Currently, there are about 8,000 publicly-owned vacant lots in the city of Buffalo, and most are located on the East side. Instead of allowing the land to lay neglected–a consequence of this issue’s massive scale and the city’s limited resources– the city could use the vacant land it owns on behalf of the public for more equitable, sustainable and just uses, including for affordable housing, community gardens, passive green space, carbon sequestration, parks and …
This policy brief provides information regarding the expansion of NFTA metro-rail services in east-side Buffalo to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
This policy brief offers an overview of the 2020 Census: what it is and why it matters for Western New York.
Buffalo’s housing market faces four severe challenges: affordability, job access, inclusiveness, and quality. Inclusionary zoning is a proven tool for addressing all four issues. Inclusionary zoning asks that when a developer creates new housing units, it reserve a certain percent for affordable housing. Thus, inclusionary zoning leverages the power of the market to create more high-quality affordable housing units, often near job centers and transit lines, and to make …
On December 1, 2015, the City of Buffalo’s Common Council passed a resolution placing a moratorium on the sale of city-owned lots in the Fruit Belt neighborhood. The Fruit Belt includes the area enclosed by Cherry Street, Jefferson Avenue, Best Street, Main Street, Goodell Street, and Michigan Avenue – a neighborhood where the City of Buffalo owns over 200 vacant lots. The City promised not to sell lots to developers until “a duly approved strategic plan” had …