City November 25, 2009 11:08 AM

Brian Reilly Calls For Ideas

We haven't heard from Commissioner of Economic Development, Permit and Inspection Services Brian Reilly, in some time, but in keeping with his advent of Open Space Action Meetings, he's got another community-driven event in mind. Having been invited by Dennis Galucki to do a lunchtime presentation at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library on the topic "Imagining Buffalo Niagara in the 21st Century," Brian wondered what might result if he tried a slightly different model than a formal lecture.

"After all," Reilly says, "everyone in the room will already be in Buffalo in the 21st century. What do they think about the future they'll be helping create?

So Reilly poses the idea that "if it's true what the Spanish poet Antonio Machado says, 'We make the road by walking,' then...

· What are some interesting steps people in Buffalo are taking today?

· Where might they lead?

Further, since we're a Great Lakes city, Reilly wonders what will happen if he asks others in similar cites to join in.

"So, we want to do an experiment," he says. "We are calling on people from a range of places, people who are living in Buffalo Niagara and beyond, who are thinking about the futures of such Great Lakes cities and people who are doing things right now to build that future to address the question: How might what you are doing today influence our "Imagining Buffalo in the 21st century? Are there new connections being made?  Places being created or re-envisioned? A certain way we view assets?" It goes on and on. 

Reilly invites interested individuals to start the dialogue and join the discussion he started on Facebook or respond to his call for tweets on Twitter. Reilly can also be emailed at brianreilly14 at gmail.com "Or," he says, "comment on my blog, call me at 716.851.4972, fax me at 716.851.4242. Whatever works for you."

If you're going to express yourself on the Internet, try using the hashtag #imagineBuffalo21 so your contributions can be easily searched for online.

With everything he receives by December 4th, Reilly will try to compile a presentation that reflects what people are doing and what that might say for where Buffalo seems to be going in the 21st century, just a decade into it.

Reilly encourages you to join him in person as well.

Tuesday, December 8, at Noon @ Buffalo and Erie County Downtown Public Library

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Comments

19 Comments Leave a comment

al labruna

November 25, 2009 10:16 PM

its all in this: http://books.google.com/books?id=4ZW_dvcbEqUC&dq=home+from+nowhere+reviews&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=wPMNS4_VEoqslAesqoGgBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false

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britannica

November 26, 2009 7:16 AM

Nice call; there is indeed a lot in this book to reflect upon.

Perhaps we could all take up a collection and send Reilly a copy if he has not yet read it. I would like to send a copy to the Mayor as well. :-)

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MRodgers

November 28, 2009 8:52 AM

Thanks for the tip, ordered it.

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Verdan

November 25, 2009 10:50 PM

Imagine 1910, without the belching coal smoke and raw sewage dumped into every stream. Imagine a transit system which has over 1,000 vehicles & a 24-hr schedule. Imagine every daily need being within walking or easy trolley distance, and most of your food being grown within a few miles of your home. That's what the 21st Century could be around here - because unlike the rest of the world, we aren't overpopulated. Even with our "sprawl" in certain towns, we have many surrounding towns which still retain usable farmland and woods.

Purposeful 'un-growth' is what we need, here.

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whatever

November 25, 2009 11:55 PM

There'd need to be growth of about 150,000 people to be at the 1910 level.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Buffalo_NY_historical_population.png

If we imagine 1890, the plan for un-growth would sound about right.

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iluvpitbulls

November 26, 2009 8:50 AM

Comparing the city population to 1910 isnt accurate considering the regions population has since been dispersed over a much larger land area. A better figure to look at would be the county population which is a little under a mil.

The Verdan vision would require restrictions on outward growth(saying no to development in rural areas), infrastructure promoting centralization (hsr/lrt etc.) and incentives to steer growth inward(BERC assistance to start up businesses, infill/rehabs, the hated loft tax credits etc).

The result would be a vibrant, dense city, peaceful suburbs and productive agriculture in the countryside. Sounds like an ideal small-mid sized metro area to me.

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whatever

November 26, 2009 6:21 PM

Yes using 1910 for guidance, or 1890 as I suggested tongue in cheek, probably won't be practical for 2009 and beyond. History marches forward in the city and county.

Outlawing people or businesses from building houses in WNY exurbs would almost always mean they decide to not live in WNY. It won't be able to force them into city.

Getting back to the article, it isn't clear what Brian Reilly is asking for or why. Might it be more useful if he focused on suggestions to improve Buffalo's permits and inspections system? Isn't he in charge of that?

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iluvpitbulls

November 26, 2009 7:22 PM

Nobody said anybody should be forced into the city. Its ashame that you interpret regional planning that way. Growth should be contained, or at least not subsidized, as long as there is plenty of available land in the city and fully developed burbs.

