the knowledge and tools they needed to strengthen their communities. The event series was met with enthusiasm from participants, and the success of this workshop series laid the foundation for the Planning Academy launched in Fall 2018.
Since then, nearly 500 Baltimore residents from across 100+ neighborhoods have participated and the alumni network continues to grow.
OUR VISION
The Baltimore Planning Academy aims to build community leadership around urban planning, zoning and development issues through a Baltimore lens.
Goals for the Planning Academy:
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Build community across neighborhoods in Baltimore City through engagement around urban planning.
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Connect advocates and leaders to City resources, tools and information around zoning and development.
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Empower residents to shape the future of their neighborhoods and of Baltimore.
The Baltimore Planning Academy focuses on building community leadership around urban planning, policy and development issues - specifically through a Baltimore-lens. The Planning Academy seeks to elevate the ability of community members to affect the public processes around planning, policy, and urban development. Participants are better equipped to engage in the planning and development process by providing input into public processes, taking leadership roles in developing and implementing neighborhood plans, designing and executing new community projects, and connecting more of their family, friends, and neighbors to critical information about city programs.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM THE PLANNING ACADEMY?
Over eight weeks, Academy participants will participate in a series of workshops covering the principles of zoning, development review and neighborhood planning in Baltimore. Each session will cover a different aspect of urban planning and development, and will include interactive group activities and discussions. Each cohort also includes at least one field trip or site visit—sometimes to a development project under construction or recently completed, and sometimes to a neighborhood where participants meet with a local Community Development Corporation. The course will be kept small (up to 35 participants) to encourage interaction and learning among participants, facilitators, and instructors.
Instructors will be a mix of experts from City government, the non-profit sector and the development sector in Baltimore.
Each session will be facilitated by staff from the Department of Planning.
Participants can expect to join a diverse group of community members who want to strengthen their understanding of urban planning and community development. We encourage anyone with an interest improving their neighborhood, community, and Baltimore City to apply. We strongly encourage applicants from communities impacted by historic patterns of disinvestment to apply.
ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING
The Baltimore Planning Academy is a project of the City of Baltimore's Department of Planning. The Department of Planning is the City agency entrusted with guiding the physical development of the City of Baltimore. The Department staffs three Mayoral-appointed City commissions:
■ Planning Commission
■ Commission for Historical & Architectural Preservation (CHAP)
■ Sustainability Commission
You can visit our website for more information about our work.
ABOUT THE EQUITY IN PLANNING COMMITTEE (EIPC)
The Baltimore City Department of Planning defines equity in planning as: “An equitable Baltimore addresses the needs and aspirations of its diverse population and meaningfully engages residents through inclusive and collaborative processes to expand access to power and resources.”
To advance this vision, Department staff established and continue to convene the Equity in Planning Committee (EIPC).
Launched in March of 2015, EIPC is driven by a desire to actively work towards dismantling and remedying the legacy of racial inequity that persists in Baltimore. Developing the Planning Academy was a recommendation of the EIPC's Action Plan in 2016.