From vacant to viable

From Vacant to Viable:

Reusing abandoned land to build resilience

From Vacant to Viable:

Reusing abandoned land to build resilience A GRADUATE URBAN ECOLOGY STUDIO University at Buffalo, School of Architecture & Planning

Andrew Abbey • Lauren Darcy • Casey Gordon • David Riley Darnell Rivera • Dhwani Shah • Will Siegner • Eric Tocco • Corey Winters

Professor: Zoé Hamstead Teaching Assistant: Wenjie ji

School of Architecture and Planning // Hayes Hall, University at Buffalo, South Campus // Buffalo, New York // 14214

TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

i

ABSTRACT

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INTRODUCTION

1

Project Foundation

1

Underutilized Land in Buffalo

2

Report Structure

3

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

6

LOCAL PLANNING FRAMEWORK

8

OUR APPROACH

12

Technical

12

Ecological

22

Social

31

INTEGRATED ANALYSIS & FIELD STUDIES

45

Solar Demonstration Intervention (S+T)

45

Publicly - Accessible Green Space Intervention (E+S)

49

Technical - Ecological Intervention (T+E)

51

Solar Demonstration and Publicly - Accessible Green Space Intervention (SETs)

52

LIMITATIONS

55

RECOMMENDATIONS

57

CONCLUSION & NEXT STEPS

65

REFERENCES

67

APPENDICES

71

CONTRIBUTIONS

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Acknowlegements

Many people generously supported this project with their time, expertise and assistance.

We thank Ryan A. McPherson, Chief Sustainability Officer for the University at Buffalo (UB), for his guidance and enthusiasm for our work. We are grateful to Bianca Shaw, Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water (RENEW) Institute Fellow, for her input and her help securing data that was critical to this project. Brian W. Conley, GIS Research Analyst, and Bart Roberts, Associate Director of Research and Faculty Engagement at UB Regional Institute (UBRI), were also tremendously helpful in providing data.

For their valuable feedback, we also thank Julie Barrett O’Neill, Green Program Director at the Buffalo Sewer Authority; Nicholas Rajkovich and Martha Bohm, Assistant Professors of Architecture at UB; Amit Goyal, Director of the RENEW Institute; Susan Clark, Policy and Planning Specialist at the RENEW Institute; Thomas Yearke, Scientific Programmer with the Center for Computational Research (CCR); L. Shawn Matott, Computational Scientist with CCR; and Jason Kulaszewski at UBRI.

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Abstract

Climate change is a “wicked problem� with potential to disrupt infrastructure, natural environments, economic systems and social structures. Effective responses require understanding the interdependent nature of these systems. One such theory of urban ecology emphasizes the integration of social, ecological and technical systems (SETs) to foster urban resilience to environmental and socio-economic disturbances. We adopted the SETs framework to perform an exploratory analysis of the suitability of vacant land to produce solar power in the city of Buffalo, NY. Our analysis supported a University at Buffalo (UB)-led proposal to locally generate 100 megawatts of solar power by 2020 to mitigate climate change and foster energy independence. We performed a geographic information system (GIS)-based, multi-criteria analysis to identify multi-functioning interventions that could serve social, ecological and technical goals such as generating power, managing storm water and building social capital. Our approach yielded a ranked inventory of more than 17,000 parcels and highlighted several opportunities for integrated projects. These included a neighborhood-based solar kitchen, a publicly accessible solar park with restored waterfront habitat, and large solar arrays integrated with biodiverse plantings. We recommend that the University build on our findings by pursuing the integration of social and ecological uses on sites developed for solar production to foster greater urban resilience in Buffalo. More broadly, this project serves as a proof of concept for the SETs framework as an approach to develop responses to climate change.

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Introduction

This project examined the potential of the more than 17,000 vacant parcels in the City of Buffalo to foster urban resilience – the city’s capacity to withstand or adapt to environmental and socio-economic disturbances (Collier et al., 2013). The project was rooted in a University at Buffalo (UB)-led initiative to produce 100 megawatts of locally generated solar power by 2020 (University at Buffalo, 2016). The initiative is part of a broader statewide strategy, Renewing the Energy Vision (REV), to prepare for and mitigate the effects of climate change by expanding the use of renewable energy sources in New York and modernizing energy infrastructure to better withstand disruption from severe weather events (“Reforming the Energy Vision (REV),” n.d.). Our role was to assist UB’s Office of Sustainability by exploring opportunities for potential ground and rooftop solar installations on underutilized land within the city.

Our approach was based on an emerging theory of urban ecology that emphasizes the integration of social, ecological and technical systems to foster greater resilience in urban environments (Meerow, Newell & Stults, 2015). This approach is particularly helpful in framing responses to climate change, a “wicked problem” of such complexity and scale that it has the potential to cause wide-ranging disruptions to Page 1

infrastructure, natural environments, economic systems and social structures (Termeer, Dewulf, Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, Vink, & van Vliet, 2013).

Developing effective responses to such challenges requires conceptual frameworks that recognize and develop solutions based upon the interdependent nature of the systems that make up urban places (McPhearson, Haase, Kabisch, & Gren, 2016).

Thus, we examined opportunities for producing energy on vacant land while also serving ecological and social goals. These goals included ecological restoration, creating green space in underserved communities, and building social capital in city neighborhoods.

Our approach of exploring the potential for multi functionality helped us to highlight potential synergies, or sites that could serve multiple goals. This framework also helped us to identify tradeoffs, where achieving one goal might require compromising another. Our final recommendations point out opportunities to advance the university’s solar objectives through projects that also integrate ecological and social interventions – an approach that can build Buffalo’s capacity for resilience.

Project Foundation.

In May 2016, a UB-led proposal was named one of three winners of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s statewide Energy to Lead competition. The winners, including the UBled team, will receive a $1 million award to advance clean energy projects (Hill, 2016).

The contest was part of the REV Campus Challenge, a state initiative designed to support clean energy projects at state

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university and college campuses (University at Buffalo, 2016). Sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the campus challenge is one component of Gov. Cuomo’s broader REV strategy, which sets several energy targets for New York State by 2030: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent from 1990 levels, obtain half the state’s electricity from renewable sources, and reduce energy consumption 23 percent from 2012 levels (“Reforming the Energy Vision (REV),” n.d.).

The university has also set a goal to become climate neutral by 2030 (Hill, 2016).

of more than 5,000 vacant or abandoned buildings in Buffalo as of April 2015 (EPA, 2016), 16 percent of housing units in the city are considered vacant (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). Vacant parcels often are concentrated in neighborhoods with high racial and ethnic minority populations, with some of the highest poverty and unemployment rates in Buffalo (Yin & Silverman, 2015). In addition to vacant residential land, Buffalo has numerous former industrial sites along its waterfront and rail corridors that are underutilized and in some cases classified as brownfields (City of Buffalo Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning, 2016).

The local Energy to Lead plan set a goal for UB and its partners - including Buffalo State College, Erie Community College and the City of Buffalo - to obtain 25 percent of their energy from renewable sources. The partners hope to achieve this through renewable energy purchase agreements (REPAs) and the siting of solar panels on vacant parcels, public facilities and participating campuses. The latter portion of the plan calls for manufacturing and producing 100 megawatts of solar power in Buffalo, which would be installed in the city’s urban core by workers from Western New York. We were asked to assist the project by performing an exploratory screening analysis of parcels that could be suitable for solar energy production. In addition to solar feasibility, the Energy to Lead proposal suggested that neighborhood engagement and ecological sensitivity should be considered as criteria (University at Buffalo, 2016).

Adaptive reuses can help to address both vacancy and other significant challenges in Buffalo. In addition to generating solar power, projects that improve stormwater management could help to mitigate combined sewer overflows into area waterways. The Buffalo Sewer Authority (BSA) has made significant investments and developed a longterm control plan to address this problem (BSA, 2014). There also is clear evidence that redeveloping vacant parcels can provide social benefits to distressed and high-poverty neighborhoods by stabilizing property values, reducing crime, eliminating health risks and stimulating investment (Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2014). This is an important consideration in a city where one in three residents lives below the poverty line (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015).

In some cases, adaptive reuses of vacant parcels discussed in this report may necessarily be temporary. If economic conditions in high-vacancy Buffalo neighborhoods were to improve in the future and create market opportunities that do not exist today, then underutilized land may become desirable for residential or commercial development. Németh and Langhorst argue in favor of a temporary and flexible approach to vacant land redevelopment, rooted in the present (2013). The authors write that this

Underutilized land in Buffalo.

Although vacant parcels are a significant challenge for the City of Buffalo and other Rust Belt cities, they also present opportunities for adaptive reuses. Buffalo’s population has declined 40 percent since 1950, largely because of suburbanization and the loss of industrial employers (Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2016). Even after the demolition Page 2

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encourages the testing of more realistic and pragmatic improvements to vacant land, rather than waiting indefinitely for more “permanent� solutions to materialize (2013). The City of Cleveland suggested a similar approach in its 2008 strategy for redeveloping vacant land; it described solar fields as a potential interim use that could be relocated if more desirable redevelopment options were to emerge (Cleveland Land Lab, 2008).

