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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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Lead-Safe Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in New York State
Alice Kreher — Feb 10, 2020
Lead poisoning prevention is an area of hope and opportunity: thousands of individuals could be betterpositioned for success – physically, mentally, and economically – if the right action is pursued. There isscientific, qualitative, and economic support for the RRP rule, and New York State enforcement couldprevent thousands of lead poisoning cases and generate long-term benefits, even without much net cost to the state budget. Ultimately, New York’s children deserve to be …
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Just Transitions in School Food
Jessica Gilbert, Alexandra Schindel, Sarah A. Robert — Oct 18, 2018
This article examines the public school food system in Buffalo, New York, for a just transition (Movement Generation, n. d.). School food programs built on just transition characteristics democratize engagement, decentralize decisionmaking, diversify the economy, decrease consumption, and redistribute resources and power.
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Good Food Purchasing for the Buffalo Public Schools
Jessica Gilbert — Apr 24, 2018
This policy report was drafted by Jessica Gilbert, research associate at PPG and PhD Candidate in the University at Buffalo’s Department of Geography.It provides an initial overview of the current status of school food at Buffalo Public Schools and many of the ongoing school food improvement initiatives. Framed within the Good Food Purchasing Program’s core values (local economies, nutrition, labor, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare), this report documents the …
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Renewing Our Pledge: A Path to Ending Lead Poisoning of Buffalo's Most Vulnerable Citizens
Kent Gardner — Mar 29, 2018
This report provides a comprehensive assessment of lead poisoning data for community stakeholders, decision makers, and funders. The assessment was advised by the WNY Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning and informed by key staff from the City of Buffalo Department of Permits and Inspections and Corporation Counsel, the Erie County Department of Health, and interviews conducted with officials, tenants, landlords, homeowners, nonprofit staff, community leaders, and other stakeholders in Erie …
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500 Cities Project- Local Data for Better Health, Buffalo, NY
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Center for Disease Control and Prevention — Nov 27, 2017
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A Profile of Childhood Obesity in Erie County
United Way of Buffalo and Erie County — Nov 27, 2017
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A Profile of Premature Birth in Erie County
United Way of Buffalo and Erie County — Nov 27, 2017
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State of Play in Western New York
Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation — Nov 27, 2017
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Advancing Health Equity andd Inclusive Growth in Buffalo
PolicyLink, PERE — May 8, 2017
With millions in public and private investments in the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and Governor Cuomo's historic "Buffalo Billion" investment in economic development, the city of Buffalo, New York, is poised for resurgence. As is true in cities and regions across the country, communities of color are growing and buffering overall population loss. But if new investments do not address persistent racial and economic inequities, the city's long-term economic future is at risk.
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Greening the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
Sam Magavern Sep 1, 2015
The Medical Campus is dedicated to improving health, and a sustainable campus will improve the health of the patients, visitors, workers, and neighbors of the campus, as well as that of the general public. Sustainability measures such as improving energy efficiency, promoting healthy transit, and reducing waste will provide long-term cost savings, freeing up dollars for research, treatment, and education. The Campus is well-poised to become a national model for the types of …
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One Region Forward A New Way To Plan For Buffalo Niagara
University at Buffalo Regional Institute — Jul 20, 2015
This document represents the culmination of three years of research, community engagement, partnership building and planning under the banner of One Region Forward. Within the pages of this plan, you will find the major research findings of what the data tells us about where the region is today and expressions of thousands of citizen voices on the direction people in the region want to see Buffalo Niagara go. Proposed strategies and actions, built by a team of 100+ subject matter experts, are …
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The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus: A High Road Strategy to Maximize the Community's Benefit
Open Buffalo — Aug 1, 2013
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (“BNMC”) has become a major hub for private and public investment in Buffalo, an anchor institution that can help improve the quality of life for the whole region. Strategies to maximize the ways that the community benefits from the BNMC development include: Buying goods and services from locally-owned, independent companies, including minority-owned and worker-owned companies; Focusing economic development incentives and subsidies on the …
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Food Environment, Built Environment, and Women's BMI: Evidence from Erie County, New York
Changxing Ma, Pavan Yadav, Li Yin, James Roemmich, Leonard Epstein, Alex Ticoalu, Samina Raja — Apr 20, 2010
The authors present the results of a neighborhood-scaled exploratory study that tests the association of the food environment and the built environment with women’s body mass index (BMI) in Erie County, New York. The proximity of women’s homes to a supermarket relative to a convenience store is associated with lower BMI. A diverse land use mix in a neighborhood is positively associated with women’s BMI, especially when restaurants dominate nonresidential land …
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The Futures Academy Community Garden Project
Center for Urban Studies, UB — Jul 26, 2009
Project Name: Futures Academy Community & Creative Placemaking Initiative This report proposes the creation of the Futures Academy Community Garden in a series of vacant, city-owned parcels across from Buffalo Public School 37.
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The Health Status of the Near East Side Black Community: A Study of the Wellness and Neighborhood Conditions Buffalo, New York
Center for Urban Studies, UB, The Black Leadership Forum, UB Center for Research in Primary Care — Jul 26, 2000
The purpose of this study is to gain insight into black community wellness by examining a number of health, social, economic, cultural, and lifestyle issues that affect the health status of Buffalo’s Near East Side black community.