New Orleans. Flint, Michigan. Detroit. St Louis. Newark. Each of these cities experienced more murders per capita in 2012 than Baltimore did. Which means that Baltimore is no longer one of the FBI’s top five deadliest cities. (We’re number six.)
We still have far more than our share of violent crime (though our per capita murder rate has, like Detroit’s, been slightly inflated when compared with cities whose borders have been expanded to include outlying suburban areas ) but looking optimistically toward the future, what will be Baltimore’s “brand” when we are no longer a murder capital?
There are of course long-standing associations — shellfish, lake trout, vacancies — that have been waiting in the wings. But maybe we could dig a little below the surface. Baltimore is the birthplace of the musical genres doom metal and Baltimore club. I guess those are too particular for a city-wide brand, but maybe they could replace all of that War of 1812 stuff.
Any ideas?
