Buffalo Rising Online

Perfect, bring a national expert in to talk about the city and make it a fee-based affair, limiting attendance to those with $30 to waste on another out of towner with all the answers. Typical UB sponsored event. So the audience is the wine and cheese crowd, not the grassroots movers and shakers, neighborhood stewards and others who actually accomplish things in Buffalo. Waste of time and someone's $30.

Will the mayor, council and other powers that be attend? How many conferences and talks are held each year about making things better in Buffalo? There's a pensity for talking but until those in positions of leadership embrace change or "shock," new leadership is installed, then these forums are nothing but the conversational version of architectural renderings. Its time for someone to be a leader and institute productive programs and finally make a difference beyond the status quo. Brainstorming is great, but eventually there must be action.

Does Buffalo really want to come back ? I would think we would want to go forward. As for a resurrection, why rebuild what has failed ? We need new language to get us to new perspectives and meaningful change.

For $30 I would rather meet with the people who have already taken the initiative to change this city with condo's, apartments, offices and retail along with the private homeowners investing in neigborhoods, all on their own dime. These are the ones who are doing it, not talking about it.

For $30 I could get a hooker on the East Side and experience blight firsthand, or I could hang out and smoke pot with think ahd his "mover and shaker" crowd he thinks so highly of, or go to this event. I think I go to the Old Pink and get plowed instead.

This is a panel discussion and not just a lecture by Professor Edward L. Glaeser right?. So what if he is an ideologue? He will be just one of four on the panel and they should force him to defend ideas. To invite a sort of anti-buffalo perspective shows that at least somwhere in Buffalo there is an open minded and curious community. $30 is alot of money though. Will it be televised or on the radio?

I agree with simcoe that the poster and the title is too much "build up".

I tend to agree with the notion there should be more free forums for discussion sponsored by UB. I recognize they need to pay the speaker, and get the space for the event, but I can get a lot of good ideas in free web forums (eg BRO, BuffaloPundit and others...). I think you would get more people casually interested to attend for free, and then perhaps get those people more engaged, and connected to others who move things forward. UB has had several speakers downtown of late, but I am very hesitant to pay to go to these events, not ebcause I don't love the city, or want to see it changed, but where does that $$ go? To the city? to non profits? to dveleopment? Negative, Unconventional Urban Rustbelt Pioneers, it mostly goes to an out of towners pocket, and we do enough of that with our taxes.

reflip- you didn't really understand the article, did you?

I for one hope that our inept political leaders shell over the 30 bucks and keep an open mind to what is discussed.

This event will be a big snooze, but I'm going for one reason: so I can ask Mr. Gleaser how it's possible that an educated person could pen such a boldly stupid, arrogant article about Buffalo. Mr Gleaser's insights are so much stale bread; when I read his piece in City Journal I was reminded, unpleasantly, of dozens of editorials and op-eds from the Buffalo News over the past twenty years: nothing new, nothing imaginative, and no respect for the subject.