Report structure.

In the subsequent section, we provide an overview of the conceptual framework on which our work was based. We then identify local plans that provided context and additional framing for our analysis. We also explain our process for analyzing vacant parcels, including the development of goals, proposed interventions and criteria. Detailed methodologies are described for separate analyses of parcels from technical, ecological and social perspectives. Each method includes case precedents, descriptions of criteria and data sources, explanations of data transformations and initial case studies of sites that were highly suitable for specific goals.

We then explain our process for integrating these findings into proposals for interventions that would serve two or more goals across technical, ecological and social systems.

We offer specific recommendations for integrated interventions on five parcels in the City of Buffalo. Finally, we examine potential limitations of our analysis, as well as options for next steps for the overall solar project.

Solar Strand, University at Buffalo Photo Credit: Zoe Hamstead

Studio site visit Photo Credit: Maryanne Schultz

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Figure 1: Vacant parcels Page 4

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Figure 2: Density of vacant parcels Page 5

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Conceptual Framework

Our study was based in theories of resilience and regenerative urban design, both of which draw heavily from studies of urban ecology. Urban ecologists address interactions across ecological and social systems that impact coupled built-natural environments. In the past, planners intellectually separated the built environment from the natural environment, fundamentally separating social and ecological systems from one another and treating them independently. This view has shifted as it has become increasingly understood that social and ecological systems interact with one another in ways that have crucial impacts on the resiliency of cities. Urban ecology now looks at humans as part of ecosystems, seeing cities as ecosystems themselves, and the interdependence of ecological and social processes (Meerow et al., 2016).

Taking this interaction seriously requires a different way of designing. Building from the idea that the built environment and social systems are part of a greater urban ecosystem, our cities should be designed to work with the natural environment rather than isolated from or against it. Regenerative design has been positioned as a third horizon of sustainability.

This practice “consciously repairs a degraded environment while integrating urban systems Page 6

to meet human needs” (Thomas & Newman, 2016). Proponents of regenerative urban design argue that the way in which urban systems are designed must be fundamentally rethought. Given the uncertainty associated with planetary boundaries, it is not enough to simply alter current practices to be less harmful or produce close to net-zero impacts on the environment. Rather, regenerative strategies should produce net positive impacts which include but are not limited to citizen participation in decisions about land uses, enhanced ecosystem services and surplus clean energy (World Future Council, n.d.).

Adaptive reuses of vacant land are an opportunity for piloting regenerative designs and practices. These sites can be productive by generating energy, providing ecosystem services and building social capital (Kremer & Hamstead, 2015). Vacant land not only presents opportunities for production but can also be used temporarily for experimentation (Burkholder, 2012). Such adaptive reuses and regenerative designs are important for building resiliency in the face of climate change. Its impacts are so potentially wide-ranging and unpredictable that resilience planning requires us to abandon the concept of “fail-safe” solutions and design interventions that are adaptable to unprecedented and abrupt changes (Ahern, 2011). This involves both proactive and reactive capacities (Lu & Stead, 2012) and experimental approaches that foster opportunities to learn new methods of intervention, or

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can be adapted if results are not as expected (Ahern, 2011).

Building resilience requires understanding complex social and ecological interactions in urban ecosystems. Resilience planning, thus, has taken on a multi-dimensioned approach which includes social and ecological systems as well as infrastructure (Ahern, 2011).

In recognition of the systems interactions and need for multi-functionality, the Social-Ecological-Technological, or SETs framework has emerged as a way of organizing this multi-dimensional study (UREx Sustainability Research Network, n.d.). Rather than optimizing for a specific goal, this framework integrates social, ecological and technical systems to develop multi-functioning solutions which consider the multi-dimensional nature of climate change.

Drawing on such adaptive reuses of vacant land for building resiliency, we adopted the SETs framework to consider strategies for building resiliency across social, ecological and technical systems. We explored the question of where to produce solar energy in the city of Buffalo from multiple dimensions with the understanding that a more informed decision and effective intervention comes from multiple considerations. Interventions which build social capacity, ecological capacity and produce renewable energy are more resilient because they use resources more efficiently to achieve multiple goals and avoid myopic pitfalls of maximizing a narrow set of objectives. For instance, developing attractive green infrastructure interventions absent affordable housing programs could lead to green gentrification, pushing low-income residents out of communities with few alternative residential options.

It is important to take these overlapping needs seriously and find ways to provide for each.

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Social, ecological and technical domains impact one another in ways that need to be explicitly addressed in resilience planning. We sought to address each domain – both separately, and in an integrated way. Socially, we explored how vacant land can be leveraged for educational opportunities around renewable energy and public open space. Ecologically, we looked at how vacant land could be leveraged to enhance ecosystem services such as stormwater management and repair the environment by dedicating land to habitat restoration. Technically, we examined the potential for sites to produce solar energy. These three dimensions were then integrated to explore possibilities for synergistic uses of the vacant land as well as potential tradeoffs involved in these land use decisions.

Figure 3: Social, ecological, and technical (SETs) analysis framework (Corey Winters. Adapted from Grimm, N. & C. Redman)

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Local Planning Framework

State, regional and local plans provide a strong framework for redeveloping vacant land in Buffalo, as well as expanding renewable energy production, restoring ecological systems, and fostering public education about solar power. We sought to align our project goals within these existing planning frameworks.

One Region Forward: A New Way to Plan for Buffalo Niagara.

This 2015 plan discusses the future of energy in the Buffalo-Niagara region, which includes embracing solar power and other new technologies, pushing for expanded state funding for renewable energy, and encouraging local governments to streamline the permitting process for clean energy installations. Vacant parcels in the City of Buffalo have potential not only to produce power, but also to serve as education and engagement tools centered on renewable energy (University at Buffalo Regional Institute, 2014).

Western New York Sustainability Plan.

The Western New York Sustainability Plan calls for increasing renewable energy

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production in this region of the state, including the installation of solar panels in both new and existing developments (Western New York Regional Planning Consortium, 2013, p.

45). The plan also describes a need for public education about sustainable energy uses, citing the UB Solar Strand as an example of a demonstration project that serves as an outdoor classroom for both university and K-12 students (2013, p. 46).

Buffalo Green Code.

The Green Code is a newly adopted unified zoning ordinance (UDO) for the City of Buffalo. It describes vacant land as a potential asset for increasing vitality in neighborhoods.

In areas where at least 60 percent of properties are vacant or distressed, the Green Code proposes a strategy of “transformation” to convert vacant parcels into “open space reserves” used to manage stormwater, grow trees or food, or produce energy (City of Buffalo Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning, 2016). This builds on past efforts, including Mayor Byron Brown’s “5 in 5” Demolition Plan, which called in 2006 for reducing the city’s vacancy rate to 5 percent within five years (City of Buffalo, 2007).

The Green Code also provides guidance on solar energy production in the city, providing for three zones that allow photovoltaic installations without prior approval, and four more that allow solar farms with a special permit (City of Buffalo Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning, 2016). Solar generation also is permitted as an accessory use in areas covered by the Waterfront Revitalization plan (City of Buffalo Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning, 2015).

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Waterfront and greenway plans.

The Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (LWRP) was finalized in 2015 as part of the Green Code and is the strongest articulation of waterfront goals for the city. Â The plan expands New York State coastal policies to include planning frameworks used in Buffalo. It is designed around goals that deal with creating water-enhanced places to foster economic development, as well as restoring Lake Erie watershed habitat. The Local Waterfront Revitalization Area (LWRA) includes the Lake Erie Waterfront, Buffalo River and Scajaquada Creek.

The LWRP is to some extent a culmination of waterway planning efforts that have been under way since 1998, when the City of Buffalo compiled a Greenway Implementation Plan for developing and funding projects that would create recreation opportunities along the waterfront. The City’s overall vision was of a series of greenway trails connecting natural resources at the waterfront to each other and enhancing recreational opportunities for residents. Secondarily, the system was intended to act as a riparian buffer, protecting the water from pollutants in runoff.

The ideas set out in this early document have been incorporated into subsequent plans including the 2006 Comprehensive Plan, a Buffalo River Greenway Implementation Plan in 2006 and the LWRP.

On a regional scale, the Niagara Greenway Plan also creates a framework for developing a corridor of ecological, recreational, economic and historic significance connecting Lakes Ontario and Erie along the Niagara River. Increasingly, visions for these connected landscapes include intentional and managed habitat restoration areas.

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Five Cities Energy Plan.

Buffalo was one of five cities included in a master energy plan developed by the New York Power Authority to reduce energy use (New York Power Authority, 2015). The plan is closely linked to the REV. Buffalo’s energy plan emphasizes wider deployment of solar PV systems to generate electricity, as well as using the Green Code to promote renewable energy projects (New York Power Authority, 2015, p. 52). Strategies include identifying opportunities to deploy renewable energy on city properties, supporting residential-scale solar energy systems, launching community solar programs and exploring ways to redevelop privately owned brownfields for renewable energy generation.

Fruit Belt Neighborhood Solar Initiative.

