| Description: | The Center for Urban Studies is working in partnership with the King Urban Life Center (KULC) and the surrounding neighborhood to create a neighborhood plan to regenerate its “shattered urban design” and bolster the housing market for both the homeowner and renter classes in the target area. During the spring of 2015, a group of graduate students enrolled in Dr. Henry L. Taylor’s Race, Class and Gender course (URP 508) embarked on a semester-long research, data gathering and planning process to create a preliminary neighborhood plan for the KULC neighborhood. By “shattered urban design,” the class was referring to “a neighborhood setting characterized by numerous parcels of vacant (unbuilt) lots, abandoned structures combined with many poorly maintained rental properties.” The work on this project is continuing during the 2015-2016 academic year with funding received from a UB Civic Engagement and Public Policy (CEPP) fellowship grant. One of the limitations during the preliminary planning process was the lack of participation on behalf of the renter population in the neighborhood, which makes up around 50 percent of the residents of the target area. The research being explored through the CEPP grant looks at the challenges faced by low-income renters and homeowners in a shrinking, underdeveloped neighborhood in the City of Buffalo. The primary focus of the research will be on the renter class and how the fate of homeowners is linked to their plight. The secondary focus is to understand how the challenges facing the renter class impact homeowners and the overall viability of the housing market in underdeveloped neighborhoods. The Center for Urban Studies believes the findings of this study will provide insights to the challenges faced in neighborhoods across the city and that the recommendations will map out strategies to assist the renter class, help homeowners, strengthen the housing market in an inner-city community and spur neighborhood development. |
| Project/Activity Leader(s): | Henry L. Taylor, Professor and Director, Center for Urban Studies |
| Unit: | School of Architecture and Planning |
| Department: | Urban and Regional Planning |
| City: | Buffalo |
| State: | NY |
| Country: | United States |
| External Funding: | No |
| Start Date: | 2015-01-26 |
| End Date: | active |
| Internal Partners: | Civic Engagement and Public Policy (CEPP), Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Advancement and Strategic Initiatives |
| External Partners: | King Urban Life Center; neighborhood residents |
| Are UB students involved? | Yes |
