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Using Publicly-Owned Vacant Land to Advance Sustainability and Equity in Buffalo, New York

Sam Magavern — Feb 24, 2023

The City of Buffalo owns roughly 8,000 vacant lots. Over 3,000 acres of land, these vacant parcels are largely the result of historic discriminatory land policies, which encouraged white flight and left thousands of empty homes vulnerable to demolition. When the dust settled, the City found itself with thousands of vacant lots, many of which it has not sufficiently maintained ever since. Examples from Buffalo and around the nation prove, however, that vacant urban land can be repurposed for …

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Ecovillages in the Rust Belt

Joshua Swiatek — Dec 20, 2021

This policy brief shares information about Ecovillages, provides examples of 4 other Rust Belt cities with Ecovillages (Cleveland OH, Highland Park MI, Ithaca NY, and Gibsonia PA.) and describes the potential for Buffalo to develop one (or more). Ecovillages can address many inequalities in varying ways by greening vacant lots; returning ownership of vacant lots to the community; building green and sustainable communities; promoting economic development; increasing quality of life; and …

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Community Gardens as Urban Greening: Cutting Crime and Improving Wellbeing

Nicole Capozziello — Jan 7, 2021

This policy brief shares vacant land statistics in Buffalo, highlights Philadelphia as a vacant property transformation case study, and makes the case for community gardens as the ideal form of urban greening for Buffalo.

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Community Gardening: Case Studies and Recommendations for the Buffalo Community

Ashton O'Connor — Dec 16, 2020

Community garden networks have had varying degrees of success across the country. Even though community gardening can have a tremendous impact on local communities, health, food access, adjacent property values, and decreasing crime, they have yet to be seen as a legitimate land use by many city governments, including in Buffalo, New York. However, there are a variety of laws, policies, and strategies community organizations have implemented to support the practice of community gardening. This …

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Photobank: Environment Food Interns at MAP - Pt I

Buffalo Commons Photobank — Jan 14, 2020

Guidelines for using photos from the Buffalo Commons Photobank The Buffalo Commons Photobank is an issue-based Photobank for use by our partners and the general public. The purpose of making these photos publicly available is to enhance the work of the social sector in Buffalo-Niagara. We believe that our partners’ work will be more effective when it features high-quality and artistic images for any number of occasions: an event, a fundraiser, a report, etc.

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Photobank: Environment Food Interns at MAP - Pt II

Buffalo Commons Photobank — Jan 14, 2020

Guidelines for using photos from the Buffalo Commons Photobank The Buffalo Commons Photobank is an issue-based Photobank for use by our partners and the general public. The purpose of making these photos publicly available is to enhance the work of the social sector in Buffalo-Niagara. We believe that our partners’ work will be more effective when it features high-quality and artistic images for any number of occasions: an event, a fundraiser, a report, etc.

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Photobank: Environment Food Interns at MAP - Pt III

Buffalo Commons Photobank — Jan 14, 2020

Guidelines for using photos from the Buffalo Commons Photobank The Buffalo Commons Photobank is an issue-based Photobank for use by our partners and the general public. The purpose of making these photos publicly available is to enhance the work of the social sector in Buffalo-Niagara. We believe that our partners’ work will be more effective when it features high-quality and artistic images for any number of occasions: an event, a fundraiser, a report, etc.

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Photobank: Environment Food Interns at MAP - Pt IV

Buffalo Commons Photobank — Jan 14, 2020

Guidelines for using photos from the Buffalo Commons Photobank The Buffalo Commons Photobank is an issue-based Photobank for use by our partners and the general public. The purpose of making these photos publicly available is to enhance the work of the social sector in Buffalo-Niagara. We believe that our partners’ work will be more effective when it features high-quality and artistic images for any number of occasions: an event, a fundraiser, a report, etc.

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Photobank: Environment Food Interns at MAP - Pt V

Buffalo Commons Photobank — Jan 14, 2020

Guidelines for using photos from the Buffalo Commons Photobank The Buffalo Commons Photobank is an issue-based Photobank for use by our partners and the general public. The purpose of making these photos publicly available is to enhance the work of the social sector in Buffalo-Niagara. We believe that our partners’ work will be more effective when it features high-quality and artistic images for any number of occasions: an event, a fundraiser, a report, etc.

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Buffalo’s Outer Harbor: the Right Place for a World-Class Park

Sam Magavern — Sep 23, 2019

Buffalo’s Outer Harbor is a stunning natural area in a remarkable location. This report details the natural, historic, and recreational assets of the Outer Harbor and its connections to nearby parks and trails.

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The Climate Justice Movement in Western New York

Sam Magavern, Lynda Schneekloth — Jul 12, 2017

Although climate change requires an international response and will require national policies and actions, local geographies have to be involved because it that is where the harms are felt.  But how can local and regional areas respond to the climate crisis?  This article offers a story of the emergence of a climate justice movement in Buffalo and Western New York as an example of how one community is addressing climate change and its unequal impacts.