National Grid is working on a REV demonstration project in Buffalo’s Fruit Belt neighborhood to install 100 residential rooftop solar photovoltaic systems (UB, 2016). The project is intended to ease barriers that prevent low- and moderate-income customers from participating in the solar market. The initiative will test whether providing solar bill credits to participants will yield cost savings that help them to better manage their energy bills, and whether deploying solar PV systems within an area served by a single substation will relieve demand on the grid system. The overarching purpose is to experiment with the potential for using the same approach across similar communities (National Grid, 2016).

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Our Approach

Using the SETs resilience framework, we developed three separate analyses to determine how vacant land should be utilized from technical, ecological and social dimensions, respectively. For each dimension, we began by identifying goals based on case precedent research, review of the local planning framework and input from project partners. Based on these goals, we identified interventions, or actions which could meet the identified goals. We then associated a specific set of criteria with each potential intervention to evaluate the suitability of vacant parcels for meeting our goals. We constructed variables to measure these criteria, and used them to conduct a quantitative geographic information system (GIS)-based analysis for each intervention.

After deriving initial results for each intervention, we identified integrated interventions that combined multiple goals.

For example, solar demonstration sites meet both technical and social goals, and publiclyaccessible green space serves both social and ecological goals. Based on integrated interventions, we conducted additional GISbased analysis to evaluate which parcels are suitable to meet multiple goals. This allowed us to determine candidate parcels Page 12

for multi-functioning interventions. Finally, we conducted field studies for top ranking sites to ground-truth our findings, consider site-specific recommendations and explore possibilities for multiple uses.

Technical Analysis Rationale Exploring the suitability of vacant land to generate solar power was a fundamental component of this project. Our work was rooted in the UB-led proposal to New York State’s Energy to Lead competition to produce 100 megawatts of locally-generated solar energy by 2020. UB’s Office of Sustainability, which authored this proposal, and partners including the Buffalo Sewer Authority were among our primary stakeholders. Committed to address the consequences of climate change and become energy independent, the University aims to become climate neutral by 2030 (UB, 2016, p. 4). UB’s efforts come against a backdrop of broader state strategies to reduce energy use and shift to renewable fuels, including the REV and a directive from Governor Cuomo for all state agencies and authorities to cut energy use 20 percent from a 2010-11 baseline by 2020 (“No. 88: Directing State Agencies and Authorities to Improve the Energy Efficiency of State Buildings,” 2012).

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The Energy to Lead proposal emphasizes that a portion of the 100-megawatt goal should be reached through the decentralized production of solar power on “numerous long-term vacant properties,” as well as city infrastructure and participating campus facilities (UB, 2016, p.

5). This approach aligns with an emerging vision of renewable energy produced at the neighborhood and community scale, with an emphasis on public access, participation and engagement at production sites (UB, 2016, p. 5). Other Rust Belt cities have considered similar approaches to underutilized parcels, with solar power production described as both a potential interim option and a longer-term use (Cleveland Land Lab, 2008; Detroit Future City, 2012).

Accomplishing the vision of the Energy to Lead proposal requires careful consideration of both technical and financial feasibility. First, it is necessary to identify sites with technical capacity to produce solar power sufficient to meet the 100-megawatt goal. Second, UB’s application identifies five categories of costs anticipated in the project’s development: initial exploration and planning, assessment of rooftops and sites, selection of a vendor for constructing solar installations, site preparation and installation, and the operation and ongoing assessment of solar facilities (UB, 2016, p. 30). Given the citywide scope of our exploratory analysis, we did not conduct detailed financial analyses for specific sites.

Nevertheless, we identified basic drivers of cost that may serve as proxies for cost-related site considerations, including proximity to electrical substations which could reduce the cost and increase efficiency of power transmission (Zoghi et al., 2015; McKinney, 2014).

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Based on local planning frameworks, case precedents and input from stakeholders, we identified two goals for our technical analysis: to maximize potential solar energy produced on vacant parcels, and to minimize costs associated with the installation of infrastructure and transmission of energy.

Goal 1: Maximize potential solar energy production Goal 2: Minimize costs associated with installation and transmission

The UB Solar Strand on the university’s North Campus offers an example of serving the goal of both maximizing solar production and social engagement. The 750-kilowatt installation is one of the largest publicly accessible ground solar arrays in New York State. The site is flat and open, with panels oriented toward the southern plane – characteristics that are highly suitable for solar power production (McKinney, 2014; Zoghi et al., 2015). The site is located close to university infrastructure, including roads and the power grid that the installation supplies. The Solar Strand also serves as a public engagement tool and a piece of public art while it generates power.

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Case Precedents Site location and ownership are important criteria for maximizing production and minimizing costs for a solar installation.

Studies conducted in North Carolina and Cleveland, Ohio found that vacant parcels, university and city-owned properties, parking lots and railroad corridors were particularly suitable for solar installation (City of Cleveland, 2015; Gagnon et al., 2016). In general, it is easier to negotiate access to publicly-owned sites than parcels owned by private individuals or corporations (City of Cleveland, 2015).

Larger sites are more suitable for maximizing solar production as they have higher capacity for producing power while reducing the overall cost of installation in relation to the amount of energy generated (McKinney, 2014). With respect to rooftop installations, studies in Mumbai, India (Singh & Banerjee, 2015) and Cleveland, Ohio (City of Cleveland, 2015) recommended publicly-owned structures with large building footprints and minimal roof slopes for rooftop solar installations.

Certain suitability criteria apply to both ground and solar installations, including slope, aspect, shade and insolation. More specifically, a slope of less than 2 degrees and 60 degrees is recommended for ground and rooftop installations, respectively, for easy installation and maintenance (Cornwall Council, 2012; Gagnon et al., 2016; McKinney, 2014). Aspect, or the downslope direction of the site, is measured from 0 degrees (due north) to 360 degrees (due north). A southern aspect of 180 degrees is widely accepted as most suitable for maximum exposure to the sun (Zoghi et al., 2015; Sanchez-Lozano et al., 2013). Sites with limited shade (caused either by topography or tree canopy) are also more suitable for solar generation (Gagnon et al., 2016; McKinney, Page 14

2014). Insolation describes the amount of solar radiation that a site receives per unit area for a defined period of time, and greater levels of potential insolation are more suitable for energy production (Gagnon et al., 2016).

Flood zones, historic districts and brownfields are also critical considerations for siting ground-mounted solar installations.

Areas outside floodplains are more suitable because they are less susceptible to flood damage. We considered historic districts less suitable for power generation because stricter land use and building regulations can render solar installations infeasible in these areas (City of Cleveland, 2015; SanchezLozano et al., 2013). Brownfields are in some cases more suitable (Cornwall Council, 2012) because solar panels can be installed with minimal disruption to ground surfaces or caps placed to seal contamination (Sampson, 2009). State and federal agencies also offer financial incentives for brownfield remediation and redevelopment. One local example is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Brownfield Opportunity Area program, which provides municipalities and community organizations up to 90 percent of the project cost to complete revitalization plans, implementation strategies and site assessments (DEC, n.d.).

Area of the site and proximity to existing electrical infrastructure (including power substations, power lines and transportation networks) are particularly important for controlling solar field installation cost and efficiency. Larger sites are more suitable because they allow maximum energy production (Sampson, 2009) and lower overall installation costs. Sanchez-Lozano et al. (2013) concluded that an area of 1,000 m2 should be considered as the minimum for high-energy

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output. For rooftops, a minimum size of 10 m2 was recommended for a 1.5-kilowatt system (Gagnon et al., 2016).

Finally, proximity to existing electrical infrastructure – including power substations, power lines and transportation networks – is another important criterion to be considered.

Being closer to a transportation system reduces the costs of moving material and increases ease of access for installation, maintenance and repairs. For both ground and rooftop systems, a shorter distance from infrastructure is preferred for lower costs and efficiency of power transmission (Zoghi et al, 2015; McKinney, 2014).

Methodology

We established two potential interventions to meet our goals: groundmounted solar installations and rooftop installations. We considered ground solar on vacant and university parcels, as well as railroad corridor parcels. We examined only parcels larger than 10 m in order to generate at least 1.5 kilowatts per parcel (Gagnon, et al., 2016). For rooftops, we considered only cityowned buildings due to limited availability of data for privately-owned structures.

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Intervention 1: Ground-mounted solar Intervention 2: Rooftop solar

To measure suitability, we used case precedents to develop criteria, and constructed variables from available spatiallyexplicit data to measure our criteria. We also performed scenario analyses in which we adjusted weighting applied to the variables based on feedback from project partners about the relative importance of the criteria.

More specifically, we ran scenarios in which all variables were weighted equally, and scenarios in which we considered parcel size, proximity to substations and brownfield status to be more important. Finally, we identified a subset of parcels that were most suitable in each scenario, and conducted field studies to ground-truth our analysis and derive more detailed information about the neighborhood context of the lots.

Figure 4: Land aspect

Figure 5: Technical analysis process Page 15

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Our criteria for maximizing energy output focused on identifying suitable site conditions. These included slope, aspect, insolation, shade, area, flood zones and locations in historic districts. We derived slope, aspect, insolation and hillshade layers from a 2013 USGS digital elevation model (DEM).

