Buffalo

Urbanists Soak Up Buffalo: PlaceMakers Empty Their Notebooks
Many of you attended CNU in Buffalo last week, but for those of you who couldn't make it, here's a quick collection of a few of the ideas shared.
Buffalo Releases Draft Green Code to Ease Permit Process
Buffalo recently released the draft of its new Green Code, which includes a Land Use Plan, Unified Development Ordinance, Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, Brownfield Opportunity Areas, and Urban Renewal Plans. Mark Sommer reports.

How Well Does Light Rail Attract New Transit Riders?
The answer to the question in the headline is “not very.” Thirty years into the initial experiment, however, light rail has not been the game changer it was hoped to be.

Ranking Freeways Without Futures
The Congress for the New Urbanism releases a Top 10 list highlighting the worst, most ready-to-be-junked urban freeways. New Orleans, Syracuse, and Detroit make the list. Boulevards are a viable and much-needed alternative, says CNU.
America's First Female Architect Finally Receives Recognition
Louise Bethune was a trailblazer in architecture, yet her burial place didn't even bear her name for over a century. Buffalo's industry heavyweights honored her with a memorial marker last month.
Microdevelopers Build a Promising Future Using Buffalo's Past
Buffalo is benefiting from a wave of "microdevelopment" driven by entrepreneurs and young urbanists with a belief in preservation as social activism. By rehabbing vacant properties one at a time they're hoping to turn around a city.
Building on Assets Creates a Better Buffalo
Low interest rates and incentives from the state are helping Buffalo, NY to leverage its waterfront and extraordinary architecture to create a vibrant downtown, with historic preservation and adaptive reuse projects at center stage.
A Remembrance of Louise Blanchard Bethune, America's First Female Architect
Yes, The Atlantic Cities got the date wrong when it chose to celebrate Bethune's birthday last week. But that doesn't mean we can't honor the first American woman known to have worked as a professional architect (born on July 21, 1856).
Innovative Model Expands the Sharing Economy to Underserved Areas
Expanding car and bike share services beyond America's big cities and affluent demographics requires adaptability and old economy technologies. Buffalo CarShare is providing a model for success that even the big boys could learn from.
Buffalo's Passion for Preservation Restores City's Cultural Relevance
Thanks to the Erie Canal, Buffalo was once one of the most prosperous cities in America, with the architectural gems to prove it. The renovation of several historic landmarks is giving the city a reason to be hopeful about its future.

Massive Development Fulfills 30-Year Promise of Buffalo's 'Train to Nowhere'
The development of the $750M Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, which will soon be home to 17,500 employees, is being seen as a catalyst for a culture change in the city towards urban lifestyles oriented around its heretofore underutilized rail system.

This Old House: Ranking America's Oldest Cities
Anyone with an Internet connection can tell you when a city was founded. But after the trauma of urban renewal and suburban flight, how much historic fabric remains? Wendell Cox ranks metropolitan areas by their shares of pre-World War II homes.
Buffalo Dusts Itself Off
After years wasted trying to implement large-scale redevelopment of its formerly industrial waterfront, Buffalo is cleaning up its shores from the ground up, reports Daniel Robison.
Buffalo Zoning Supports Sprawl
David Steel explains how Buffalo's zoning code not only makes it impossible to build the type of neighborhoods people love, but also guarantees that low density development pays less taxes.
A Look at the Country's Worst Municipal Branding Campaigns
Grist has asked its readers to help it compile some of the country's "most craptastic urban rebranding efforts ever." And boy have they delivered.
Highway Removals to Become More Difficult
Following highly publicized urban highway removal success stories like Boston's Big Dig and San Francisco's Embarcadero, Anthony Flint asks whether similar successes will be easy to duplicate.
Buffalo Poised for Success, Says Planner
Buffalo, NY urban planner Chris Hawley is excited about the possibilities for his city, explaining that the Rust Belt infrastructure already in place gives Buffalo a leg up over cities built later in history.
Going Local in Buffalo
Part of Buffalo, New York's decline, writes Amy Kedron, involved a shift from local to non-local ownership of businesses. A movement is afoot to encourage businesses to "Think Local First."
Revitalizing Buffalo's Waterfront
Buffalo, New York is restoring portions of its historic waterfront into a 2-acre, walkable, mixed-use neighborhood.
$1 Homes to Urban Homesteaders in Buffalo
City of Buffalo program has inspired a small and growing movement of "homesteaders" who are buying City-owned houses for one dollar and rehabbing them.
Pagination
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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.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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