Hey, World! Buffalo is Calling!
A coffee house in one of Buffalo’s many walkable, transit-served neighborhoods
Hey, world! Buffalo is calling! And it wants you to know its steel mills closed down like 30 years ago, the Blizzard of 77 is so yesterday, and the Buffalo wing was invented way back in 1964. Your impressions of Buffalo are so out of date.
This is the 21st century. Buffalo is turning the page. We’re getting wealthier, smarter, and more productive. We’re green and we’re hip. We’re sneaking up on you, world! You have no idea how how cool we are.
Rust Belt cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Minneapolis are actually doing pretty well economically. And you know what else? Rust Belt cities are greener and more sustainable than all the Sun Belt sprawl cities, so we’re probably going to be pretty competitive in the coming years.
Pretty soon, all those Sun Belt cities are going to wish they’d developed in the late 20th century the way Buffalo did in the early 20th century. Buffalo’s mixed-use, compact neighborhoods are still here. We’re reviving them one by one. And unlike the sprawling cities built for the car, Buffalo starts with traditional neighborhoods built for people.
Buffalo is still losing population (10.7% from 2000 to 2010) and poverty is still very high (28.2%). Buffalo is a city of no illusions. We don’t run away from harsh realities, but we also don’t shy away from showcasing our strengths.
Here are some noteworthy economic trends happening in Buffalo today:
Foreign in-migration is climbing. Immigrants are the fastest growing demographic in Buffalo, with a gain of 6,762 foreign-born residents in the City, a 52.6% increase from 2000 to 2009.
Wealth is increasing. Per capita incomes in the region grew by 38.5% from 2000 to 2010, from $27,074 to $37,511, a significantly faster gain than the national per capita increase of 28.2%.
Talent is growing. The region jumped from #33 among the top 100 metros for graduate degree attainment in 2000 to #24 in 2009. This “brain gain” represented an increase of 22,306 graduate degree holders, or an increase in the share of the population with graduate degrees from 9.5% to 12.5%.
The economy is diversifying. The Buffalo metro area lost 43.2% of its manufacturing jobs from 2000 to 2010, a loss of 35,900 positions. Yet the transition to a more resilient, knowledge-intensive economy is taking shape. New engines are driving job growth in the region: life sciences, professional services, leisure and hospitality, education, and finance, among others.
Yes, we’re perfectly aware our city is no Seattle, Boston, or Toronto. Yet things in Buffalo are getting better! We have more work to do, but we’ve made a good running start.
As peak oil and climate change loom on the horizon, we see even more clearly than before that cities that will thrive in the 21st century will be compact, walkable, and transit-served. The thriving cities of the future will have a strong sense of place and provide options for green lifestyles. They will be lively, intense, and diverse. Buffalo starts with strong foundations in each of these categories.
These are some of the trends that may bode well for Buffalo over the long term:
Buffalo remains compact. Buffalo lost 55% of its population from 1950 to 2010, yet is still among the top 20 most compact cities in the United States. With a density of 6,436 people per square mile, Buffalo is more densely populated than Portland, Milwaukee, and Denver, all leading “green” cities.
Walking, cycling, and transit are viable options. Buffalo’s traditional, mixed-use neighborhoods make it possible for commuters to access a range of transportation alternatives. In 2009, 13.1% of Buffalo commuters took transit to work, 6.4% walked, and 1.1% took a bike. These are among the highest rates of non-car commuting in the United States.
Automobile dependency is low. As of 2009, 30.3% of Buffalo households get by without a car, a share of car-free households comparable to Chicago (26.6%) and San Francisco (30.3%). People can get around in Buffalo without relying on an automobile.
When gas is $8/gallon, living in Buffalo will be a luxury. Buffalo is compact, diverse, and connected. Thanks to a new zoning code in the words, we will continue to develop smart and capitalize on our place-based assets. We do have a long way to go. We’re a blue collar town and we understand the meaning of hard work. Work hard we will!
We’re building on an amazing urban legacy, with work by the likes of Olmsted, Richardson, and Bunshaft, that establishes a basis for rebuilding the cool city we once were.
Buffalo is establishing a new aspirational narrative. We’re telling a new story! World, are you listening?
Chris Hawley is an urban planner in Buffalo.
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JustinCredible on Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 2:45pm
Urban Planners twisting statistics once again.
Wealth Increasing???? I thought Buffalo Lost 20k in population? Look at wealth per race? Is it increasing across the board??????
Economy Diversifying??? Loss of manufacturing jobs = people are doing other things? Isn’t the unemployment rate one of the highest in the nation. The only jobs that are diversifying is at the Medical campus
Compact in very few neighborhoods. Take a look a the whole city. Isn’t abandonment rate one of the highest in the nation?
Talent is growing?? With no jobs, Talent is leaving the city. Yeah people get degrees here, that in no way means they are staying.
Auto dependency is low???? This isn’t by choice, this is a forced reality. People can’t afford to own.
No mention of the being in the top 5 in racial segregation?
