In response to the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the deaths of construction workers, state and local officials have developed a rebuild plan costing about $1.7 billion with a completion date in 2028. While the rebuild is critical to the regional economy, the effort must also address the needs of historically neglected neighborhoods served by the bridge that experienced redlining and housing discrimination over the decades.

The bridge and port are drivers of the state economy. It is estimated that about 15,300 jobs are directly tied to the port and an additional 140,000 jobs are associated with the port’s activities. Several of these jobs are likely to be held by residents from neighborhoods such as Turner Station in close proximity to the bridge.

Turner Station was one of the few neighborhoods in which African Americans could settle and purchase homes in the Baltimore area due to segregation and discriminatory practices before and after World War II. Many African American residents found work in the nearby Bethlehem Steel plant. As employment in the plant decreased, residents used the bridge to commute to jobs in other locations.

Now, after the bridge’s collapse, many of their commutes could be considerably longer, imperiling their jobs in some cases. According to media reports, local officials have promised to include communities surrounding the collapsed bridge in recovery planning and rebuilding, but few details have emerged.

This is where the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) should be utilized by city agencies and neighborhood nonprofit organizations in the recovery efforts. Passed in 1977, the CRA requires banks to serve all communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods that experienced redlining or banks’ refusal to serve them. The CRA increases lending in formerly redlined communities by boosting accountability as banks undergo federal exams assessing compliance with the CRA. The exams also consider comments from the general public.

The federal agencies updated CRA in 2023 to make exams more rigorous. One reform was to increase the attention of examiners to redevelopment plans developed by city agencies and local nonprofits. The rebuild of the Key Bridge and surrounding neighborhoods represents a timely opportunity for a bottom-up crafting of a community revitalization plan. The city should engage banks and nonprofits such as Turner Station Conservation Teams to develop plans for financing affordable housing, small business development, easing transportation bottlenecks and job training and retention for local residents.

A plan for Turner Station and similar neighborhoods could be modeled after the Purple Line Coalition that sprung into existence to make sure that light rail development in Silver Spring and College Park benefits surrounding communities. The coalition involves multiple stakeholders ranging from community organizations, national nonprofit intermediaries, foundations and local public agencies. The coalition aims to preserve 17,000 units of affordable housing and assists small businesses with grants and technical assistance.

Baltimore is one of many cities across the country devastated by redlining practices. In the 1930s, the federal government developed city maps that rated neighborhoods by risk. These maps subsequently guided public sector programs as well as banks and mortgage companies.

Sadly, several African American and immigrant neighborhoods were rated as highly risky in large part because of the race and ethnicity of their residents. They subsequently suffered disinvestment, redlining, decay and low levels of lending for decades.

Baltimore native Freddie Gray lived in one of these neighborhoods, which had dilapidated housing stock that contributed to the lead poisoning and cognitive deficits he had — a mixture making him ill-prepared to deal with an encounter with the police that led to his death.

Overcoming this legacy through redoubling the reinvestment of the public and private sectors in neglected neighborhoods should be high on the agenda of Baltimore stakeholders as the Key Bridge rebuild commences.

Josh Silver is a senior fellow at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and is the author of the upcoming book “Ending Redlining through a Community Centered Reform of the Community Reinvestment Act.”