Media Advisory: Charting WNY’s next 50 years is topic of workshop, public forum

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Charting a long-range course of planning and action for Buffalo Niagara is no small task.

But that’s what local leaders, University at Buffalo faculty and graduate students and planning scholars from around the world will do as part of a day-long workshop called, “What’s Next for Buffalo Niagara?”

The workshop is set for Oct. 24, with a public forum to follow on Oct. 26.

Questions that will be tackled include:

• How will our region be impacted by climate change?
• How can we respond to profound shifts in labor markets and the nature of work in general?
• What are possible and desirable futures for neighborhoods in the City of Buffalo and beyond?
• What can we do to ensure that the region is efficient, healthy and fair?
• How do we fulfill the promise of democratic governance and solve our most pressing problems?

The workshop and public forum are being hosted by UB’s School of Architecture and Planning and sponsored by former Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello. Interviews with UB participants and Masiello can be arranged through David Hill in UB’s Division of University Communications (davidhil@buffalo.edu).

What: Workshop and public forum titled “What’s Next for Buffalo Niagara?”

Who: Local experts from government, business and nonprofits, University at Buffalo faculty members and graduate students, and planning scholars from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).

When/where:

• Workshop: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, 403 Hayes Hall, UB South Campus.
• Public forum: 6 p.m. on Oct. 26, Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, 153 Franklin St., Buffalo.

Why: The workshop and public forum are taking place as part of the ACSP annual conference in Buffalo. Workshop participants will draft a set of statements about what Buffalo Niagara must do — immediately and over the years to come — to ensure that it continues to thrive in the 21st century. Their work will be presented and discussed during the public forum.