Vital Signs - Baltimore’s housing
situation isn’t as bleak as federal data suggest
January
28, 2005
By ODETTE T. RAMOS,
Special to the Daily Record
How do we know
we are making progress toward improving housing conditions?
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People who
live, work, play and invest in Baltimore envision a city with homes that are
cared for and well maintained. One of the best ways to know if there is
progress toward this goal is to track the number and percent of vacant homes.
Several recent
articles on the subject have used conflicting statistics regarding vacant homes
in Baltimore. Until a few months ago, the number most often used was 42,000
vacant housing units in Baltimore City.
Reporters
recently claimed there are close to 16,000 vacant properties. The reason for
this shift is not because the housing stock has substantially improved, but
rather that we are using a different, more accurate indicator.
The larger
number, 42,000, comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, which defines a vacant unit
as a housing unit (not a property) that is livable, but empty — perhaps it is
for sale, for rent or the new owners or tenants have yet to move in. Units in
this definition include condominiums, apartments and seasonal housing.
Talk with
anyone in Baltimore, however, and he or she will tell you that a vacant house
is a building (not just a unit) that is unlivable, severely dilapidated, and in
most cases boarded up or exposed to the elements and therefore should be
boarded. These properties typically require extensive renovations or should be
demolished. Using this definition, there are between 15,000 and 17,000 vacant
and abandoned homes in Baltimore City. This definition is the one used by the
Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development to count vacant
and abandoned properties, and the one used in the calculation of one of the
Vital Signs — percent of residential property that is vacant and abandoned.
It is
important to understand the assumptions, definitions, and caveats of the statistic
to make more accurate interpretations of the situation. In this case, what the
Census Bureau and Baltimore City consider in their respective calculations
makes a difference in the interpretation, makes the information more or less
reliable, and ultimately affects the actions that groups want to take.
Since the
Census counts housing units, it is not an accurate representation of vacancy in
Baltimore City. Consider what was happening in Baltimore during the most recent
Census count. Many new condo buildings had just been built in the city, but the
owners had not moved in yet. Even though one would consider the development of
these buildings to be a good sign, the Census considered these new condos to be
vacant units.
The Baltimore
City definition of vacancy is a more accurate representation of what is
happening. The efforts of several neighborhood groups, nonprofits, community
development organizations, city agencies, and others are designed to fight
vacant properties, not just vacant units.
For instance,
in Patterson Park, several strategies are used to buy and renovate homes. Using
Baltimore City’s definition, in the past four years, contrary to an expected
increase, the percent of homes that are vacant and abandoned stabilized around
9 percent and is now beginning to decrease. Using the U.S. Census definition,
we would see no change at all.
That is why it
is important to use indicators that truly reflect the changes we, as a city,
are trying to make.
This is one of
the major criteria for the Vital Signs, Baltimore’s 40 key outcome indicators
that take the pulse of Baltimore neighborhoods over time. Each Vital Sign,
including the percent of residential properties that are vacant and abandoned,
uses the information most relevant and reliable.
To truly
understand the direction in which Baltimore is heading, it is key to understand
the definitions and the interpretations of the indicators, and use those that
are most reliable and reflective of the situation.
Odette T. Ramos,
the executive director of the Baltimore
Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, writes a monthly column for The Daily
Record. The opinions expressed are her own. The alliance tracks city data to
measure progress toward strong neighborhoods, good quality of life, and a
thriving city over time. For access to these trends and other information call
410-235-0944.