The City of Baltimore has hired a Johns Hopkins astrophysicist to develop a computer program to help identify abandoned buildings and predict which properties are likely to be left vacant in the near future.
Tamás Budavári will apply skills he has used to model the universe to the terrestrial task. The project is intended to aid a $700 million joint state-city plan to demolish and redevelop blighted buildings in Baltimore.
The city has about 60 building inspectors who have identified roughly 17,000 boarded up buildings and vacant land parcels. But city officials suspect that there are about 30,000 unoccupied buildings altogether—many of those currently unidentified.
Budavári will incorporate new sources of data beyond what inspectors report including water, gas, and electric billing records along with where mail is deemed undeliverable. His work may be distributed to other cities via the GovEx network.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Jul 14, 2021
Biden’s infrastructure proposal includes massive investment in school buildings
‘Once in a lifetime opportunity’ to upgrade HVAC and other key systems.
Codes and Standards | Jul 13, 2021
Reluctance to fund maintenance on older condos is a serious problem
Owner associations defer needed work, putting properties at risk.
Codes and Standards | Jul 12, 2021
Regulations on hydrofluorocarbons reduce roof insulation options
Canada, some U.S. states ban HFC blowing agents used in closed-cell foam.
Codes and Standards | Jul 8, 2021
New York City shuts down 322 construction sites for unsafe conditions
Action comes as inspectors visit more than 2,100 sites.
Codes and Standards | Jul 7, 2021
Bechtel, Nautilus partner on sustainable, high-performance data centers
Facilities would use 70% less power for cooling, eliminate consumption of drinking water.
Codes and Standards | Jul 7, 2021
Surfside condo collapse could spur new legislation
Natl. Institute of Standards and Technology is investigating.
Codes and Standards | Jul 7, 2021
Intl. Code Council appoints committees to lead energy code development
One-third of appointees are government regulators.
Codes and Standards | Jul 1, 2021
COVID-19 made payment delays to contractors much worse
Only one in ten companies is always getting paid in full.
Codes and Standards | Jun 30, 2021
New resource for public sector organizations to develop energy data management program
Dept. of Energy document contains more than 30 examples of successful implementations.
Codes and Standards | Jun 29, 2021
Biden China policy may spur more increased U.S. PV manufacturing capacity
Senate bill proposes advanced solar manufacturing production credit.