Design for Distancing

The Design for Distancing challenge — organized by the City of Baltimore, the Neighborhood Design Center, Baltimore Development Corporation, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health — called on the city's design and public health communities to scope, develop, and implement interventions to reactivate its main streets and arts districts. Gensler and our partners worked to reimagine the 1700 block of Charles Street and North Avenue to create healthy and safe spaces where local businesses can flourish once again. The design gives small businesses the means to operate outdoors, and to do so safely, in environments that naturally lend themselves to social distancing. Built on 20 volunteers' commitment to showing up in person and sweating through more than 630 hours of work, the Design for Distancing interventions provide tangible economic viability for Baltimore businesses during a crisis.