The National Vacant Properties Campaign, spearheaded by Joe Schilling NVPC Director of Research and Policy, in conjunction with local entities in the Buffalo area have developed a comprehensive report titled "Blue Print Buffalo",addressing the extensive urban blight affecting the city.

Buffalo, one of seven recipients of the NVPC Technical Assistance Demonstration Program has suffered through years of disinvestment and population loss along with current problems such as fraudulent "flipping" (click here for information regarding a documentary on the subject).

The report sets forth four leadership and four policy actions to prevent, abate, reclaim, and reuse vacant and abandoned properties within Buffalo and its surrounding first-tier suburbs.

The four-step action plan includes the following steps:

• Launching a citywide vacant properties initiative.
• Development of a suburban vacant property agenda.
• Creation of an Erie-Buffalo Vacant Properties Coordinating Council to be the vehicle for regional problem solving, ongoing communication and information sharing, and to develop institutional capacities and partnerships.
• Establishment of Buffalo-Niagara as a Vacant Property Living Laboratory  where experts from other parts of the country would help devise policies and projects on revitalization

For additional information, please click on the following links:

Blueprint Buffalo - Policy Brief

Blueprint Buffalo - Action Plan

To view NVPC initiatives in other areas of the country, please  on the following links:

Fee-for-Service

Demonstration Program