Using the ESRI ArcGIS Area Solar Radiation tool, we calculated insolation at half-hour intervals over a 14-hour duration on the summer and winter solstices, and the fall and spring equinoxes (Gagnon et al., 2016). fig 3 To derive hillshade, or a layer displaying the hypothetical illumination of a surface, we used data from the U.S. Naval Observatory for June 21, 2017, to estimate the angle of the sun at 14:00 at an altitude of 68.6 with an azimuth of 207.8. As an additional measure of shade, we obtained a tree canopy layer of 2011 from a U.S. Forest Service raster dataset, which measured percentages of land obscured by trees at a spatial resolution of 30 m. Using a 100-year floodplain layer, we identified lots that were within flood zones. We used data from the National Park Service and New York State Historic Preservation Office to identify federally and state-identified historic districts.

Figure 6: Insolation at half-hour intervals over a 14-hour duration on the summer and winter solstice, and fall and spring equinoxes

Criteria for our goal of reducing the cost of installation and transmission focused on access to existing electrical infrastructure and opportunities to access financing for redeveloping vacant land. These criteria included distance to electrical substations and sites identified as brownfields. We selected substation parcels from an Erie County parcel layer. We then converted these parcels to point features to calculate their distances from the nearest substation. We obtained brownfield remediation data from the DEC. Figure 7: Historic district areas and vacant parcels Page 16

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Our analysis of ground solar suitability examined all of the criteria described above, while the rooftop analysis considered only area, insolation, hillshade, historic districts, and proximity to substations. Relevant parcels were identified using a layer of Erie County parcels and a layer of city-owned rooftops provided by the City’s Department of Public Works.

After constructing the variables, we assigned values for slope, aspect, insolation, hillshade and tree canopy to every parcel in Buffalo identified either as vacant, universityowned or within a railroad corridor. These variables were constructed as raster data at a spatial resolution of 9m. In order to derive variable values at the parcel level, we calculated the mean value of the raster cells contained within each parcel. We measured the Euclidean distance of each parcel to the nearest substation. Finally, we overlaid the Erie County parcel with flood zones, historic districts and brownfield maps. We applied a value of 0, indicating least suitability, to parcels within flood zones and historic districts, and a value of 1, indicating highest possible suitability, to parcels identified as brownfields.

Figure 8: Vacant brownfields

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To calculate the final suitability score for each parcel, we first normalized all criteria values to a scale between 0 and 1. To rescale aspect values, we used fuzzy set theory, which indicates varying degrees of suitability rather than a dichotomous value of suitable (1) or unsuitable (0) (Jiang & Eastman, 2000). Specifically, we used Gaussian membership to identify 180 degrees, or due south, as the most suitable aspect value, with all other values above and below 180 degrees considered less suitable. For area values, we removed a set of outliers – two lots that were more than twice the size of the next largest parcels – before normalizing. The two lots were assigned values of 1, while all other lots were scaled from 0-1.

Figure 9: Distance from existing substations

Figure 10: Normalized distances from substations for vacant parcels

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For both interventions, the final suitability score (normalized between 0 and 1) was calculated as the sum of all normalized variables, according to the equations below.

T = [ w(T) + w(H) + w(Sr) + w(S) + w(B) + w(A) + w(F) + w(As) + w(Sub) + w(Hd) ] / n S1

T = [ w(A) + w(Hd) + w(Sr) + w(Sub) + w(H) ] / n S2

Where: T = Parcel Suitability for Solar Fields Intervention S1

T = Parcel Suitability for Rooftop Solar Intervention S2

A = Area of Parcel (m ) 2

Hd = Historic District (presence/absence of historic district overlay with parcel) Sr = Solar Insolation (potential watt hours per square meter (WH/m2) produced on parcel) Sub = Substation Distance (distance between parcel and nearest substation in meters) H = Hillshade (average degree of shade from 0-255 on parcel) S = Slope (mean degree on parcel) B = Brownfield (presence/absence of brownfield on the parcel) As = Aspect (mean compass bearing in degrees) T = Tree Canopy (percent of parcel covered by tree canopy) F = Floodplain (presence/absence of 100 year floodplain overlay with the parcel) n = number of variables w = weight applied to variable

Based on feedback from stakeholders, we also ran a scenario that applied more weight to the area, brownfield status and substation distance criteria, an approach that tended to favor larger parcels. We also ran a scenario that placed greater weight on proximity to four National Grid electrical substations at 1744 Seneca Street, 807 Perry Street, 439 Best Street and 596 Ohio Street in South Buffalo. The utility has planned capital improvements for these substations due to a need for load relief. These substations were identified in consultation with National Grid.

Appendix B provides descriptive statistics for each criterion variable. Appendix C provides a ranking of the top 100 most suitable sites.

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Field studies

Abby Street

Each technical scenario identified a large number of highly suitable parcels spread across Buffalo. Our unweighted scenario yielded high suitability ratings for larger parcels in north and south Buffalo. The weighted scenario identified sites in similar sections of the city, but the area criterion appeared to drive especially high scores for the largest parcels. The scenario that applied heavier weights to sites in proximity to four electrical substations identified a number of suitable parcels in north, south and northwest Buffalo. Our rooftop scenario largely identified suitable buildings clustered around downtown, but a building in northwest Buffalo received the single highest rating.

308 and 310 Abby Street received the highest rankings in our suitability analysis that placed more weight on area, brownfield status and substation distance criteria. These two lots are adjacent to each other and together comprise 346,910 m (86 acres), with the potential to produce nearly 12 megawatts of power if fully developed as a solar field. The parcels are located in South Buffalo, close to Tifft Nature Preserve and situated near both industrial and residential land uses.

2

Below are field studies of parcels found to be highly suitable in the weighted solar field analysis and the rooftop analysis.

Figure 12: Field Study at 308 and 310 Abby Street

Figure 11: Technical solar field suitability

Figure 13: 308 and 310 Abby Street Photo credit: Casey Gordon Page 20

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The Solar City Riverbend facility is located just north of the site, offering potential to create a larger solar center. This proximity also creates opportunities for UB and Solar City to organize joint educational programming or tours of both sites. Given their potential for solar generation and engagement opportunities, we recommend combining the Abby Street parcels into a single site with a large solar array.

Fort Schuyler Management Corporation, which is affiliated with the State University of New York (SUNY) Polytechnic Institute, owns the Abby Street parcels. Therefore, it may be less difficult to negotiate a potential solar installation on this site than those owned by private landowners unaffiliated with UB or the City.

Lawn Avenue 155 Lawn Avenue is a city-owned building that had high solar generating potential in our rooftop analysis. It is located north of Delaware Park near the Black Rock and Riverside neighborhoods. The surrounding area is predominatly residential, with some commercial uses. This building was formerly Buffalo Public School #79. The Northwest Buffalo Community Center established it as a community healthcare center in 1986 (Northwest Buffalo Community Center, 2017). Â Â

Our recommendation for this site is to utilize the large, flat roof for solar photovoltaic panel installations. This would reduce the need to draw energy directly from the grid and lower energy costs. Another opportunity would be to set up the solar panels as a backup energy source for the building during power failures. This would build resilience for the community health center and ensure that power is not lost at critical times.

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Figure 14: 155 Lawn Avenue Photo Credit: Bing Maps

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Ecological analysis Rationale The industrial history of Buffalo is nowhere more apparent than on the waterfront. Access to the water was key for transportation and industrial activities. The resulting infrastructure hardened natural shorelines, compromising ecosystems which provided important functions such as water filtration and stormwater management, as well as habitat for a range of pollinators. Recent industrial decline has left the waterfront littered with vacant brownfields. The combination of impervious surfaces and loss of shoreline habitat poses a risk to water quality as runoff carries toxins and other sediments into water bodies.

Another significant ecological challenge is that Buffalo, like many older cities, has a combined sewer system (CSS). These systems carry sewage and stormwater through the same set of pipes to treatment plants. During a heavy rain event, stormwater overwhelms the system, forcing untreated sewage mixed with stormwater out of permitted combined sewer overflow (CSO) outfalls directly into waterways. In compliance with the EPA’s 1994 national CSO control policy, the City of Buffalo worked toward eliminating CSO outfalls and managing stormwater through green and grey infrastructure (BSA, 2014).

To address these water-related challenges, our ecological analysis sought to identify vacant parcels that could be used to support the restoration of ecological systems and foster the creation of greenways in Buffalo. Restoration is emphasized as a goal throughout the City’s longstanding Page 22

efforts to plan for and create a system of greenways (City of Buffalo, 1998, 2006, 2016). Greenways are multifunctioning, linear spatial configurations along a natural corridor (Giordano & Riedel, 2008). They also are used to restore or stabilize ecological functions such as providing habitats and stormwater filtration, particularly in an urban context (Conine, 2004; Mason & O’Neill, 2006; Miller et al., 1998). Greenways are frequently employed as strategies for improving recreational access to waterways.

