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 affordable housing, community gardens, urban farms, parks, playgrounds, trails, green infrastructure, public art, and other beneficial uses.