Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is returning home today after a five-day trip to Madrid, where he shared a global platform with 700 other mayors and policymakers at the Bloomberg CityLab Summit.

The 12th annual event, sponsored by billionaire former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, aims to showcase “city-led solutions across borders that confront urgent shared challenges and . . . turn ambitious ideas into real-world change,” according to a press release.

Scott won applause on Tuesday at a public session touting Baltimore’s success in reducing vacant housing, saying the number of vacants has dropped from 15,672 when he took office in December 2020 to 11,806 this month.

“We’re in it together,” he told the crowd. “Myself, the state government, my governor, Wes Moore, our philanthropic community to include Bloomberg and some other folks, our business community, the Greater Baltimore Committee, but also the actual residents, the most important people, led by BUILD.”

“We’re working block by block by block. We’re talking about a [large] investment and doing very innovative things,” he said to loud applause.

While $50 million in yearly state aid has helped repurpose or raze many abandoned properties, Scott singled out his in-house I-team, underwritten by a $4.2 million Bloomberg grant, as critical to Baltimore’s progress.

“They are not just help us with existing vacants we know of, but understanding where the next vacants may come from, so we can prevent vacants from happening,” he said, sharing the stage with Jaume Collboni, mayor of Barcelona.

No city funds were used for Scott’s trip.

The $6,000 for airfare and hotel accommodations was paid by the Aspen Institute, which co-sponsored the summit, according to Board of Estimates records.

Off to Vegas

Next on the mayor’s itinerary: a jaunt to Las Vegas in mid-May to attend the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) conference and especially the Maryland Party, the premier opportunity for city officeholders and aides to mix with Maryland real estate interests.

Scott and two top aides, J.D. Merrill and Marvin James, will attend meetings in hopes of “developing more commercial and retail opportunities for the City of Baltimore.” Travel for the two aides will cost taxapyers $7,441, while Scott’s trip itinerary has not been disclosed.

A dozen more from the Baltimore Development Corp. the City Council and the mayor’s office are expected to head for Vegas for the three-day conference and the May 18 Maryland Party hosted by a private company headed by Residential Title executive Howard Perlow.