Growing up, I would spend every Friday in the summer going with my grandmother to visit my great grandmother, who lived mere blocks away from the Broadway Market on Sweet Avenue on the East Side. I would hear stories about how when her and my great grandfather bought the house, it was primarily a Polish neighborhood. By high school, I was working at the East Clinton Library, located in Kaisertown, which 100 years ago was primarily made up of German immigrants and in neighboring South Buffalo, which was primarily made up of Irish immigrants. North Buffalo was made up of Italian immigrants. To this day, all around us we can see the influence that these groups had on the food and culture in Western New York and while these areas might not have the same make up that they had a century or even 50 years ago, their impact can be felt nonetheless.
Sadly, over the past 50 years, Buffalo and the surrounding region have been shrinking. As staple factories like Bethlehem Steel left the area, so to0 did the people. Some blame this loss of population on the fact these industries left while others say it’s the taxes or politics. The US Census Bureau has released some preliminary information about the 2020 Census and in that data was some truly remarkable news.
In a tweet, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz stated “GREAT NEWS: For the first time since the 1970 Census, Erie County’s population grew, from 919,040 in 2010 to 954,236 in April of 2020!” In addition, Buffalo saw a 6 percent increase in population, roughly 17,000 people. Erie County was the only county in the Western New York region to experience growth. The towns of Amherst, Lancaster and Hamburg also saw an increase. This increase included large numbers of Asian and Latino groups. This is thanks, in no small part, to Buffalo’s status as a resettlement city for immigrants. Buffalo serves as a home for immigrants from all over southeast Asia including Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Driving through the various neighborhoods in Buffalo, these changes are reflected in the small businesses, like restaurants, retail and more.
Why does this matter though? The fact that the region is seeing growth in the Black, Latino, and Asian communities increases the diversity of the area, something this region sorely needs since it regularly is in the top 20 of most segregated cities in the country; not exactly a badge of honor. Diversity breeds creativity, innovation and most importantly understanding. It inspires empathy in the human condition.
The increase in population also means that region will see an increase in federal funding, money that can be put to good use on any number of projects like schools, infrastructure and more. Buffalo is a melting pot. People have been coming from around the world to begin a new life in the hopes of achieving the American Dream for over a century. As the region’s population continues to grow and evolve, we need to celebrate this!