A rose may be a “rose by any other name”, as Shakespeare writes, but when it comes to communities, the name used to refer to place connects everyone to a sense of identity, history and pride. So creating the label for communities in Baltimore on the maps and in the datasets is a very important task.  

What are Community Statistical Areas? 

First established in 2000, BNIA-JFI uses Community Statistical Areas (CSAs), which are comprised of multiple neighborhoods, to track and report community-based indicators for Baltimore City. For most of those 20 years, the names of the CSAs have not changed, but we know that community names can change over time as cultural norms change, a racialized history comes to light, or as major development projects significantly impact neighborhood fabric. We also know any potential name changes will be important to and impact residents, businesses, students and other stakeholders in the community.  

Community Input 

Over the years, we have heard and collected lots of feedback from community members about potential revisions to the names of the community their data is representing. So we are asking for your input and participation about how your community will be referred to starting 2020 on our website, the Vital Signs datasets, and many other city agencies’ such as the Baltimore City Health Department and the Baltimore City Public Schools System. The survey below is only one way to get involved. If your community would like us to meet with you directly about any potential name changes, please let us know by email [email protected] or online https://bniajfi.org/contact_us/.  We’d be happy to schedule a time to work directly with you to learn more about how we should refer to your community.  

Why Now? 

In preparation for the release of the 2020 Census results in the Fall, our staff is gearing up to provide some of the first glimpses of how our neighborhoods have changed over the past decade. So this is a good time to make any changes because we have a clear moment to distinguish new data from the previous decade.  

Things to Consider 

Consistency in the names can be important so that people can track data for their community across each decade. So if we don’t have a compelling reason to change a CSA name, we do recommended to keep them unchanged. However, here are some criteria to use for recommending a name change:  

  1. Original name from 2000 isn’t so great: No one refers to Greektown as East Highlandtown!  
  1. Neighborhood names have changes: The Claremont-Freedom area is now called Orchard Ridge 
  1. Communities have requested a correction: The neighborhood of Pigtown is proud of its name, so no need to refer to it as Washington Village 
  1. Names are so long they are hard to fit on a map: For anyone who needs to annotate a map for presentation purposes, those long names are hard to fit on the page

Communities Recommended for Name Change 

  • Change from “Claremont/Armistead” to “Orchard Ridge/Armistead“  -   This community includes: Armistead Gardens, and Claremont-Freedom (now Orchard Ridge) 
  • Change from “Greenmount East” to ”Oliver/Johnston Square“  -   This community includes: Greenmount Cemetery, Johnston Square, Oliver 
  • Change from “Medfield/Hampden/Woodberry/Remington” to ”Medfield/Hampden/Remington“  –  This community includes: Hampden, Hoes Heights, Jones Falls Area, Medfield, Remington, Woodberry, and Wyman Park 
  • Change from “Midtown” to ”Midtown/Bolton Hill“   -  This community includes: Bolton Hill, Charles North, Greenmount West, Mid-Town Belvedere, Mount Vernon 
  • Change from “Oldtown/Middle East” to ”Oldtown/Eager Park“  -   This community includes: Dunbar-Broadway, Gay Street, Middle East (now Eager Park), Oldtown, Penn-Fallsway, Pleasant View Gardens, CARE 
  • Change from “Orangeville/East Highlandtown” to ”Greektown/Bayview“  -   This community includes: Greektown, Orangeville, Eastwood, Joseph Lee , Kresson, Baltimore Highlands, Hopkins Bayview, Bayview, Orangeville Industrial Area, Pulaski Industrial Area 
  • Change from “Poppleton/The Terraces/Hollins Market” to ”Poppleton/Hollins Market“  -   This community includes: Hollins Market, Poppleton 
  • Change from “Southwest Baltimore” to ”Carrollton Ridge/Franklin Square“  -   This community includes: Booth-Boyd, Carrollton Ridge, Franklin Square, Millhill, Penrose/Fayette Street Outreach, Shipley Hill, Union Square, New Southwest/Mt. Clare 
  • Change from “Washington Village/Pigtown” to ”Pigtown/Carroll Park“  -   This community includes: Barre Circle, Carroll Park, Caroll-Camden Industrial Area, Washington Village/Pigtown

Let us know what you want your CSA to be called! This survey should take you about 10 minutes or less to respond.  

Take the Survey Today!