Make it an indoor prayer garden and spare the houses. They're pretty nice, and Baltimore absolutely does not need decent buildings to disappear. There's way too much crap in the city, yet the good things make the city intriguing enough to stick with it.

It's just more lackluster civic pride by Baltimore's movers and shakers. OTOH, there's always lack of resources as well, as those houses cost $$$ to maintain. This is why I get so exercised over the massive diversion of resources to DC. If some of that stream came to Baltimore, there would be enough money to save those houses and keep them in top condition.