In the early 1970s, Baltimore initiated a cutting-edge homesteading program. The city turned over properties that were in municipal ownership to citizens committed to living in the dwelling for three years. The homesteader was given a lease for a nominal rent (usually $1 a year) and a twenty-year, federally financed rehab loan at 3% interest.

In principle, this modern-day initiative was not unlike the Homestead Act of 1862 wherein the government gave willing pioneers public land to develop the great open spaces of the West on the condition that the homesteader remain on the land and cultivate it for five years. Labor in exchange for a place to live and a source of livelihood was a well-accepted bartering system at the time, promoting both the settlement of the frontier and the concept of the self-sufficient entrepreneur.

Baltimore ’s program not only illustrated a fundamentally wise approach to the productive reuse of vacant and abandoned properties that ultimately feeds the regeneration of troubled neighborhoods, it also illustrated the City’s ability to be ahead of the curve in finding solutions to nettlesome urban problems. The burning question today is: Is Baltimore ready to be so innovative again?

On the ground, the answer appears to be yes...."

http://www.urbanitebaltimore.com/sub.cfm?issueID=35§ionID=4&articleID=369