Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative Urban Integrated Field Laboratory

BSEC logo with letters "BSEC" below drawing of city and trees.

The Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC) seeks a new urban research paradigm focused on strengthening all communities across a landscape to achieve economic prosperity and resilience. BSEC emphasizes human health and safety, affordable energy, transportation, clean waterways, functioning infrastructure, and other aspects of urban priorities. As part of BSEC’s approach, an iterative collaborative cycle is adopted. An initial observation and modeling strategy is continuously updated in response to emerging opportunities provided by project partners.

BSEC researchers will address a number of fundamental urban science questions with a view towards increasing urban prosperity and resilience.

BSEC focuses on Baltimore, a metropolitan area that is representative of the multisectoral challenges faced by many midsized industrial cities in the United States, and in particular with eastern “rust belt” cities that face interlinked challenges of aging infrastructure, stagnant populations, increased heat and flood risk, and burdens of air and water pollution.

Photo of downtown Baltimore.

Baltimore. Baltimore is representative of many midsized U.S. industrial cities that face interlinked challenges of aging infrastructure, stagnant populations, increased heat and flood risk, and burdens of air and water pollution.

Participating Institutions

  • Baltimore City Department of Public Works
  • Baltimore City Office of Sustainability
  • Baltimore Climate Resilience Coalition
  • Baltimore Gas and Electric
  • Blue Water Baltimore
  • Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies
  • City University of New York
  • Drexel University
  • John Hopkins University
  • Morgan State University
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Parks and People Foundation
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm
  • Temple X Schools
  • The New Broadway East Neighborhood CDC
  • The Old Goucher Neighborhood Association
  • United States Forest Service
  • University of Maryland–Baltimore County
  • University of Virginia