Programs & Initiatives | Baltimore City

Clean Corps

A Mayoral initiative funded by ARPA, Clean Corps works in partnership with 16 neighborhoods and five Baltimore-based nonprofits to hire un- and under-employed Baltimore residents to clean and mow community-selected vacant lots, clean community-selected alleys, and empty public trash cans. Baltimore residents can follow the progress of the Clean Corps crews each day by visiting the Clean Corps' service dashboard.

Read more about Clean Corps.

INSPIRE Program

Through 21st Century Schools Initiative, Baltimore City Public Schools, in partnership with the Maryland Stadium Authority, Baltimore City, and the State of Maryland, will be investing nearly one billion dollars to renovate or replace schools over the next several years. The Department of Planning's INSPIRE program (Investing in Neighborhoods and Schools to Promote Improvement, Revitalization, and Excellence) is working to create and implement plans for the area around each of the new or renovated schools.

Sustainable Communities

On November 26, 2012, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Raymond A. Skinner and Maryland Department of Planning Secretary Richard E. Hall announced the designation of Baltimore City under the state's Sustainable Communities Act of 2010. The comprehensive Sustainable Community strategy aims to increase economic, transportation, and housing choices as well as the quality of the local environment.

Casino Local Impact Funds (CLIF) Program

The Casino Local Impact Funds ("CLIF") program is the vehicle by which the City of Baltimore manages the Casino Local Impact Grant ("LIG") funds that accrue annually for the benefit of benefit communities in South Baltimore surrounding the Horseshoe Casino. The state law that authorizes casino gaming in Maryland calls for a portion of revenues to directly benefit communities surrounding each of the casinos. Under that law, these funds may support “infrastructure investments, facilities, public safety, sanitation, economic and community development, including housing, and other public services and investments.”

As is required by Maryland State Code § 9-1A-31, CLIF resources are allocated in consultation with the Local Development Council (LDC), an advisory group appointed by the Mayor to provide community input on how these funds are allocated in South Baltimore.

Pimlico Community Development Authority (PCDA)

PCDA’s original purpose was to allocate Racetrack Impact Funds. Slots legislation gives PCDA an advisory role in determining funding allocations for slots revenue designated for the Park Heights Master Plan area and the surrounding neighborhoods (1-mile radius: Northwest Community Planning Forum SNAP, Liberty-Wabash area, and Coldspring Newton).

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS)

Baltimore Together: A Platform for Inclusive Prosperity serves as Baltimore City’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the next five years. Baltimore Together builds on our city’s strengths, acknowledges its challenges, and identifies a range of steps that will create an inclusive and vibrant economy for all. Baltimore Together offers four key strategies that are critical to achieving the overarching goals listed in the plan:

Work Together: Break down barriers, foster collaboration, and increase efficiency.
Invest in People and Places: Create opportunities for residents through strategic investments.
Build from Strength: Leverage Baltimore’s assets to strengthen the City’s economic future.
Compete to Succeed: Work with partners to address the competitive imbalance and address major challenges.

Transit-Oriented Development

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a development approach that encourages intensifying and inter-mixing land uses (residential, office, retail, and entertainment) around transit stations, integrating public amenities (open spaces and landscaping), and improving the quality of walking and bicycling as alternatives to automobile travel.