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Odd Lots · May 4, 2026 · 49m

How Baltimore's Mayor Is Fighting the City's Vacant Housing Crisis

Brandon Scott, Joe Weisenthal, Tracy Alloway
Show Notes

Since taking office in 2020, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has focused on reducing the city's vacant housing stock. In this episode, recorded at the Bloomberg CityLab conference in Madrid, he discusses how deindustrialization, redlining, and gun violence historically contributed to the crisis, the city's approach to block-by-block redevelopment, and its work matching empty properties with publicly-minded developers. The number of vacant homes has fallen from 16,000 to just over 11,800 under his administration. He also shares why many Baltimore natives are not fans of the TV show The Wire.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Highlights

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Vacant homes fell from 16,000 to 11,800 under Mayor Scott
Since 2020, the number of vacant houses in Baltimore has decreased from about 16,000 to just over 11,800.
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Block-by-block identification of redevelopment opportunities
Baltimore's government uses a data-driven, block-by-block approach to identify where redevelopment will have the most impact and matches projects with publicly-minded developers.
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Baltimore natives aren't huge fans of The Wire
Mayor Scott noted that many Baltimore residents dislike the TV series The Wire because it presents a distorted, stigmatizing picture of the city.
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Editorial

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Deindustrialization, redlining, and gun violence shaped the current housing crisis
Mayor Scott traced Baltimore's vacant housing problem to the long-term effects of deindustrialization, redlining, and gun violence.
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Misc

✧Baltimore natives aren't huge fans of The Wire.
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