BUFFALO, N.Y. — The public will get a chance to to see the results of University at Buffalo students' and residents' efforts to reimagine the heart of Buffalo's Bailey Green neighborhood.
UB's urban design students have been taking part in play-centric visioning exercises to develop design ideas for 'Bailey Commons'. Those concepts will be revealed at a community event on Saturday from 11 AM until 1 PM at 66 Zenner St. in Buffalo.
'Bailey Commons' is a community-led development that would turn a series of vacant lots between Zenner and Kilhoffer Streets into a mix of open green space, play space, new urban infrastructure and housing.
“Rather than design and present, students have co-created proposals for neighborhood improvements through an intensively collaborative process called placemaking,” says Conrad Kickert, PhD, assistant professor of architecture and urban design in UB's School of Architecture and Planning. “This process invites us not to jump to conclusions, but to listen, engage, play and iteratively create new ideas with community members.”
Saturday's events include student design presentations, a chance to hear from residents who took part in the design process, and a 'skills park' where children can build imaginative structures with real tools and scrap materials.
There will also be healthy food demonstrations, seed planting stations and a toy and bike raffle by the Stop the Violence Coalition.
“Our ultimate aim is to empower community members to take our designs further after the studio ends, and to make a positive, on-the-ground impact through achievable, championed design interventions,” said Kickert.
