Reimagine Middle Branch is a $175 million effort that seeks to connect South Baltimore’s working-class communities of color, many cut off from the shoreline by highways and industrial facilities, with parks, trails, housing, commercial development and new community amenities in ways that address the challenges presented by climate change and systemic racism. Brad Rogers is the executive director of the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, a nonprofit created in 2016 to help implement the master plan Afterward. Rogers explained that small things like fixing a broken basketball hoop or replacing a bench with splinters opened up space to talk about creating bigger opportunities, such as bringing a grocery store to the neighborhood or creating kayaking programs and world-class football fields for kids from low-income households. The issues of race, economic development and environment are all interconnected and, in his present position, he said he was striving to invest in projects that turned under-developed real estate such as the Middle Branch shoreline into something attractive for private investment. This, in turn, would put local skills to use and create jobs. Or at least that is the plan. Find the story at the link in our bio, our Stories or the “Links to Latest Posts” highlight on our page. 📸: Aman Azhar / Inside Climate News, Norman Gomlak / The Baltimore Banner