the Neighborhood Design Center
Slide 1 of 4

In the 1950’s, a corrugated metal crash barrier was installed to prominently delineate the municipal boundary between Brentwood, a sundown town, and North Brentwood, the county’s first incorporated African American town. Though the laws and popular sentiments have changed, the structure remains.

    • NDC worked closely with community leaders and residents during an 18-month collaborative engagement process to create shared values for placemaking

    • The proposed site plans included interpretive signs, benches, bioretention planters, tree boxes, pervious curb/gutters, and residential streetscape planting, and branched out beyond the street to the adjacent park

    • This phase of work was funded by the Community Design Block Grants (CDBG) program.

    • Designs created during this phase have been used in future phases of work, including receiving Maryland Heritage Areas Authority funding and conducting a public Request for Qualifications to select an artist team to move designs of art at the site of the barrier forward.

    • Collaborations between the towns and arts community resulted in $265K outside funding

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