Based on local planning frameworks, case precedents and input from stakeholders, we established four goals to advance ecological restoration on vacant land in Buffalo: to enhance connectivity within the Local Waterfront Revitalization Area (LWRA), to protect waterbodies and wetlands, to increase stormwater absorption and to restore natural habitats.

Goal 1: Enhance connectivity within the Local Waterfront Revitalization Area Goal 2: Protect waterbodies and wetlands Goal 3: Increase stormwater absorption Goal 4: Restore natural habitats

Figure 15: Snail at Bell Slip Photo Credit: Lauren Darcy

From Vacant To Viable

Case precedents Multi-criteria land suitability analysis in geographic information systems (GIS) can be a strong tool for determining the paths of greenways. Miller et al. (1998) used GIS to identify open spaces that are suitable for preservation in Prescott, Arizona based on the goals of providing wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities and protecting natural riparian corridors. Criteria developed in their approach were also weighted according to the community’s priorities. Similarly, based on a parcel’s capacity to provide stormwater management and ecological community functions, Sanches and Pellegrino (2016) analyzed the opportunities of converting vacant land into green space in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.

Multi-criteria suitability analysis can also be used together with ecological threshold modeling and landscape ecology principles to develop a more holistic approach to green space planning (Uy & Nakagoshi, 2008). In this approach, ecological thresholds are used to determine the amount of green space required to maintain a stable ecosystem. Spatial configuration of land – particularly linear corridors that could serve as connections between spaces – was among the criteria considered. Modeling the larger landscape yielded more positive impacts than approaches that would have focused on smaller areas or individual components of ecological systems (Uy & Nakagoshi, 2008).

The City of Cleveland, Ohio, also offers an example of developing recommendations for implementation of ecological projects on vacant parcels (Cleveland Land Lab, 2008).

Three goals were identified in this study: public benefit, promoting ecosystem functions and environmental remediation. Based on an Page 23

assessment of ecosystem service demands, the Cleveland report recommended establishing a 100-foot riparian buffer, as well as increasing tree canopy and vegetation on all vacant lots to serve as carbon sequesters and to better manage stormwater (Cleveland Land Lab, 2008).

Methodology We established a potential intervention to meet our goals: ecological restoration projects that facilitate stormwater management, natural habitats and development of public green spaces that facilitate connected pathways for all types of species, as an antidote to habitat fragmentation and for enabling human movement along Buffalo’s waterways.

Figure 16: Ecological analysis process

Intervention 1: Ecological restoration projects To measure suitability, we used case precedents to develop criteria, and constructed variables to measure our criteria.

Finally, we identified a subset of parcels that were most suitable for each intervention and conducted field studies to obtain more detailed information about the lots and assess the accuracy of our results.

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In order to measure capacity to facilitate continuous movement, as well as capacity to protect sensitive water resources, we identified parcels adjacent to waterbodies and wetlands.

To measure capacity to manage stormwater, we calculated the percentage of impervious surface of each parcel, as well as its location in relation to the 100-year floodplain. In addition, we examined bird migration patterns to gauge the importance of a parcel for habitat restoration. We used all of these variables to assess suitability for ecological restoration projects; we used only imperviousness and connectivity to calculate suitability for public green space.

We conducted analyses for each intervention at two separate geographic scales: within the entire city of Buffalo, and within the LWRA. We did not consider connectivity as a criterion for the city-wide analysis.

Figure 17: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) preserved wetlands

We measured connectivity by establishing a quarter-mile buffer around bicycle paths and multi-use trails to represent a walkable distance We assigned a value of 1, representing the highest possible suitability, to all vacant parcels that intersected the buffer.

To measure adjacency to water bodies, we selected all vacant parcels within a 100-foot buffer of a waterbody or wetland. This distance is commonly used to calculate riparian buffers (Cleveland Land Lab, 2008). We assigned parcels within this buffer a value of 1.

Sites with greater pervious surface are better suited for stormwater management, as they allow runoff to be reabsorbed into the ground. Therefore, we measured the percentage of impervious surface of the vacant parcels to identify sites that could potentially be protected or further restored to enhance

Figure 18: Connectivity of bike and multi-use trails Page 24

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stormwater management. We obtained impervious surface percentages from the National Land Use Cover database and calculated mean values for each parcel. We assigned suitability for this value using a fuzzy classification on a scale from 0 to 1, where 0 = 100% impervious and 1 = 0% impervious.

Figure 19: Percentage of Impervious surfaces

Figure 20: Normalized percentage of impervious surfaces for vacant parcels

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From Vacant To Viable

We created the flood variable by selecting all vacant parcels which intersect with the 100year floodplain, providing potential for water management and habitat restoration. Areas within these plains have a 1% chance of flooding in any given year. We assigned all such parcels a suitability value of 1, and all other sites a value of 0.

Figure 21: Stopover sites for migratory birds

Figure 22: Normalized stopover sites for migratory birds for vacant parcels Page 26

From Vacant To Viable

We also obtained migratory bird travel stops for shore birds, land birds and waterfowl from The Nature Conservancy (Ewert et al., 2012). Parcels with greater importance for bird migration received a higher suitability value which ranged from 0 to 1.

For both interventions, we normalized all variables to a scale between 0 and 1 before summing them and calculating an average to reach a final suitability score on the same 0-1 scale, according to the equations below. We gave criteria equal weight in all three analyses, but weights can be applied at a later time according to stakeholder interest, if desired.

R = [ w(W) + w(Wi) + w(B) + w(F) + w(Pi) + w(Bl) + w(Lw) ] / n S1

Where: R = Parcel Suitability for Restoration Intervention S1

W = Adjacency to water bodies (presence/absence of waterbodies within 30.5 m of parcel) Wi = Wetlands (presence/absence of NYSDEC Regulatory freshwater wetlands overlay with parcel) B = Migratory Birds (presence/absence of stopover site for landbird, shorebird and waterfowl on parcel) F = Floodplain (presence/absence of 100 year floodplain on parcel) Pi = Imperviousness (Percent impervious land cover on parcel) Bl = Bike lanes and multiuse trails (presence/absence of parcel within 400m distance of bike lanes and/or multi-use trails) Lw = Local Waterfront Revitalization area (presence/absence of Buffalo Green Code Local Waterfront Revitalization area overlay with parcel) n = number of variables w = weight applied to variable

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From Vacant To Viable

Field studies

The ecological restoration analysis returned results concentrated around the Buffalo River and Lake Erie waterfront, including a few sites along the Scajaquada Creek on the city’s northwest side. Waterbody adjacency and location within the 100-year floodplain were strong drivers of this pattern.

The general public green space showed a less distinct pattern.

525 and 575 Fuhrmann Boulevard: Bell Slip Preserve Two adjacent parcels totaling 140,655 m2 (34.8 acres) on the Outer Harbor known collectively as the Bell Slip Preserve ranked among the top five suitable sites. 525 and 575 Fuhrmann Boulevard are owned by the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation and are zoned D-OG for open green space in the Buffalo Green Code. Currently, these parcels are used for passive recreation via the Greenway Nature Trail, which follows the shoreline. In the remainder of each parcel – particularly 575 Fuhrmann Boulevard – natural succession has reclaimed land and a shoreline dune habitat has begun to develop.

This emerging Great Lakes ecosystem is a host to migrating birds, pollinators and many native plant species. The re-emerging habitat provides important ecosystem services such as absorbing and filtering runoff, carbon sequestering and preserving biodiversity.

Figure 23: Ecological restoration suitability for vacant pacels

Figure 24: Field Study at 525 and 575 Fuhrman Blvd.

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From Vacant To Viable

Figure 25: 525 and 575 Fuhrman Blvd.

Given its proximity to Lake Erie and the unique habitat functions, the Bell Slip Preserve should be enhanced as an ecological restoration site. Our recommendations include maintaining the land as a nature preserve and undertaking more intentional and large-scale efforts to encourage emergence of the Great Lakes shoreline habitat. This site should be given treatment similar to that at the Times Beach and Tifft Nature Preserves, both of which have been identified as important bird habitats and are zoned as open natural space, D-ON, in the Buffalo Green Code to restrict development. Currently, the Bell Slip is zoned open green, D-OG, which while meant to preserve open space, also allows for greater flexibility in accessory uses. Adjusting the zoning on these sites would ensure that the habitat will not be disturbed and continue to serve key ecological functions.

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From Vacant To Viable

126 Laborers Way This 73,192 m2 (18-acre) parcel is situated east of the Buffalo Skyway/Rte. 5, south of Tifft Street, west of Ship Canal Parkway and north of Union Ship Canal. It is owned by the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. Operating as a nonprofit extension of the City of Buffalo, the BUDC seeks to reclaim distressed lands and structures for the purpose of redevelopment to encourage private investment. What was previously a dirt path known as Susquehanna Drive, has been renamed Laborers Way and updated with road and sidewalk infrastructure with the intention of developing Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park.

126 Laborers Way is one of the lots being offered to private developers. Eleven acres out of the 18-acre site are part of a larger 31-acre New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Class II wetland. The remaining six acres are located within the 100-year floodplain. Data from The Nature Conservancy shows that populations of landbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl all nest within this site, which is an extension of the Tifft and Times Beach bird areas (Ewert et al., 2012).

