Commercial real estate capital in the restructuring of downtown Baltimore

Abstract

Along with the suburbanization and international division of labor, downtown Baltimore has been declining as a center of commerce in Maryland since the beginning of the 20th century. Government-led interventions have intended to stop vicious cycles of the city towards a despairing state, in the context that deconcentration of service jobs seemed irreversible due to the arrival of an "auto-air-amenity epoch." However, in an uncertain time when the city is undergoing restructuring, commercial real estate capital, playing a determinant role in shaping urban landscape, has contributed significantly to the formation of uneven temporal and spatial urban development. This paper finds that the rising of new premier waterfront locations for offices created by high-order capital precipitates the falling of the old Baltimore CBD, and thereby polarizes downtown Baltimore.