what would you do with this space?

This is the alleyway behind Attman's Deli in Baltimore.  For those of you who love the delicious eateries in neighborhoods around the Baltimore Harbor, you might also think about what happens to all the food waste from cooking and eating.  In urban neighborhoods, restaurant dumpsters are right next to someone else's back yard.  Try having a leisurely cup of coffee on your deck when rats are crawling around an open dumpster 20 feet away.  Not pretty --


But problems are opportunities wrapped in a challenge. This alleyway is an opportunity to think creatively about what the space in the middle of a block could be like -- functional and beautiful! Who says an alley has to be ugly, smelly, or boring?

One property owner on the block has done a great job renovating a building with beautiful space that is now ready for business -- but to make this space more attractive to new business owners, we need creative ideas about how this alleyway could be transformed into a shared space for people, cars, and dumpsters.  The middle of a mixed use urban block should be designed as much for an outdoor patio dining area in the back of a restaurant as for efficient management of traffic, parking, and garbage.  It should also be a welcome sight for residents looking out their back windows. 

What are your ideas?

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