Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

Entail In Two Cities: A Comparative Study Of Long Term Leases In Birmingham, England And Baltimore, Maryland 1700-1900, Garrett Power

Faculty Scholarship

Urban planning is often thought of as a conscious collection of governmental choices made as to the shape and social structure of the city. Thoughtful and forward looking public policies are viewed as mapping out the future. Overlooked or understated in this estimation are the less purposeful influences on the urban morphology and city sociology. This paper examines one such influence, land tenure, by taking a comparative look at the residential development of Birmingham, England, and Baltimore, Maryland, between 1700 and 1900. Birmingham and Baltimore both housed their working class populations in densely-packed dwellings with shared party walls. And both …