Given all these conditions, the site presents an opportunity for restoration projects, particularly a reconstructed wetland.

We recommend that this parcel be left to continue natural reclamation with the addition of active native plantings. Given its historical function as a wetland and proximity to Lake Erie, we see this parcel as an opportunity for wetland reconstruction to manage and filter stormwater and runoff. Additionally, the position between Tifft Nature Preserve and the Ship Canal Commons Park makes this site an excellent candidate for developing a continuous landscape and connecting currently fragmented habitat preserves along the waterfront.

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Figure 26: Field Study at 126 Laborers Way

Figure 27: 126 Laborers Way

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Social analysis Rationale Many of the vacant parcels examined in this project exist in the context of neighborhoods and communities. Often, these communities have among the highest rates of poverty and unemployment in the City of Buffalo (Yin & Silverman, 2015), as well as populations that have and may continue to experience social inequities (Haque, 1998; King, 2016). It is important to consider how the reuse of vacant parcels will affect people who live in these communities.

There is clear evidence that redeveloping vacant parcels can provide social benefits to neighborhoods by stabilizing property values, reducing crime, eliminating health risks and stimulating investment (HUD, 2014). At the same time, there are potential tradeoffs in the redevelopment of vacant parcels for solar power generation. We sought to explore and understand these tradeoffs, and to identify opportunities for solar installations to build social capital in surrounding communities (Aftandilian & Dart, 2013).

Due to resource and time constraints of our study, we make no claim to know how residents want to see vacant parcels reused near their homes, nor what might be best for their neighborhoods. This analysis relies instead on guidance from academic research, local plans, and reports on vacant parcel policies in other Rust Belt cities. This review suggested a need to focus on neighborhoods with relatively large populations that may lack equitable access to community resources, including households with incomes below the poverty line, and racial and ethnic minorities.

The literature also supports focusing on areas with large populations of age groups that could see particular benefits from parks, including senior citizens over 65 and children under 18. Such neighborhoods often tend

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to have higher vacancy rates and lack access to resources that may be addressed through redevelopment of underutilized land. Adaptive reuses that engage residents of distressed neighborhoods can help to empower historically marginalized and disadvantaged neighborhoods (Németh & Langhorst, 2014).

Engaging communities in solar education may also help to garner support and knowledge of community-based renewable energy programs through which low-income neighborhoods can access cost savings.

Green space in historically disenfranchised areas emerges as a common theme in the literature. Our review also found that parks or green space are commonly considered as cost-effective options for vacant parcels (Cleveland Land Lab, 2008; Detroit Future City, 2012) and can provide psychological and health benefits to nearby residents (Nicholls, 2001). In addition, the Green Code supports transforming vacant parcels into “open space reserves” in highvacancy neighborhoods (City of Buffalo Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning, 2016).

The WNY Sustainability Plan (2013) and One Region Forward: A New Way to Plan for Buffalo Niagara (2014) also outlined a need for public education about sustainable energy uses in the region. Vacant parcels in Buffalo have the potential to serve as educational and engagement tools centered on renewable energy while still producing solar energy (UBRI, 2014). In addition, HUD has cited Buffalo as a weak housing market, where large swaths of vacant land and brownfields can be repurposed for green space, recreation, urban agriculture or brightfields – sites that are prime locations for wind or solar generation (HUD, 2009). Analyzing which vacant parcels have potential to produce energy while engaging the community and generating social capital falls directly in line with this study. At least one academic study offers a caveat, however: glare caused by photovoltaic fields sometimes caused complaints from nearby residents

From Vacant To Viable

(Rose & Wollert, 2014), suggesting a need to consider negative impacts as well.

Based on local planning frameworks, case precedents and input from our stakeholders, we developed two goals: to provide equitable access to green space in historically disenfranchised neighborhoods that lack parks, and to enhance public engagement and education opportunities around renewable energy.

Goal 1: Provide equitable public access to green space Goal 2: Maximize public engagement and education

Case Precedents There are strong precedents in academic research and in other U.S. cities for approaching the reuse of vacant parcels through a social impact lens, and for considering green and solar interventions for this type of land. This literature formed the foundation of our methodology, including criteria for identiying neighborhood with populations that often lack equitable access to green space; identifying potential education and engagement opportunities; and quantifying suitability for green and solar uses.

Vacant parcels in Buffalo have been analyzed largely in the context of housing abandonment and demolition. These parcels tend to be most heavily concentrated in communities with high African-American populations and higher-than-average poverty and unemployment rates (Yin & Silverman, 2015). Their study also indicated that properties adjacent to vacant parcels have a higher likelihood of being abandoned or demolished.

The Brookings Institution developed detailed criteria for identifying areas likely to face social inequities (Haque, 1998), including several of the same indicators Yin and Silverman (2015) found in neighborhoods with Page 32

high proportions of vacant parcels in Buffalo.

Brookings’ Intrametropolitan and Intercity Hardship Index (IIHI) was developed to assess a city’s eligibility for select federal or state funding based on hardship (Haque, 1998). Six socio-demographic variables were used to create this index: unemployment, dependency defined as age groups below 16 and above 65, low educational attainment, income level (per capita), crowded housing, and poverty (Haque, 1998). Variations of this measurement tool have been used to analyze areas of potential inequity in urban areas within cities such as Cleveland and Detroit (Haque, 1998). To identify areas with relatively high populations of groups typically more likely to lack equitable access to green spaces, Nicholls (2001) analyzed population density, minority population, populations under age 16 and over 65, percentages of renter- and owneroccupied properties, mean housing value and contract rents. King (2016) developed an index using 34 variables in similar categories, including Black and Hispanic population.

Despite research on where vacant parcels are most concentrated in Buffalo, there are limited local examples of suitability analyses for choosing interventions to reuse these lots. There are, however, precedents for both green and solar interventions in other Rust Belt cities, such as Cleveland, Ohio.

The City has identified both green space and solar fields as potential uses for vacant parcels, among other options. Criteria for green space include adjacency to existing or planned parks; connections to current or planned trails and paths; and whether surrounding neighborhoods lack access to green space (Cleveland Land Lab, 2008).

Solar fields also are an interim option on lots that may be further redeveloped; solar installations generate no noise and little traffic, making them relatively suitable for residential areas (Cleveland Land Lab, 2008).

Similar to Cleveland, Detroit, Michigan also identified vacant parcels as potential sites for

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passive recreation space, citing the potential to stabilize neighborhoods and improve city residents’ health by providing areas to exercise (Detroit Future City, 2012).

Accessibility to urban green space has been found to be unevenly distributed across socio-demographic groups such as class and race. This inequitable pattern has been found in cities not only within the United States, but also within urban areas in China and Australia (Wolch, 2014). One study found that even when parks may be accessible to lower income and higher minority neighborhoods, those parks may be smaller in size and of lower quality due to local tax revenue patterns and zoning decisions (Wolf, 2014).

To measure the accessibility to urban green spaces and parks of various population groups, quarter-mile buffers are commonly used to determine walkable accessibility of communities to city parks (Steverson, 2014). Nicholls (2001), who also identified equitable access to green space as an important consideration, established a half-mile walking distance as a measure of accessibility. A quarter-mile, however, also is a widely accepted standard for walking distance (Cubbin, et al., 2012; Yang & Diez-Roux, 2012).

While there are few examples of vacant land redevelopment for solar power generation in residential neighborhoods of Buffalo, there are local cases of another prominent reuse of vacant land – urban agriculture. Metcalf and Widener (2011) described the work of engaged citizens through the Massachusetts Avenue Project and Grow Buffalo groups to reclaim land to grow food. Such projects also offered examples of the social benefits of vacant land redevelopment, including neighborhood beautification and investment, as well as an indication of the importance of community engagement (Metcalf & Widener, 2011).

Other studies have examined adaptive

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reuses of vacant land in the context of creating social capital and fostering relationships among colleges, schools and communities.

Community gardens can be useful in allowing for service-education initiatives that engage the local community while serving as an educational tool for college and K-12 students (Aftandilian & Dart, 2013). Urban agriculture not only produces food, but contributes to social sustainability as well (Martin et al., 2016).

Finally, there is some indication that careful siting and design should be considered when choosing solar interventions.

Photovoltaic solar systems sometimes generate glare, which can cause discomfort for nearby residents and can result in complaints or legal challenges. Rose and Woller (2014) describe a 3D computer modeling approach to estimating glare, which is beyond the scope of this project. The article, however, makes clear the importance of considering the impact of glare as a design issue.

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Methodology We envisioned three interventions to meet the identified goals. The first is an examination of situations in which vacant parcels could provide publicly accessible green space in potentially disenfranchised communities that lack parks – a tradeoff that the project partners may wish to consider as they choose locations for solar facilities, or a use that it may be possible to integrate with solar installations where suitable. We also explored an intervention in which vacant parcels were adjacent to existing parks and might offer cost-effective opportunities for expansion. The third intervention examined areas in which solar installations could maximize opportunities for community education and engagement.

the 2011-2015 American Community Survey as criteria: households with incomes below the poverty line, Black and Hispanic population, unemployed individuals over age 16, seniors over age 65, children under 18 and individuals who lack a high school degree. We selected these variables to produce a measurement in line with previous studies, while adjusting to the current demographics of Buffalo. It should be noted that factors such as high minority or senior populations should not be understood as sources of neighborhood distress; rather, these populations are typically found in higher numbers in historically disenfranchised areas (Haque, 1998) and may lack equitable access to green space (Wolf, 2014).

