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

Mayor Brandon Scott of Baltimore speaks with the Odd Lots podcast hosts about the city's vacant housing crisis and his administration's efforts to address it. Scott opens by framing the problem as deeply personal — he grew up in Baltimore in the 1980s and 90s, in a neighborhood shaped by racial redlining, deindustrialization, and the drug crisis. He notes that Baltimore is the birthplace of racial redlining, and that the modern vacancy map of the city overlaps almost perfectly with the 1937 redlining map, a pattern locals call the 'black butterfly and white L.'

Scott explains that when he took office in December 2020, Baltimore had roughly 16,000 vacant properties — the same number as in December 2000, despite decades of prior mayoral efforts. He argues that previous administrations were not ineffective per se, but that the core problem was a lack of sustained capital and a multi-term strategic vision. His administration addressed this by building a 15-year community-wide strategy called 'Reframe Baltimore,' developed in partnership with BUILD (a community organizing coalition), the private sector, philanthropists, and community development corporations. Shortly after launching the strategy, Maryland's new governor committed $50 million per year in state funding to the effort.

Scott describes the legal and bureaucratic complexity of reclaiming vacant properties, which are mostly privately owned. The city must issue citations, wait 30 days, escalate fines, issue vacant building notices, and potentially go through receivership in court — a process that previously took 2-3 years but has been shortened through a dedicated court docket. He introduces Baltimore's innovative use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) across non-contiguous areas citywide — a first-of-its-kind application of the tool that skeptics said would fail. The city offered $28 million in TIF financing and received $380 million in applications, proving strong demand for investment in historically disinvested neighborhoods.

Scott emphasizes block-by-block planning as central to the strategy, ensuring that developments match neighborhood aesthetics and needs, and that a mix of housing types — affordable, market rate, homeownership, and senior living — is incorporated. He expresses concern about displacement and gentrification, referencing Washington D.C.'s transformation from 'chocolate city to latte city,' and explains programs like 'Buy Back the Block' to convert renters into homeowners.

On violence reduction, Scott describes a dramatic shift away from mass-arrest policing — noting that in 2004, Baltimore made 91,000 arrests while recording 278 homicides, versus 17,000 arrests and 133 homicides last year. His approach centers on the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), which uses data to identify individuals most likely to be involved in gun violence and offers them services and a warning. Over 90% of participants have not reoffended. The city also invested $50 million in community violence intervention, pursued legal action against irresponsible gun dealers (winning the largest settlement against a gun store in U.S. history), and focused on gun trafficking.

Scott identifies the decline in violence as the single most important factor in attracting private investment back to Baltimore. He also discusses the city's competitive advantages for tech and defense industries — its proximity to Washington D.C. (29 minutes by train), Fort Meade, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Maryland — as well as ongoing revitalization of the Inner Harbor. The conversation closes with Scott recommending Baltimore tourism highlights including Coco's Pub crab cakes, a Black Panther costume exhibit at the Walters Art Gallery, and the Artscape Festival.