In 2010, Baltimore was selected as one of five cities to participate in the Living Cities Initiative, a three-year effort to address some of the most pressing challenges facing America’s cities. Baltimore will receive up to $19 million in grants, loans, and program-related investments from Living Cities, a funding collaborative of 22 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions, to link transit, physical redevelopment, and employment opportunities in three defined neighborhoods: Station North, the East Baltimore Development area, and the proposed Red Line Transit corridor. The Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers is coordinating the local partnership of the region’s public, private, philanthropic, and nonprofit institutions. This grant allows ABAG to hire a project director prior to the start of Living Cities funding in 2011.