The city of Baltimore has been losing population for seven decades. What made the 38,000-person loss disclosed in the 2020 census so heartbreaking was not just its size--the city had seen bigger, even multiple, losses in previous decades. But Baltimore was the only city on the East Coast to shrink: New York, Boston, Atlanta all expanded. Nearby Philadelphia grew by 4 percent, Washington DC by 17 percent.

What is driving Baltimore’s shrinkage? UB research professor Seema Iyer scrubbed the data. Some blame crime, but she says crime is a symptom of deeper failures: neighborhoods isolated, without social, civic, digital or transportation connections.

Plus, Nneka N'namdi of Fight Blight Bmore discusses why demolishing vacants seldom fixes a neighborhood’s problems.

Explore the Baltimore Community Change Project's research about how neighborhoods evolved from 2010 to 2020. Next week is Baltimore Data Week 2022. Find the schedule of events here.

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