The city of Baltimore, among others in the US, is still suffering heavily from the aftermath of Redlining - a process where systematic racism virtually disapproriated and segregated ethnic minorities via geographic sorting and the synthetic diminishing of property values.
Due to the need for self-preservation within a political system that has lost interest in providing equal access to all of its' participants, violence and substane abuse arose. Along others, the neighborhood of Pigtown transformed (whilst…
The city of Baltimore, among others in the US, is still suffering heavily from the aftermath of Redlining - a process where systematic racism virtually disapproriated and segregated ethnic minorities via geographic sorting and the synthetic diminishing of property values.
Due to the need for self-preservation within a political
system that has lost interest in providing equal access to all
of its' participants, violence and substane abuse arose.
Along others, the neighborhood of Pigtown transformed
(whilst socially strong within itself) into a hostile, dangerous
physical environment, that prohibits a healhy development
and thriving already at a young age.
The local youth is largely stigmatized and deprived. Little
funding and opportunity for self-actualization, in connection
with the negative influence of the environment, creates a
large barrier for the youth to develop into proud, creative
and pro-active adults.
In order to make Baltimore a city that is more just, this
inequality and inequity needs to be minimalized - if not
eliminated.
The ClaimSpace initiative puts the youth of West Baltimore into focus and encourages them to claim their rights to their neighborhood, to their selves and their personal development - so that they have a fair chance.
Lees meerFor decades the black community
had to fight for their right and
acknowledgement. Sadly, these protests
have not been followed by change. A comparison of fotographies of the
Baltimore riots in 1968 (assasination of
Martin Luther King Jr.) and 2015 (killing
of George Floyd).
The aftermath of Redlining in the US
is very visible in the demographics of
Baltimore to this day.
A collection of maps and further data
that reflects the inequality that is still at
hand.
Comparison of funds, taken from the
city of Baltimore budget report – fiscal
year 2019
The people of Baltimore needed to find
a voice. They found this voice in the use
street art, as this is an accessible, public
and open medium. A collection of impressions of how and
where (in Pigtown) the public realm is
claimed by these voicings.
Community-based and private efforts to
raise awareness about and fight against
the troubeling situation in East and
West Baltimore do exist. An impression on how this takes place
in small scale initiatives and widely
published literature.
It is a spiraling inequality:
The youth in East and West Baltimore
are heavily impacted by the deficits in
their upbrining –
underfunded schools, violence on the
streets and police brutality.
And they are aware of that.
And they want change.
