Buffalo Rising Online

Dec 11th 2008, 10:19am By Huewayne Watson

The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and planning has hopes of leaving its mark throughout the city. Robert G. Shibley, professor of architecture and planning has been the director of the Urban Design Project (UDP) since founding it in 1990. For over ten years, Urban Design Project has teamed together faculty and urban design students with local governments, communities and community-based organizations to serve the communities of the Niagara-Buffalo city-region. The project has recently received four new awards for its work in developing plans for Buffalo’s urban center, waterfront, and Olmsted Park Systems.

The most recent award, The Planning and Analysis Honor for Excellence Award, was received on November 7 in Utica, N.Y. from the New York Upstate Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architecture, for The Olmsted City-The Buffalo Olmsted Park System: Plan for the 21st Century. The plan is set to initiate the restoration of the Buffalo Olmsted Park System, which has been a hallmark of Buffalo since the late 19th century. The historic park system includes six major parks and multiple parkways that provide opportunities for recreational and leisure activities. Their restoration has been a primary goal of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks conservatory since 2004.

On October 31st, the International Economic Development Council awarded the Urban Design Project an Honorable Mention for Neighborhood Development for Queen City Hub: A Regional Action Plan for Downtown Buffalo. The Queen City Hub plan had also received the American Planning Association’s Outstanding Planning Award in 2005.

The Upstate Chapter of the New York State American Planning Association and the Western New York Section of the chapter both awarded the Urban Design Project their Planning Excellence for a Best Practice Awards for Queen City Waterfront, Buffalo Waterfront Corridor Initiative: A Strategic Plan for Transportation Improvements. The initiative was created in-part to revitalize Buffalo’s waterfront neighborhoods and connect them to the water while protecting and repairing the health of the water, land, and wildlife along the waterfront. Shibley has noted that “As a community, Buffalo is committed to making its waterfronts more accessible and environmentally healthy, to reconnecting neighborhoods to our waterfronts and getting best possible economic use from them, and to improving the efficiency of our waterfront transportation corridor and making sure it serves all our other goals.” Considering his expertise and professional experience, Shibley continues to play an integral role in Buffalo’s urban planning and development.

By combining creative vision, collective work, and years of professional experience, the Urban Design Project is sure to leave its mark throughout Buffalo. The project has already made notable contributions to the study of urban design, and continues to be honored for its on-going work.