Harlem Park / Lafayette Square Community Safety Plan

                                                                       design boards

In conjunction with the Maryland State HotSpots Program, community organizations in Harlem Park and Lafayette Square in West Baltimore began working together with NDC in 2001 to develop a safety plan for their community.  The focus was to identify Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles that would complement other crime-reduction strategies.

Residents attended workshops to learn about options for lighting, increased casual observation, and community stewardship and presence.  A particularly challenging issue were the numerous "inner block parks" that had been established through an urban renewal effort decades previously.  These had become unkempt and under-used and tended to attract illegal and nuisance activities.  Residents were encouraged to determine which locations they favored improving and how, and which parks they felt might be converted to other uses over the long term.

NDC volunteers prepared a plan of both communities that comprehensively illustrated the intent of the community as expressed in recent master planning workshops as well as Action Steps in order to make progress on their goals.  Residents then focused on how to improve open spaces on the 800 block of North Carey Street to encourage new legitimate users.  Volunteers prepared concepts for a play area and a reflection garden, plans that were helpful in discussions with the Department of Recreation and Parks and private funders.

Project Completion: 2002
Project Location: Harlem Park/Lafayette Square (West Baltimore)  Baltimore, MD
NDC Architect Volunteers: Julie Mair, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health; Marc Epstein, RK&K Engineers; Michael Stover, Design Collective   
Links: "Harlem Park."  Live Baltimore Home Center
"Harlem Park History."  Live Baltimore Home Center
"Odds and Ends: Pretty Fair for a Square."  Monumental City
"Heritage Crossing: Re-Opening the Great Northwest."  Baltimore Inner Space
"Old West Baltimore: Harlem Park/Upton/Sandtown/Druid Heights/Madison Park: National Register of Historic Places - 12/23/2004."  Commission for Historical & Architectural Preservation, Baltimore City
"HABS Records Baltimore's Historic Lafayette Square."  Heritage Matters