If you fail to plan, you are certainly planning to fail. This was not the case on Saturday, March 16th, when the Historic Oliver Community Association, formerly Baltimore Oliver Community Association, and its supporters, kicked off its first of three (3) planning town halls for the Oliver community. The purpose of Town Hall #1
was to gather feedback from the community to find out what community stakeholders want and need. This town hall was held at Knox Presbyterian Church located at 1301 N. Eden Street at Preston. The event was well attended, approximately 65 people and 66% were residents. There was a lovely brunch comprised of herbed potatoes, scrambled eggs, chicken and waffles, and fresh fruit, among many other tasty items that the guests could indulge in. The atmosphere was buzzing with enthusiasm and curiosity about the day's impending activities.
Among the attendees, a representative from the Baltimore City Department of Planning, Imani Jasper,
our Eastern District Planner was also present. The various stations that were set up at the town hall were 1-History, Character and Identity, 2-Open Space and Recreation, 3-Housing and Community Development, and 4-Safe Streets and Walkability. The town hall attendees broke off into smaller groups at the various stations. Among the group discussions, there was lively chatter and excitement, as participants eagerly expressed their viewpoints.
Planning Town Hall #2 will report out the top priorities that were expressed by the community in Town Hall #1, and will dig a little deeper to get more specific desires of the community. Similar to the first town hall, residents and stakeholders will break out into small groups at various stations to specify what improvements and transformations they expect to see out of this planning project. Have you registered for April's Town Hall #2, yet? You should! Register here. Town Hall #2 will take place on
Thursday, April 18th, 6-8pm, at Dr. Bernard Harris, Sr., Elementary School, 1400 N. Caroline Street. Town Hall #3, will take place in mid-May, date and location TBD. To stay abreast of the planning project, visit our "plan" page, here.
If you would like to learn more about this project, click here or here. If you would like to get some tips on urban planning and how best to plan our community for better walkability and vibrancy, visit the links below, which can also be found on this site on the "Resources" page under "Planning Principles", here. See you at the next planning Town Hall #2 on April 18th!
Interesting links about urban planning:
Supporters of this project:
Historic Oliver Community Assocciation
