Mayor Brandon Scott of Baltimore joins the podcast from Madrid during Bloomberg CityLab to discuss his city's innovative approach to tackling vacant housing and urban violence. Scott, who has served as mayor since December 2020, brings a personal perspective having grown up in Baltimore during the 1980s and 1990s crack epidemic and experiencing the effects of redlining firsthand.

The conversation explores Baltimore's comprehensive strategy to eliminate 16,000 vacant properties over 15 years through coordinated public-private partnerships. Scott details how the city has already reduced vacancies to under 12,000 while simultaneously achieving historic reductions in violent crime - dropping homicides from over 300 annually to 133 through data-driven policing rather than mass arrests.

The discussion covers innovative financing mechanisms including tax increment financing for scattered sites, the role of crime reduction in attracting investment, and Baltimore's positioning as a tech hub leveraging its proximity to Washington DC and world-class universities like Johns Hopkins.

Baltimore's Vacant Housing Crisis: From Redlining to Recovery

Baltimore's 16,000 vacant properties in 2020 represented the same number as in 2000, with locations directly correlating to 1937 redlining maps - 'literally the same neighborhoods' affected by systematic disinvestment.

The city has reduced vacancies to 11,806 through a 15-year comprehensive strategy involving city government, state partnerships, private developers, and community organizations working together.

Maryland's state government now provides $50 million annually for vacant property remediation, representing a crucial capital infusion that previous administrations lacked.

Most vacant properties are privately owned, not city-owned, requiring complex legal processes including citations, court proceedings, and receivership that can take years to complete.

Innovative Financing: TIF for Scattered Vacant Properties

Baltimore pioneered using tax increment financing (TIF) for non-contiguous vacant properties, generating $380 million in applications for $28 million available in the first round.

The scattered-site TIF model targets affordable housing development in historically redlined neighborhoods, with investments mapped to show strategic focus on disinvested areas.

Block-by-block planning determines whether properties should be demolished for parks, renovated for housing, or developed as mixed-income communities based on neighborhood needs and aesthetics.

Crime Reduction as Economic Development Strategy

Baltimore reduced homicides nearly 60% over six years using targeted enforcement - from over 300 annually to 133 - while dramatically reducing arrests from 91,000 to 17,000.

The Group Violence Reduction Strategy uses Bloomberg-funded data analysis to identify likely victims/perpetrators, offering services while threatening focused enforcement - achieving 90%+ success rates.

As referenced in Cop in the Hood, incentivizing arrest numbers rather than crime prevention creates terrible outcomes, which Baltimore avoided through its 'smart on crime' approach.

Developers and businesses previously set specific crime thresholds - 'until you guys get under 300 homicides' - before considering Baltimore investments, making violence reduction crucial for economic development.

The city invested $50 million in community violence intervention programs, paying former participants to prevent conflicts through organizations like Safe Streets.

Baltimore's Economic Positioning and Future Industries

Baltimore leverages its location advantage - 29 minutes by train to DC, 45 minutes to Philadelphia, 2.5 hours to New York - without DC-level costs for businesses.

The city attracted $600 million in tech capital investment over recent years, building on Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland research infrastructure.

Core industries remain the Port of Baltimore (highlighted during the Key Bridge collapse), healthcare/research institutions, tourism, and growing tech sector focused on defense contractors near Fort Meade.

Mayor Scott emphasizes preventing displacement through programs like 'Buy Back the Block' that convert renters paying more than mortgage costs into homeowners.