Conceived as a response to the thousands of vacant lots that define Baltimore’s landscape, the Baltimore Infill Survey is both a public arts initiative, a public service, a conversation-starter and perhaps part of the personal mission of Gary Kachadourian, longtime visual arts coordinator of the City of Baltimore’s Office of Promotion and the Arts. Seeking to find ways of leveraging what he calls “arguably the city’s largest natural resource”, Gary laid the foundations for the project at the December installment of the Baltimore Design Conversations, an informal monthly gathering of people interested in discussing issues related to design and urban life in Baltimore. The Baltimore Infill Survey provided a means of continuing the conversation and allowing individuals not living in Baltimore to join the discussion. As a service which allows the general public to provide solutions that may not actually be realized, the project underscores the fundamental quality of service: that it is a means to an end and not the end itself. Submissions to the project are still being accepted at: