Is it time to bring back Baltimore's "Dollar House" program of the 1970s?

WYPR’s Aaron Henkin — the award-winning producer and host of Out of the Blocks, which ended a nine-year run a few months ago — looked into that question, submitted by listener Tracy Gosson, for a recent episode of Aaron's new podcast, The Maryland Curiosity Bureau.

Aaron joins Tom to discuss the podcast, and in a clip from the Dollar House episode, he talks with Lilly Hyman, a homeowner who bought her house through the city's popular but short-lived Dollar Homesteading Program in 1975, and with others involved with city housing issues, then and now. Their comments suggest that a new program of urban homesteading could be in store for Baltimore, a city still contending with more than 16,000 vacant homes.

You can hear brief excerpts from Aaron Henkin's new "Maryland Curiosity Bureau" podcast on Thursday mornings here on WYPR, during Morning Edition. You can drop Aaron a question of your own. What do you wonder about life in the Baltimore region? You can share your question, vote on what you want Aaron to report on next, and find the podcast on wypr.org/curiosity.

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