People's Waterfront of Baltimore

This is a public performance space in Baltimore's Inner Harbour waterfront on a Sunday afternoon in late September.

The purpose of this posting is to illustrate how the Inner Harbour part of Baltimore's waterfront project works. This map shows most of the Baltimore Harbour. Its scale is about the same size as Waitemata Harbour.

You can see the Inner Harbour area on the map. This is the downtown area which I show in this posting. You can see that pretty much the whole harbour has been developed with dock areas, wharves, and it was the site of heavy industry, manufacturing, power stations, and gas works.

For two centuries this harbor has seen a lot of industrial development. Much of the harbor was the site of polluting activities. That has been changing over the past 50 years. Now - much of the industry has been shut down - and slowly, area by area, the city is changing its waterfront, and redeveloping it. The city has also embarked on an ambitious program to make the harbour environment clean, healthy and alive.

The Inner Harbor area is home to a fleet of classic boats. When it was initially developed major tourist destination facilities were built including museums, aquariums, and other large scale entertainment facilities.

I met with two waterfront planners while I was there, and they described the changing policy approach to the inner harbour waterfront area. They explained that the high-end destinations - costing maybe $5 to $10 per person to visit - and around $50 for a family visit - were not affordable for many Baltimore families. So the Council and other institutions set out to make visiting the Inner Harbour a popular experience that would draw the population of all of Baltimore. Not just tourists.

The waterfront public spaces are wide and free of private activities costing serious money. You can get an ice-cream and a Subway for very little. But you don't need to buy anything, or pay anything, to enjoy it (there are free buses and the Light Rail costs $1.60 no matter how long your trip...).

Young families come down....

Individuals for a walk and a look around and to enjoy the sun...

This small Inner Harbour wharf is about the size of Marsden. Holds that classic clipper. Paved in brick. Lots of open space and places to sit.

And talking about the brick paving, look at this. Families can have their very own brick - along with thousands of other families and donating groups...

This wharf was where you could go and spend serious money. To visit an aquarium, the Tursk submarine, and various other facilities. On the day I was there, this wharf was pretty empty...

There are some wonderful old buildings around the Inner Harbour. Like the Power Station. And bridges inter-connect wharves....

There are plenty of flash restuarants too - so it's not only catering for those on low incomes.

The branding and signage is vigorous and noisy - and so was the music coming from this place...

Save the Planet reads the sign. The Council and Maryland State are right behind heritage conservation and adaptive reuse of buildings.

That Sunday there had been a big game in the Baltimore Stadium. It was easy to see when the game ended. They all came down to enjoy the waterfront. Came by Light Rail some of them.

Safe place for everybody. No hassles.

A picture at every corner, street lights were cool. The glass building encases a forest and is like an enclosed ecosphere. An ambitious project, fun if you like that sort of experience. Something for everyone...

All shapes and sizes...

Just chilling and walking around...

And loving it....

Mixed use development, housing, and other forms of waterfront regeneration are targeted for other areas of the Baltimore Harbour area. But downtown, the Inner Harbour, is a people place, and is public and expansive.

Auckland's equivalent includes Queens Wharf, Queen Elizabeth Square, Quay Street, Princes Wharf, and the Viaduct.

How this integrates with Wynyard Quarter needs careful thought, and how it interconnects with Marsden and Captain Cook and across a pedestrianised Quay Street into Britomart. This is Auckland's downtown "Inner Harbour".