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sho'nuff

November 26, 2009 8:08 PM

We aren't telling them where to live, we are just telling them where they can't live. You don't have to live in the city, but you can't build in the suburbs. Is that how it works?

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iluvpitbulls

November 28, 2009 9:44 AM

If you listen to whatever, you will think I am some kind of car, suburbs hating, granola eating, whale saving nut job that thinks everybody ought to be herded down Bidwell Pkwy @ gunpoint and forced to live in communes. All I want to see is public policy towards planning changed in a way that encourages more efficient use of built up land, centrailization of commercial, industrial activity, and discourages wasteful settlement of rural areas. I think that will discourage abandonment and decline and improve quality of life in struggling areas(many burbs are now "struggling").

You can build in the burbs. Just not in places that require new or expanded infrastructure and or consume farmland or other open space. I find it interseting that the people who gravitate towards sprawlville are the government hating, Chris Lee, Collins adoring self proclaimed fiscal conservative types. Yet their lifestyle is heavily dependant on large public subsidies that pay for the sprawl they create. I guess blowing taxpayer dough is okay when you use OTHER peoples money for your own use and not the other way around.

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KarlMalone

December 2, 2009 8:40 PM

I'm not sure anyone mention you were whale saving. Hopefully the Bills can pick up Michael Vick, and the ole Vick that is, dog.

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whatever

November 26, 2009 8:42 PM

pitbull>"Nobody said anybody should be forced into the city"

As I wrote, "It won't be able to force them into city". If someone wants a house or business to be an exurb or rural setting and the new "restrictions" you mentioned in previous comment don't allow it in WNY, then the resident or business would often move away - not to the city.

From your previous:
pitbull>"require restrictions on outward growth(saying no to development in rural areas)")

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iluvpitbulls

November 27, 2009 5:09 PM

Whatever>"If someone wants a house or business to be an exurb or rural setting and the new "restrictions" you mentioned in previous comment don't allow it in WNY, then the resident or business would often move away - not to the city"

Oh I can just see it now: "Honey, I cant build a house in that cornfield with infrastructure on the public dime. I quit my job, pulled the kids out of school, and packed the wagon for a town that wastes public resources to build a house of my liking."

I would love it if sombody rejected by a growth boundry that we do not have decided to move back to the city but I know that life isnt for everybody. You are leaving out the fact that there are options other than city and exurbs. If someone was banned from building a not needed house in the rural area, he/she would probably move to one of the numerous, built out suburbs in WNY complete with fully functioning existing infrastructure.

Again, not forcing anybody into the city, just forcing them off un-developed land or cutting off public subsidies to un-developed land.

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pwallinder

November 26, 2009 11:57 AM

http://www.ekostaden.com/pdf/vhfolder_malmostad_0308_eng.pdf

Malmo in Sweden invites Buffalo, they have done a complete conversion of a former brownfield along their shoreline, into a completely new ecologically sustainable city district
see link above

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grad94

November 26, 2009 7:27 PM

on my wish list, in no special order...

1. the aforementioned urban growth boundary
2. demolition budget 80% repurposed into a rehabilitation budget
3. a pedestrian engineer with powers & training equal to the traffic engineer
4. parking benefit districts
5. more village self-dissolution, as easy aurora is considering
6. implement smart code already!
7. no more surface parking
8. working water fountains in city hall, and employees who treat that building with respect
9. slash the filing fee for landmark applications
10. health insurance for everyone's domestic partners, not just brian's

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whatever

November 26, 2009 8:53 PM

#2 would endanger lives of people who live near the 1000s of houses that won't be rehabbed and reoccupied. The mayor's focus on demos is much needed - maybe the best thing he's done as mayor. Funding some rehabs is ok, but not to subtract from 5-in-5 (which won't even be enough).

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grad94

November 26, 2009 10:42 PM

"one is hard pressed to find a city or even a neighborhood that was ever regenerated through demolition of vacant buildings." http://citiwire.net/post/1007/

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grad94

November 27, 2009 9:22 PM

oh, and:

11. sidewalk plowing.

everyone is a pedestrian during the 90% of the time that their car is parked, but in buffalo, about 30% of residents do not own cars so they are fulltime pedestrians. nevertheless, those 30% pay to have streets plowed. sidewalks are city property just as much as the streets are but we don't expect individual property owners to keep the streets shoveled. rochester isn't any richer than we are but manages to afford municipal sidewalk plowing. why can't we?

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creighton

November 27, 2009 3:34 PM

I'm fascinated by this idea of returning to the city form of 100+ years ago... mostly because doing so would help to erase the redlining and political backlash that might come from drawing a new map.

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