The Buffalo Common Council is expected to approve a highly anticipated overhaul of its zoning code. Known commonly as the Buffalo Green Code, city planners tout the new code as deliberately contemporary and progressive.
"The Unified Development Ordinance – better known as the Buffalo Green Code – is expected to pass the Common Council Tuesday, ushering in the first overhaul of the city code in 63 years," reports Mark Sommer.
"In doing so, Buffalo – which began the process back in April 2010 and included over 230 public meetings – will join only Denver and Miami in undertaking such comprehensive reform," according to Sommer. "City planning will now move from a suburban model of development to one considered progressively urban in its approach to green and smart-growth principles."
Sommer goes on to list some of the larger priorities of the new code, including support for walkable neighborhoods, mixed-use developments, the historic character of the city, environmental sustainability, and transit. More specifically, the Buffalo Green Code eliminates minimum parking standards, adjusts frontages for certain types of commercial buildings, and adds street reconfigurations into the planning review process, among other changes.
FULL STORY: Buffalo's zoning code steps into the 21st century
Buffalo's Green Code Signed Into Law
After six years and 242 meetings, Buffalo's Green Code was signed into law Tuesday. The Green Code is the first rewrite of the city's zoning ordinance since 1953, and one of only three citywide form-based codes implemented in North America.
Checking In on the Buffalo Green Code
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown provides insight into one of the nation's most significant planning efforts.
The Pretext Problem: The Pitfalls of Planning While Bargaining
Lots of planning is discretionary. Cities and developers negotiate what builders will do for cities in exchange for the right to build, creating an incentive for bad rules, eroding the public's faith in zoning, and enabling political corruption.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
City Nature Challenge: Explore, Document, and Protect Urban Biodiversity
The City Nature Challenge is a global community science event where participants use the iNaturalist app to document urban biodiversity, contributing valuable data to support conservation and scientific research.
A Lone Voice for Climate: How The Wild Robot Stands Apart in Hollywood
Among this year’s Oscar-nominated films, only The Wild Robot passed the Climate Reality Check, a test measuring climate change representation in storytelling, highlighting the ongoing lack of climate awareness in mainstream Hollywood films.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research