Baltimore poll says public safety top need for Inner Harbor revival

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor revival still runs through a basic question: can people feel safe enough to stay, walk, eat and spend money there? A new UMBC poll found public safety was the top need residents named for improving the area, with 23% picking it first and 21% saying they did not know.

That finding goes beyond a general anxiety about crime. It is a test of whether the city’s best-known waterfront can again work as Baltimore’s front porch, a place where families, office workers and suburban visitors see enough comfort and activity to make a trip downtown worthwhile. A Baltimore City resident interviewed for the FOX45 report said safety is a big issue and that people cannot walk around there without feeling at least a little scared.

UMBC Poll #8 surveyed 666 Baltimore City adults and 602 Baltimore County adults from April 14 through April 16, 2026. The margins of error were plus or minus 3.8% for city adults and plus or minus 4.0% for county adults. The harbor questions were part of a broader poll that also examined crime, the Francis Scott Key Bridge, immigration enforcement, parks, recreation and community centers, but the Inner Harbor answers stood out because they point to the same barrier downtown leaders have been trying to break: perception.

The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore says it is building on Urban Land Institute recommendations from 2022 to create a downtown that is safe, connected and vibrant. Its 2025 annual report says the city has moved from planning to action, with cleaner and safer streets, stronger support for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and renewed investment in public spaces.

The challenge is that the numbers do not all point in the same direction. The partnership’s April 2026 State of Downtown report says more than 110,000 people show up to work downtown every morning and more than 40,000 call it home. At the same time, office occupancy is down and hotel occupancy has declined. The report says crime is down 14% and homicides are down 47%, evidence that some public-safety measures are improving even as the broader recovery remains uneven.

Harborplace sits at the center of that push. The redevelopment planned by MCB Real Estate is expected to begin construction in fall 2026 and is described as roughly $900 million to $1 billion. The project aims to reconnect residents and visitors to the water with more walkability, green space, restaurants, retail and residential buildings. Harborplace opened in the early 1980s as a signature Inner Harbor festival marketplace and became insolvent in 2019. Nearly four decades after it helped define Baltimore’s tourism image, the site is again a referendum on whether investment, design and visible public safety can translate into real daily use.