UB's Town-Gown Study for D'Youville College Wins State Planning Award

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association has announced that "Bridging the Gap," a project for Buffalo's D'Youville College developed by University at Buffalo graduate students studying under Daniel Hess, Ph.D., associate professor of urban and regional planning at UB, has been selected for the chapter's 2009 Outstanding Student Project Award.

The award will be presented Oct. 1 at the organization's annual meeting in Albany.

The 12 graduate students in the studio are candidates for master's degrees in urban planning and have diverse backgrounds in architecture, environmental design, engineering, law and geography. Their studio course with Hess called for them to create a comprehensive plan designed to reinforce the connection of D'Youville College on Buffalo's West Side to its surrounding communities.

They summarized conditions in the West Side neighborhoods, examined implications for the development of vacant land and D'Youville College-owned out-parcels, connected campus planning with neighborhood revitalization plans for the Connecticut Street and Niagara Street corridors and evaluated potential impacts of Peace Bridge reconstruction plans on the D'Youville College campus.

"Most important," says Hess, "they provided vision and direction for the future investment in and development of the campus neighborhood."

Niraj Verma, Ph.D., chair of the UB School's Department of Urban and Regional Planning, says the department is making concerted efforts to insure that its students have opportunities to travel abroad in connection with their academic study, even if only for short periods, to learn about institutional differences in planning processes in different countries.

In August 2008, six of the students in this studio travelled with Hess to Newcastle, England to study how that former industrial center is adapting to a new global economy. The students toured Newcastle University, observing first-hand the university's efforts to reconnect with the community.

During their stay, Hess says the students cited clear parallels between Buffalo and Newcastle, both in their industrial heritage and their struggle to find a new identity. Students examined the role Newcastle University plays in science- and technology-focused economic redevelopment of the city -- information that assisted them in proposing solutions to similar problems when they produced the D'Youville study.

Before leaving the Newcastle, the students presented their impressions and recommendations to representatives from Newcastle University and the City of Newcastle.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.