UB School of Architecture and Planning Receives Awards

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Two projects of the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning have received awards from the Western New York Section of the American Planning Association (APA).

"Queen City Hub: A Regional Action Plan for Downtown Buffalo," developed by the school for the City of Buffalo, has received the 2004 Outstanding Planning Project for Comprehensive Planning.

"Food for Growth: A Community Food System Plan for Buffalo's West Side" received the 2004 Outstanding Student Project Award.

Both projects also are under consideration for awards from the Upstate New York chapter of the APA.

The Outstanding Planning Project Award went to Robert Shibley, professor of architecture, and a team from the UB Urban Design Project, directed by Shibley, for their multi-year effort involving UB faculty, staff and graduate students, and project partners representing Buffalo Place, Inc. and the City of Buffalo.

"Queen City Hub" provides a specific context for decisions about the development of downtown Buffalo. It defines a vision, key priorities and provides a detailed work plan for their implementation. Detailed information about the project can be found at http://urbandesignproject.ap.buffalo.edu/hub/.

In addition to Shibley, who directed the project, the planning team included professional staff members Bradshaw Hovey and Laura Scarsbrick.

Shibley said the graduate students on the team carried the bulk of the load, however. They are Anirban Adhya of Ann Arbor, Mich.; Steve Watchorn of Niskayana; Marie Carone of Cheektowaga; Jessica Jamroz of Pulaski; Sean Brodefuer of Amherst; Eric Shepherd of New Hope, Minn.; Amy Darin of Grand Island; Justin Steinbeck of Baldwinsville; Kenneth Vail of Williamsville, and Rishawn Sonubi of Buffalo.

Other students who contributed to the effort worked with a visiting Urban Design Assistance Team sponsored by the American Institute of Architects. They include Kevin Casey, Anthony Vallone, Deepali Weyand, Rebecca Martino, Allita Steward, Tim Burke, Kevin White, and Charles Davis.

"The Food for Growth" project, which won the Outstanding Student Award, was the culmination of a Fall 2003 graduate planning studio taught by Samina Raja, assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. It examined the food security system of Buffalo's West Side neighborhood and made recommendations on how it could be improved.

UB students involved in the project are Tangerine Almeida of Bombay, India; Mark Bostaph of Cherry Creek; Mikaela Engert of Rochester; Samuel Gold of Slingerland; Jeanne Leccese of Phoenizville, Pa.; Jordana Maisel of Eggertsville; Anjali Malhotra of New Delhi, India; Joanna Rogalski of Lakeview; Tatiana Vejar of Santiago, Chile; Keigo Yokoyama of Tokyo, Japan, and Lesley Zlatev of Buffalo.

The project was undertaken in collaboration with Buffalo's Massachusetts Street Project headed by Diane Picard,

The 2003 APAWNY Outstanding Student Project Award also went to a graduate studio at UB. Under the direction of Ute Lehrer, assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, students developed the initial phase of a master plan for the future development of the Niagara County Town of Porter that applied the principles of "smart growth" to the town's real economic and growth issues.