How will Baltimore be transformed in the next 10 years?

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore City leaders are moving forward with their 10-year Downtown RISE initiative – a $6.9 billion effort to revitalize Baltimore's downtown.

"I remember growing up downtown and it used to be the area to come to," said Ervin Jones, with Carpenters Unions Local 197. "There used to always be something downtown. Now you look at downtown and it's dead now.

Dozens of Baltimoreans gathered on Monday at the National Aquarium in the Inner Harbor for the first Downtown RISE engagement session.

Mayor Brandon Scott first announced the initiative last year, which includes adding more transportation, safer streets for pedestrians and better housing, retail and community facilities.

"For me, this is not just a conversation about our downtown," Scott said. "This is a conversation about our entire city and all Baltimoreans."

City leaders took residents through the plan at the session Monday night and gave them opportunities to ask questions and provide feedback.

"Well the most important thing is the pedestrian access for crosswalks and stuff like that," Steven of Otterbein said.

Longtime Baltimore residents told WJZ they are looking forward to changes downtown, especially since the plans for a redesigned Inner Harbor and the Red Line project have been announced.

"I personally miss when I first moved here having so many places to go particularly the Inner Harbor," Baltimore resident Emma Stokes said.

The city will be seeking community input from residents for the next six months. The next engagement session is scheduled for September.

The entire 10-year plan is posted here .