Great Turnout at the Youth Ambassador Training!

Around 30 Buffalonians came out for the Youth Ambassador Training last Thursday at the Innovation Center on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. HKHC Buffalo and the Massachusetts Avenue Project worked with local high school students to plan and run a meeting that prepared young people in Buffalo to participate in the city's Green Code Process.

The training included land use planning activities, including a map activity that allowed the students to design their own city. Students were given a quick crash-course in land use and zoning - then given maps to design a city that they would want to live in.

Other activities included P/P/P - Policy, Program, Project. This activity helped students to understand the difference between the three, and narrowed their focus for what the Green Code meetings would be about.

Finally, students drafted their own talking points for the Green Code meetings. They asked themselves what is good about my neighborhood? What should change? Each student committed to going to at least one meeting, and found partners that were attending the same meeting. Students were able to create an accountability network to motivate and support each other at the meetings.

A big thank you to the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo for supporting the youth training. And thanks to all the great youth that came out! We hope to see all of Buffalo at the Green Code meetings!

Youth Training Announced for Green Code Meetings

The next round of Green Code meetings has been announced! The meetings will take place between Monday, February 28th and Saturday, March 5th. Check out the map to find the meeting closest to you!

HKHC Buffalo has been working closely with its partners to determine the best ways to get Buffalo youth out to the meetings. We have met with many community groups and youth leadership groups - including the Buffalo Public Schools Inter-High Council - to talk about the importance of the youth voice at the Green Code meetings.

Our youth representatives, Adriana and Robert, told us that students will need some help finding their voice around issues of land use and zoning. When we asked how, they responded that a youth-led training could help students find buddies to attend the meeting with, learn about land use and create talking points so they could convey a clear message. We listened.

A free training for Buffalo youth interested in participating in the Green Code meetings will take place this Thursday, February 24th from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. Dinner will be provided to all attendees, and the training is open to middle- and high-school students. The meeting will take place at the Innovation Center at 640 Ellicott Street.

We know school is out this week - and that students are excited for time off and families are relaxing together. We have worked with the youth leaders to make this training fun - and students can count the meeting attendance toward their community service requirement! Plus, participating in the Green Code process is too important to pass up. We need to hear from youth and their families about what they want most out of their city.

RSVP for the training to Erin at 882-5327 or sharkey@mass-ave.org. You can download the flyer here. See you there!

New Active Living Policy in Buffalo!

Active living advocates released
the report Healthy City on
the Great Lakes. The report includes information about the current conditions in Buffalo including current behaviors and perceptions about walking and bicycling. The report is full of information about who we are as a city, what our city looks like for pedestrians and cyclists, and how our policies and neighborhoods either help or hinder our ability to be active. The report also included a list of recommendations that can help the City become more friendly for active living.

The report was created by a team of partners - all of which are members of the HKHC partnership. The team includes Michael Ball (Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.), Justin Booth (Green Options, Buffalo), Kailee Neuner (University at Buffalo), and Samina Raja (University at Buffalo).

Recently, HKHC partners presented the report to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board. The Board drafted a resolution, that was sent to the Common Council, calling on the Council to adopt the Healthy City report as an addendum to the City's comprehensive plan. I am very happy to report that on November 16, 2010, the Buffalo Common Council unanimously voted to adopt the report. The adopted policy "authorizes all future steps to amend the city's comprehensive plan to improve the health and quality of life for Buffalo's residents."

This is a huge win for Buffalo! We should all get on our bikes and go for a celebratory ride! Stay tuned for more good news soon.

Great Youth Turnout at Buffalo Green Code Meetings!

During the week of November 15th, the City of Buffalo held three public meetings to discuss the planning of the new Buffalo Green Code - an overhaul of the existing zoning code and the development of a new land use plan for the city. The meetings were informative and interactive - allowing participants to share information about the places they liked and disliked in the city - giving the planning department and the consultants a good idea about what we value in our city.

There was a great youth turnout! At both the Tuesday and Wednesday meetings, youth 19 and under made up 10% of the participants! Middle school and high school students turned out with friends and family to share their views on what matters most to them.

For now, the consultants will take the information that they heard and continue to work with stakeholders in the community. Another round of public meetings will take place in the spring - we hope to see even more families and youth participating in the next round!

Photos courtesy of Erin Sharkey and the Massachusetts Avenue Project.

2nd Policy Brief released today!

The second policy brief was released today by the HKHC assessment team from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo. This brief outlines the food system in the City of Buffalo.

What is a food system? The food system includes the production of food (farms, gardens, etc.), processing (canning, wrapping, etc.), transporting the food, distribution (grocery stores, corner markets, farmers markets, etc.) and food disposal (waste).

The policy brief also shows what neighborhoods look like around schools in terms of food access - what can students get within a five minute walk from their school?

Check out the policy brief below or download it here!

What is Zoning?

Some of you may be asking yourselves why zoning matters to you. The following is an excerpt from the City of Buffalo's Green Code website:

"A zoning Ordinance is a document containing rules, requirements and standards that guide and direct the use of structures and land, and the form and location of structures in a manner that carries out the policies of the Comprehensive Plan. It determines whether the design and use of neighboring buildings complement each other or conflict with each other. It determines whether the places that people live, work and play are clustered together or separated from each other. It determines the process through which change occurs and whether these changes happen in a manner equally transparent and predictable for the developers of land and residents of the neighborhoods in which they develop."

For those of us interested in health - zoning can support healthy neighborhood design. It can support the inclusion of grocery stores, parks and community centers. On the flip side, it can exclude or limit the number of unhealthy uses like liquor stores and fast food restaurants.

Tonight is the first Green Code meetings - come out and show your support for healthy community planning! Check out the Buffalo Green Code website at www.buffalogreencode.com for location and time information - or see the previous posts! See you tonight!

Buffalo Green Code Meetings this week!

Now is the time to get involved! We have been talking for months about the City of Buffalo's overhaul of the current zoning code. The public participation meetings are happening this week!

You can attend any of the three meetings - doesn't matter where you live - just go to the one that fits best with your schedule.

HKHC has prepared a flyer that helps to explain a bit about the Green Code process. Click here and you can download the flyer!