I lived in Baltimore for a year and a half. Oddly enough, the part of Baltimore I lived in was far safer than, say, Williamsburg where knife attacks and drug-related violence were still commonplace into the late 2000s (and possibly later).
Baltimore's problem isn't the poor blacks. It never was. (Yes, there are some in the drug trade, just as there are some low-income whites in it.) I feel sorry for them, because they've been abandoned by the economy (deindustrialization) and the politicians, and they almost never do any harm to others. Its problem is the whites in the suburbs ("the county") who've basically abandoned the city, going in for July 4th and New Years and an occasional trip to the Aquarium but otherwise avoid never deign to live there (and, therefore, don't pay taxes and leave the city poor despite being in one of the wealthiest states in the country).
I worked in Baltimore at the end of the 1980s, not far from Penn Station. The Monday Sun usually had a handful of murders to report from the weekend, and there was a shooting (not fatal) across the street from our office one day. The reputation for violence may be out of date now, but it was well earned.
Baltimore's disciplined voting habits have given it disproportionate power in the state government. The late William Donald Schaefer appeared to regard Maryland as a life support system for Baltimore, not just when he was mayor but when he was governor. I doubt it will do as well under Hogan who is a) Republican, and b) from Prince Georges County as it did under O'Malley.
But yes, there are perfectly fine parts of Baltimore.
I think part of Baltimore's problem is that the great areas are very close to some not so great areas. You can have houses that have gained 100% in value and walk a couple blocks in the wrong direction and be in a bad area.
Baltimore is also plagued by The Wire. More people than I can count have tried to wax philosophical about Baltimore's problems despite having never stepped a foot there.
Baltimore is actually in the midst of becoming more hipster. There was a reverse flight of poor people to areas in the county when they demolished the high-rise projects and replaced them with single family homes. There are areas downtown that feel more young professional and vibrant with upscale bars and breweries.
Baltimore's problem isn't the poor blacks. It never was. (Yes, there are some in the drug trade, just as there are some low-income whites in it.) I feel sorry for them, because they've been abandoned by the economy (deindustrialization) and the politicians, and they almost never do any harm to others. Its problem is the whites in the suburbs ("the county") who've basically abandoned the city, going in for July 4th and New Years and an occasional trip to the Aquarium but otherwise avoid never deign to live there (and, therefore, don't pay taxes and leave the city poor despite being in one of the wealthiest states in the country).