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BTW nice picture of the BEST place to get a cup a coffee in Buffalo.
And the real benefits aren’t even talked about… Housing cost is Low and Cost of living is cheap.
David Steele in Chicago on Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 4:40pm
Actually Buffalo’s Unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the nation. The economy has diversified with a major, banking, health, and education sector as well as a substantial tourist industry and even a strong piece of manufacturing with auto production.
Wonderous on Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 10:57pm
I tend to think that the reality of Buffalo is somewhere in the middle: the city is faring far better than a lot of people (not on the ground) think and is not as well positioned as the above article might suggest. (There is an overflowing amount of smarmy Buffalove sweeping the city which can be a bit nauseous at points….maybe it is a reaction to the years and years of negativity that has dominated the landscape…who knows.)
Anyway, Buffalo is a great, great city. Tons of assets, from fresh water to fabulous architecture to proximity to Buffalo. However, the political and business “leadership” is horrifically corrupt/ineffective/uninspiring and there is the rather unsavory dynamic of the downstate/upstate NY divide with which to contend.
A lot of good is happening in Buffalo, for sure. Most of it, as this article points out, is happening neighborhood by neighborhood, and is being driven by the people (which might be better in the long run, as the leadership proves time and time again at how incapable it is to provide progressive, intelligent solutions to the city’s problems.)
My main critique about posts like this is that it demonstrates how needy, desperate people are in Buffalo to like the city. Stop announcing how great it is and just be. Proof is in the pudding.
Bob Langfield in Buffalo, NY on Sat, Oct 29, 2011 at 5:12pm
There’s a cheerleading tone to this article, for sure, but the facts speak for themselves. Buffalo clearly can no longer be the subject of Johnny Carson jokes. The economy is diversifying, incomes are growing fast, degree attainment is growing fast, and it’s true: folks can get by in Buffalo without depending on a car (more or less), a major competitive advantage for the city over the long run. These are great signs of progress that deserve to be celebrated.
JustinCredible on Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 11:48am
David,
I always thought Buffalo was more than double the national average in unemployment rate, according to the census. How can that be top?
Tourist industry… .are you kidding me?
I do think Buffalo has a lot of potential. A lot! But the way the author sugar coats all these numbers really makes me sick.
Bob Langfield on Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 4:28pm
Yes, JustinCredible. Buffalo has been one of the most resilient and strongest performers through this recession, growing 9,900 jobs in the past year, growing incomes much faster than the national average, and keeping unemployment levels lower than the national average. That doesn’t mean the city’s challenges have disappeared, but things are getting better (not worse) as this article suggests. Your impressions, like jokes about the Blizzard of 77, are dated.
Jeff in St. Louis on Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 9:59pm
Minneapolis a Rust Belt city? Umm, no, sorry.
Bob Langfield in Buffalo, NY on Wed, Nov 02, 2011 at 8:51pm
Buffalo and Minneapolis were competitors in their primary industries: grain storage and milling. Minneaoplis might be considered “Recovered Rust Belt,” but it is Rust Belt nonetheless.
neb on Mon, Nov 07, 2011 at 10:41am
Great positive article showing the silver lining for a great city.
(I would agree that Minneapolis is not a rustbelt city as the term is largely understood. It may be geographically in the vicinity but it is just too different economically.)
Michael Lewyn in NYC on Wed, Nov 09, 2011 at 2:05pm
Actually, Buffalo’s metro area unemployment rate is well below the national average ( at No. 111, seehttp://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm ).
Of course the central city rate is higher, but that’s true in most metros.
RobBeutner in Western New York on Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 1:52pm
I am lifelong (6th generation) western New Yorker. Yes there are people at this end of the state and everything! I read a comment posted here that the ‘Love Buffalo’ - the current wave is nothing compared to the “We’re talking proud” campaign circa 82-83 - ugh. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jeNULOcTd8). Fortunately this youtube posting does not have the accompanying commercial with people dancing in the streets - groan.
More to the point - Buffalo is *not* perfect; and historically there have been racial undertones (since the founding of the city and the commerce on the canal). My Great-grandparents (on both sides) came from Scotland and Germany and made a life for themselves here. I refer to Western NY as the “shire” - plenty of freshwater and limited threat to quality of life from disasters, aside from the snow.
But Buffalo remains there and I agree - improving. The next step - take down the skyway! It clutters the waterfront and in bad weather winds up being closed anyway.
I was mixed about Buffalo as a kid (I actually grew up in Rochester) - but I have come to love Buffalo for everything that it was, is and I think will be. From Antnonia Pantoja School of excellence where I did my student teaching on the west side to the train station in the forlorn Polonia neighborhood on the east side, I cherish the city.
Fun fact: Kleinhan’s music hall was the space, where in 1901, Dr. Walter Reed first presented his findings to a gathered group of doctors concerning the Egypti mosquito as the vector for transmitting yellow fever. (I just love that fact for some reason). Source: “Walter Reed, A Biography” http://books.google.com/books?id=rfy6AAAAIAAJ&source=gbs_ViewAPI.