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PUSH Buffalo's Green Development Zone: a Model for New Economy Community Development

Sam Magavern, Skye Hart — Jun 29, 2017

2008 marks the year that PUSH Buffalo founded the Green Development Zone in Buffalo’s West Side. Encompassing 25 square blocks, the Green Development Zone (GDZ) is an area that PUSH is making more environmentally and economically sustainable. PUSH stands for People United for Sustainable Housing, and it is a non-profit corporation that uses a unique combination of community organizing, policy advocacy, and neighborhood redevelopment.  

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Create a Signature Park on the Outer Harbor: Community Agenda Plank Video

UB Media Studies — Jun 27, 2017

In the spring of 2017, students from Professor Dorothea Braemer's class in the UB Media Studies department collaborated with community organizers to create videos on 4 of the 2017 Community Agenda plank issues.

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Massachusetts Avenue Project: Urban Farming and Job Skills for Youth

Rebecca Mize — Apr 1, 2012

Massachusetts Avenue Project (“MAP”) seeks to make food systems more local and inclusive.  MAP nurtures the growth of a diverse and equitable community food system to promote local economic opportunities, access to affordable and nutritious food, and social-change education.  MAP grows fresh produce on its urban farm on the West Side of Buffalo.  Annually, MAP employs roughly 50 at-risk youth to transform the community’s food system.  The programs reflect …

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Front Park's Past and Future

Lawrence Bice — Oct 30, 2011

Front Park is a 26-acre urban park in Buffalo, New York.  The park entrance is located on Porter Avenue.  The park is bounded on the west by interstate 190, on the north by the Peace Bridge truck plaza and on the north by Busti Avenue and the adjacent Columbus Park-Prospect Hill neighborhood.  Front Park is part of Buffalo’s Olmsted park system.  The park system takes its name from its most prominent original designer, Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., a nationally renowned …

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Vacant Lot Greening Options in Buffalo

Robert Grimaldi — Oct 30, 2011

The main goals of PUSH (People United for Sustainable Housing) and its development subsidiary, the Buffalo Neighborhood Stabilization Corporation (BNSC), are to mobilize residents to create strong neighborhoods with quality affordable housing, to expand local hiring opportunities, and to advance economic justice in Buffalo.

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Refugees, Food Insecurity, and Community Gardens

Dorian Rolston — Aug 10, 2011

Nearly nine in ten resettled refugee households endure food insecurity, meaning that they are without “access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.”  Because western New York resettles hundreds of refugees per year, many of them on Buffalo’s west side, we have a unique opportunity to combat refugee food insecurity.

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Greening Buffalo's Vacant Lots

Christopher Szczygiel — Jul 5, 2011

Greening vacant lots is one of the most cost effective ways for Buffalo to improve its neighborhoods.  At a bare minimum, Buffalo can combat blight, raise property values, raise property tax revenue, lower crime rates and improve residents’ quality of life with a simple program to clean up, green up, and maintain vacant lots.  Vacant lots are also prime locations for parks, playgrounds, bike trails, walking paths, community gardens and urban farms.  Greening lots can …

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How City Hall Can Foster the Urban Farming Revolution in Buffalo

Michael Raleigh — Mar 17, 2011

The City of Buffalo has made strides in recent years to make urban farming an accepted use of vacant land.  However, the fact remains that the City is unwilling to “take risks” in this area.  There are a number of policies that restrict the freedom of farmers to get access to land, gain long term land security, grow a diversity of foods (including animals), and sell the food.  In order for farming to really take hold and have a transformative effect on the local food …

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Urban Farming in Buffalo: Economic Development and Climate Change Strategy

Michael Raleigh — Oct 27, 2010

Our food system is heavily industrialized, which means it consumes an incredible amount of resources, including energy derived from burning fossil fuels.  By one estimate, the food system takes 10 calories of energy to produce one calorie of food.  The phrase “eating oil” refers to our use of oil to power the machines that plant seeds, spray pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, spread fertilizer, operate irrigation pumps, till the soil, harvest and process crops, and …

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The Buffalo Olmsted Park System: Plan for the 21st Century

Changxing Ma, Pavan Yadav, Samina Raja Jan 1, 2008

The System Plan for the Buffalo Olmsted Park System is a blueprint for the future of this unique “cultural landscape”.  The Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy, charged with the management and operations of these parks since 2004, initiated an inclusive and comprehensive planning process with the goal of restoring the system and enhancing the parks and parkways in ways that respect their status as important neighborhood, regional, national, and international resources.  The …

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Niagara River Greenway Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (Part I)

Niagara River Greenway Commission — Apr 4, 2007

The Niagara River Greenway is a world-class corridor of places, parks and landscapes that celebrates and interprets our unique natural, cultural, recreational, scenic, and heritage resources and provides access to and connections between these important resources while giving rise to economic opportunities for the region.

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Niagara River Greenway Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (Part II)

Niagara River Greenway Commission — Apr 4, 2007

The Niagara River Greenway is a world-class corridor of places, parks and landscapes that celebrates and interprets our unique natural, cultural, recreational, scenic, and heritage resources and provides access to and connections between these important resources while giving rise to economic opportunities for the region.

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Niagara River Greenway Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (Part III)

Niagara River Greenway Commission — Apr 4, 2007

The Niagara River Greenway is a world-class corridor of places, parks and landscapes that celebrates and interprets our unique natural, cultural, recreational, scenic, and heritage resources and provides access to and connections between these important resources while giving rise to economic opportunities for the region.

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