Asymmetrical Neighborhood Planning Studio

This studio will focus on the development of a comprehensive neighborhood redevelopment plan for the King Urban Life Neighborhood on Buffalo’s East Side.  In the United States, the neighborhood change process is driven by market forces, the land development industry and a passive government.  Housing is considered a commodity whose quality is determined by market forces and neighborhood amenities are by products of homeowner investment and strategic public sector investments. This market-based approach to neighborhood development has led to neighborhood inequality and uneven metropolitan residential development.  Asymmetrical neighborhood planning pushes back against market-driven residential development by forging transformative plans that aim to override market forces. Students will approach neighborhood planning as a multiple dimensional process that includes physical, social and institutional development, along with mechanism to control operations of the land market.  The overall course product will be a comprehensive neighborhood plan for the King Urban life Neighborhood.