Figure 28: Social analysis process

Intervention 1: Publicly-accessible green space Intervention 2: Park expansion Intervention 3: Solar demonstration project The criteria that we established for our first intervention were access to existing parks, and whether neighborhoods surrounding vacant parcels have high populations historically found in disenfranchised communities. According to a collection of variables informed by analyses of vacant land, communities with inequitable acess to community resources, and dependent age groups (Yin & Silverman, 2015, Haque, 1998), we used the following block-level metrics from Page 34

Figure 29: Households in poverty at the block group (BG) level

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Figure 30: Total Black and Hispanic population at the block group level

Figure 32: Total unemployed population at the block group level

Figure 31: Total population over the age of 65 at the block group level

Figure 33: Accessibility to existing parks by euclidean distances Page 35

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We measured access to parks by calculating a quarter-mile buffer around existing parks to gauge which areas of the city already are within a 10- to 15-minute walking distance of green space (Cubbin, et al., 2012; Yang & Diez-Roux, 2012). We assigned a suitability value of 1 to vacant parcels outside the park buffers and a suitability value of 0 to vacant parcels within the park buffers. We used buffer analysis again to then calculate quarter-mile buffers around the vacant parcels in order to measure indicators of historically disenfranchised populations within walking distance of each lot.

Figure 34: Total population without highschool degree at the block group level

Figure 35: Total population under the age of 18 at the block group level

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From Vacant To Viable

Employing a dasymetric mapping technique (Mennis, 2002), we used Census block group-level demographic data and an ancillary land use dataset to disaggregate our population data into a finer spatial unit. We used a parcel layer that contained residential class codes to create five categories of housing: single-family, two-family, threefamily, multifamily and mixed-use. We then converted the parcel layer to raster format to represent the population statistical surface.

We used the USGS dasymetric mapping tool (geography.wr.usgs.gov/science/dasymetric) to sample population values obtained from the Census data in each residential class and redistribute population values according to weights derived from the empirical sampling procedure (Sleeter & Gould, 2007). The result was a more geographically-precise estimation of the distributions of populations in Buffalo that are correlated historic inequities. We used zonal statistics to count each of the sociodemographic variables inside each parcel buffer. We assigned higher suitability values to vacant parcels whose buffers contained larger numbers of households in poverty, Black and Hispanic residents, children under 18, adults over 65, and adults without a high-school degree.

Figure 36: Dasymetric map of housholds in poverty

Figure 37: Dasymetric map of total unemployment population Page 37

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Figure 38: Dasymetric map of total Black and Hispanic populations

Figure 40: Dasymetric map of total population under 18

Figure 41: Dasymetric map of total population without a High School degree

Figure 39: Dasymetric map of total population over 65 Page 38

From Vacant To Viable

Our second green intervention – park expansion – applied the same sociodemographic analysis, but assigned higher suitability values to lots that were adjacent to existing parks. We used a spatial query to locate vacant parcels within 3 meters of current parks, which Buffalo’s building code considers to be within the property line (City of Buffalo, n.d.). For this potential intervention, we assigned vacant parcels adjacent to parks a value of 1 and nonadjacent lots a value of 0.

The solar demonstration intervention analysis evaluated the proximity of lots to schools, colleges, universities, community service facilities such as recreation centers, gathering places such as houses of worship, and urban gardens. The latter may offer opportunities for complementary programming on adaptive reuses of vacant land across multiple sites. We also included eight roofs of city-owned buildings that are open to the public, such as the Crane Branch Library and Lovejoy Pool, where rooftop solar installations could also provide opportunities for education and engagement. As the goal of this analysis was to identify opportunities for community education, we applied higher suitability values to vacant parcels with larger numbers of institutions and facilities that offer such opportunities. We also counted the number of residential parcels adjacent to each vacant parcel as a measure of potential conflict with nearby residents, but this variable was not included in the calculation of a final suitability ranking. We have provided this data only as a point of information for the project partners.

Figure 42: Vacant parcals adjacent to existing parks

For the Solar Demonstration intervention, we again used buffer analysis to calculate quarter-mile buffers around all vacant parcels. We then spatially joined these buffers to points layers of relevant institutions in order to generate counts of educational facilities, community hubs and urban gardens.

Figure 43: Public engagement within the Fruit Belt neighborhood Page 39

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In both interventions, we normalized all variables to a scale between 0 and 1 before summing them and calculating an average to reach a final suitability score on the same 0-1 scale, according to the equations below. We gave criteria equal weight in all three suitability analyses for the three interventions was calculated according to the equations below, but weights can be applied at a later time according to stakeholder interest, if desired.

SS1 = [ [ w ( P + M + U + Hs + Un + O ) / 6 ] + w(Pa) ] / 2 SS2 = [ [ w ( P + M + U + Hs + Un + O ) / 6 ] + w(Ad) ] / 2 SS3 = [ w(S) + w(C) + w(Uni) + w(Ug) + w(R) ] / n Where: SS1 = Parcel Suitability for Public Access Intervention SS2 = Parcel Suitability for Park Expansion Intervention SS3 = Parcel Suitability for Engagement Intervention P = Poverty (number of households below the poverty line within a 400 meter buffer of the parcel) M = Minority Race & Ethnicity (number of Black and Hispanic people within a 400 meter buffer of the parcel) U = Unemployment (number of unemployed individuals within a 400 meter buffer of the parcel) Hs = Educational attainment (number of people without a high school degree within a Âź mile buffer of the parcel) Un = Youth (Number of individuals aged <18 within a 400 meter buffer of the parcel) O = Elderly (Number of individuals aged >65 within a 400 meter buffer of the parcel) Pa = Proximity to existing parks (presence/absence of parks within 400 meters) Ad = Adjacency to existing parks (vacant parcels within 3 meters of existing parks) S = Schools (number of schools within 400 meters of parcel) C = Community Hubs (number of community hubs within 400 meters of parcel) Uni = Colleges and University (number of colleges and universities within 400 meters of parcel) Ug = Urban Gardens (presence/absence of urban gardens within 400 meters of parcel) R = Rooftops (number of city-owned buildings with potential for public rooftop solar) n = number of variables w = weight applied to variable

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From Vacant To Viable

Field studies Four of the highest-ranked parcels for our Publicly-accessible Green Space intervention were considered unsuitable due to data accuracy issues. One at 3149 Bailey Ave., for example, was an early childhood education center, not a vacant parcel. Another parcel at 866 E. Delavan Ave. appeared to be an active parking lot for two adjacent businesses. The highest-ranking parcel, 139 School Street, was across the street from a small park not recorded in the parks layer used in this analysis.

After controlling for these data discrepancies, the highest-ranking lots identified for this intervention were clustered on the west side of Buffalo. All were more than a quarter-mile from existing parks and had comparatively high socio-demographic indicators of historic inequities and dependent age groups.

Our second intervention for Park Expansion (Fig. 45) produced a ranking of suitable lots, with the top 10 dispersed across the city. A majority of the top parcels were adjacent to existing parks, indicating the effect of equally weighting park adjacency and social variables in this potential intervention.

Results for the Solar Engagement intervention (Figs. 46 & 47) identified a cluster of vacant parcels in the Fruit Belt neighborhood on the east side of Buffalo that were highly suitable for public education and engagement opportunities.

Of the top five highest-ranking lots, one was on Orange Street and four were on Grape Street. Most sites were small singlefamily home-sized lots located between the medical campus on the west and the Kensington Expressway to the east. Our findings appeared to be driven by high concentrations of community hubs, schools and urban gardens within the lotsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; quartermile buffers. The top four selected parcels were residential vacant parcels (owners unclear).

Case studies appear in the subsequent paragraphs for top-ranking lots in our Publicly-accessible Green Space and Solar Engagement interventions.

Figure 44: Future public access suitability

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Figure 45: Vacant parcels adjacent to parks

Figure 47: Education and engagement opportunities

Figure 46: Education and engagement opportunites for the Fruit Belt Neighborhood Page 42

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196 Howell Street 196 Howell Street was one of the vacant parcels that received high suitability scores for the Publicly-accessible Green Space intervention. (Insert Figure 42: 196 Howell Aerial Map) The parcel ranked within the top 10 for four out of the six indicators of historic inequities and dependent age groups, and received a high suitability score based on the fact that it was not located within a quarter-mile walkable distance to an existing park. The 195-m2 (.05-acre) parcel is adjacent to three adjoining vacant parcels that extend to the northwest corner of Howell and Chandler streets. It is currently owned by JFD Holdings LP. The entire west side of Howell Street is composed of vacant parcels except for a two-family home at 194 Howell Street, which is adjacent to this parcel.

