Among the factors contributing to the ocean of vacant rowhouses in Baltimore is a basic problem with their design:

They pose a problem for seniors and others with physical limitations (the bedroom is up a flight of stairs) and they are unfriendly to families as well (not enough bedrooms, small bathrooms, pass-though bedrooms).

What to do?

Baltimore architect Jim Shetler, who ran programs and design for the Patterson Park Development Corporation, has a proposal, described in a recent post on the website Curbed.

“For Shetler’s proposal, the townhomes become horizontally organized modules, rather than vertical units,” writes Curbed’s Julia Cook.

“Lower floors are converted to handicapped-accessible, single-story living spaces, with ramps to doors and recessed entries that offer outdoor space and eyes on the street for the homebound,” she explains. “Family units are split between lower and upper floors: slim, open-plan living and dining areas remain on the ground floor, while a spacious upstairs includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms.”

Shetler, of Trace Architects, developed the concept with associates Heather Hairston and Matthew Campbell. He told Curbed one appeal of the idea is it helps ensure that the mix of people on a given block is diverse.

“It makes a neighborhood more interesting to have people of different ages in it,” says Shetler. “How can you preserve that with these narrow rowhouses? You look at the rowhouse block as a whole and then manipulate it as you want to.”