This program is hosted on Zoom. Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact ndennies@aiabalt.com. If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present a series of 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history.
Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.
The Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition seeks to create a 35-mile world-class network of urban trails that link together the diverse neighborhoods, cultural amenities and outdoor resources that make up the landscape of Baltimore City. The Coalition seeks to fill in the 10 remaining miles to create a connected urban trail network serving all of Baltimore. Incredible opportunities exist to complete this network by repurposing unused railroad corridors, outdated road networks, industrial brownfields, and inaccessible waterfronts into multi-use shared paths which will connect every corner of the city. Participants in this discussion will learn how a coalition of public, private, non-profit, and neighborhood led groups are seeking to turn these barriers in the built environment into community connectors through the Baltimore Greenway Trail Network.
Join us to learn how we are building a coalition as diverse as Baltimore to advance this important project and learn how we have been able to engage with AIA’s Urban Design Committee to bring the power of design thinking to this critical project for Baltimore’s future. As a recent study by EY examined, the potential economic and social benefits of implementing the Greenway will provide a significant economic impact to Baltimore in addition to providing equitable, healthy, low-stress access to open space and reliable transportation, healthy living, and recreation for people of all ages and abilities in every corner of the city. The neighborhoods within a half mile of the Greenway are composed of 58% African-American residents and have a home ownership rate of 48%, which represents similar demographic diversity and home ownership rates to Baltimore. The completed trail will bring economic and social benefits to a wide cross section of Baltimore’s population.
About the Presenters:
Ethan Abbott
Ethan Abbott is the project manager for the Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. A Maryland native, Ethan has always had a strong connection to nature. The local woods and creeks were his playground growing up, which helped foster his love for nature at an early age. Ethan attended Towson University where he majored in Geography and Environmental Planning and minored in Geographic information Systems (GIS). It was here that he turned into his passion into a career path
Prior to joining the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Ethan served as a recreation programmer for the Baltimore City Department of Recreation & Parks. There he championed city-based recreation and exposed Baltimore’s diverse residents to city’s natural features through innovative programming in their local parks, trails and waterways. Ethan previously worked for Baltimore County Department of Public Works, where mixed his planning and GIS background to analyze the county’s urban infrastructure projects. Ethan is proud to be able to use all of his experiences in his current capacity at Rails-to-Trails as Project Manager for the Baltimore Greenway Trail Network, as he advocates for and helps ensure the completion of this 35-mile world class network of connected urban trails.
Jim Brown, ASLA
Jim Brown serves as TrailNation™ Director for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Jim has known the value of trails—connecting people to nature and bringing tangible benefits to local communities—since his first job working in local parks nearly two decades ago. Now, as TrailNation™ Director he continues to put his passions to professional use by providing technical assistance to communities pursuing new trails, managing various capacity building programs within RTC’s suite of TrailNation™ Programs and working with individuals to solve issues related to their favorite trails in regions across the country. Jim co-founded the Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition in 2016.
Previous professional credits include working for the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks and serving as a natural resource management Peace Corps volunteer in rural Tanzania. He holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in landscape architecture, where he was recognized by the Landscape Architecture Foundation as an Olmsted Scholar. He has presented his work at professional and academic conferences including the Council of Educators of Landscape Architecture, American Planning Association, Fabos International Conference on Landscape Architecture, Pro Walk Pro Bike, International Trails Symposium, and the National Recreation and Parks Association conferences.