Suburban revalorization: Residential infill and rehabilitation in Baltimore County’s older suburbs

Abstract

This paper is a critical examination of redevelopment in the older suburbs of Baltimore County, Maryland between 2000 and 2014. Using exploratory spatial analysis techniques and qualitative methods, we identify the location of concentrated forms of suburban redevelopment, capturing incremental changes to single-family suburban homes in the form of residential rehabilitation, and new construction as well as larger-scale infill in the form of single-family subdivisions and apartments. We find that redevelopment among older suburbs is multifaceted, encompassing reinvestment in single-family housing in old elite residential suburban neighborhoods; the replacement of publicly subsidized apartment complexes with market rate, single-family dwellings in formerly industrial suburbs; the replacement of waterfront postwar housing with more expensive structures in formerly industrial suburbs; and the densification of older edge suburban core areas. The local planning regime has been instrumental in the redevelopment process across suburban types. Based on our findings, we suggest that suburban planners take a more active role in considering the potential direct and indirect displacement of low-income residents from redeveloped suburban spaces. This is imperative as inner-ring suburban devalorization occurs and suburban poverty grows.