The surrounding neighborhood is a mix of residential and industrial uses. The area on the north side of Chandler Street appears to be largely industrial and a railroad borders it.

Horsefeathers Architectural Antiques and the Ukrainian American Civic Center are on the same block of Chandler Street.

The site conditions of 196 Howell Street provide potential for future green space installations. The size of the parcel combined with the amount of vacant parcels within close proximity present an opportunity for a small park that spans multiple vacant parcels within the neighborhood. The development of an expanded â&#x20AC;&#x153;pocket parkâ&#x20AC;? on 196 Howell Street would provide the community with equitable park access that currently does not exist in the neighborhood.

Figure 48: Field Study at 196 Howell Street

Figure 49: 196 Howell Street Photo Credit: David Riley

Figure 50: Example of a pocket park Photo Credit: visualizenashua.com Page 43

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140 Grape Street 140 Grape Street is one of the vacant parcels that received a high suitability score for the Solar Engagement intervention. The owner of this vacant parcel is unclear in city property records. There were were two schools, 16 community hubs – most of which were churches – and several urban gardens within a quarter-mile distance of this parcel.

There were many other vacant parcels within close proximity as well, which provided opportunities for various vacant land reuses in a connected manner.

The relatively small size of this vacant parcel – 276 m2 (.07 acres) – limited the potential for a solar array for power generation. However, the space provided by the parcel is adequate for a creative installation of solar panels that would be publicly accessible. A solar pavilion could be constructed on 140 Grape Street similar to that of the Growing Power Community Market in Milwaukee. This community market has solar panels on top of an outdoor market setting which is attached to their main building. The solar power generated from their solar panels is used to heat the building to allow for crops to grow throughout the winter (Growing Power Inc., n.d.). A similar design could be implemented on 140 Grape Street, as well as on other vacant lots within the Fruit Belt.

Instead of using the solar power generated by the panels for heat, the power could be fed back into the existing power system. A design of this type would serve as an attractive place to gather for public meetings and events while still retaining some green space on the lot that could be used for other purposes.

Figure 51: Field Study at 140 Grape Street

Figure 52: 140 Grape Street Photo Credit: William Siegner

Figure 53: Solar theater Photo Credit: erikahock.de

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Integrated Analysis and Field Studies

Integrated Analysis and Field Studies Following our individual analyses, we analyzed four integrated interventions to explore which vacant parcels were best suited to multiple, simultaneous uses. These analyses used criteria from each of the technical, ecological and social analyses to develop new suitability rankings based on combined criteria.

Our integrated interventions are technicalsocial, ecological-social, technical-ecological and finally technical-ecological-social. The process and results of each are described in detail below, followed by field studies of highly suitable parcels and opportunities for integrating uses.

Figure 54: School buses park under the solar panels at Analy High School in Sebastopol, California Photo Credit: E&E News

Solar Demonstration Intervention (S+T) The technical and social analyses were integrated for an intervention that combined public engagement and education with energy production goals. In essence, this was an exploration of public demonstration sites for solar energy. We envision a site that could produce energy and provide educational opportunities about renewable energy in neighborhoods with high indicators of historic inequity. Such a parcel would combine power generation capacity with proximity to Page 45

Figure 55: Educational opportunity to teach children about rooftop solar Photo Credit: Solar Feeds

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institutions such as schools and other highly visible projects that have used vacant land to promote community resilience, such as community gardens. In this intervention, we assigned higher suitability to smaller parcels and lower suitability to parcels classified as brownfields, as contaminated sites would not be appropriate for public access. The ideal solar demonstration project would be located on a small vacant parcel that is not a brownfield and is located in close proximity to social institutions and other demonstration sites that could be used for complementary programming.

Sites highly suitable for solar demonstration projects were typically concentrated in the Fruit Belt neighborhood.

Of the top 100 vacant parcels, which all received high suitability rankings, 85 of the parcels were clustered within the Fruit Belt. All 85 of these parcels are classified as residential vacant parcels. This finding was driven by the high concentrations of community institutions nearby, as well as conditions suitable for solar power generation used in this specific technical intervention.

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Figure 56: Suitability for solar demonstation intervention

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Field Study: 334 High Street 334 High Street is located in the Fruit Belt neighborhood. It is a 284-m2 (.07acre) residential vacant parcel; ownership information is unclear. This parcel is highly suitable for solar demonstration installations partly because it is within a quarter-mile of many community gathering places and educational institutions: two schools, 15 community hubs such as places of worship, and 12 community gardens. There are no adjacent residential parcels, which would limit potential conflict with surrounding neighbors.

There is dense tree cover around the edges of the site, which would provide a buffer to reduce noise from public engagement activities.

The site also is highly suitable according to our technical criteria. It receives sufficient insolation, the aspect is suitable and it is not in shade.

Figure 57: Field Study at 334 High Street

Figure 58: 334 High Street Photo Credit: Google Earth

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One design recommendation for solar demonstration on this site is a community solar kitchen which could be a combination of the indoor and outdoor cooking with minimal structures and more open spaces. This could provide opportunities for integrated public programming with the community gardens nearby. Crops and vegetables could be dried with solar dryers and cooked by capturing solar energy, an activity that would demonstrate the potential of solar power while also bringing the community together to create a sense of shared investment in the site. Developing this site into community solar kitchen will be more effective as it will increase the community engagement between the people of different races and minorities that are remarkably high in the surrounding neighbourhood. We noted a relatively high population of children under 18 in the neighborhood surrounding this parcel; this suggests further potential for youth programming. Another option to encourage community engagement is to offer fresh meals in return for volunteer efforts to grow or prepare food.

A similar project has been successful in Auroville, India, where a solar kitchen gathering space brought people of different ages and races together (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Auroville: The City of Dawn,â&#x20AC;? n.d.). This design used a large solar disc to generate power and cook food.

This particular adaptive reuse has potential to create familiarity with solar energy, in a way that gathers people to use the energy for a tangible benefit connected to their neighborhood.

Figure 59: Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant Photo Credit: Fritz Haeg

Figure 60: Solar cooker Photo Credit: One Earth Designs

Figure 61: Solar kitchen in Auroville, India Photo Credit: City of Auroville

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Publicly-Accessible Green Space Intervention (E+S) The potential integrated ecological and social intervention was developed using criteria from the social green space accessibility analysis and the percent impervious variable developed as part of the ecological analysis. It was designed to produce a suitability ranking of vacant parcels that would be ideal for new green space development within communities that now lack parks, while also serving as a space for ecological restoration based upon the permeability of each parcel.

Sites that were highly suitable for publicly-accessible green space were located across the entirety of Buffalo. There was no specific pattern that was discernable across the top 100 parcels with the highest suitability rankings. Within those top 100 parcels, only 6 received a suitability score that was considered to be moderately high. The absence of more parcels with greater suitability scores could be a result of a majority of vacant parcels within historically disenfranchised communities having high impermeability percentages.

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Figure 62: Suitability for publicly-accessible green space intervention

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Field Study: 386 Vermont Street This parcel is located in west Buffalo, west of Richmond Avenue and south of West Ferry Street. It is a corner lot in a residential area and is immediately across Bremen Street from Public School 30 Frank A. Sedita Academy, an elementary school. A private company, Bremen Street LLC, owns the 331-m2 (.08-acre) parcel. The property falls within PUSH Buffalo’s Green Development Zone, a 25-square-block area where the community organization is working to build a neighborhood-scale green economy and develop affordable housing while reusing vacant land (PUSH Buffalo, 2012). 386 Vermont Street received a suitability score of .86 in our social analysis of neighborhoods, due in large part to high populations of residents without high school degrees, unemployed workers, children under 18 and seniors over age 65.

The parcel also scored highly in our ecological analysis.

386 Vermont offers opportunities for creative approaches to green space and stormwater management. Given its proximity to a public school, we recommend a public park that incorporates playground equipment with features that facilitate stormwater absorption, such as rain gardens.

This approach would be somewhat similar to Wilkeson Pointe Park at the Outer Harbor, which combines public facilities with a more naturalized waterfront setting that includes “no-mow” areas and wildlife habitat (buffaloah.com, 2014). Another precedent can be found in the Bronx, where a public playground includes bioswales, a rain garden and specialized plantings (New York City Department of Environmental Protection, 2015). There is evidence that incorporating natural elements into playgrounds can have a positive effect on whether children perceive the facilities to feel “restorative” (Bagot et al., 2015).

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Figure 63: Field Study of 386 Vermont Street

Figure 64: 386 Vermont Street Photo Credit: David Riley

Figure 65: Playground garden Photo Credit: Hackney Community Gardens

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Technical - Ecological Intervention (T+E) The technical and ecological integrated intervention was approached differently than the two described above. Rather than combining criteria into a single analysis, we identified parcels by overlaying the technical solar field analysis and the ecological restoration analysis. This approach illustrated the spatial differences and similarities between the two sets of results. This overlay was used to identify sites where solar infrastructure projects may come into conflict with ecological restoration projects, or where creative design would allow multifunctioning uses. This issue is of particular concern on parcels along waterways.

Field Study: 825 Fuhrmann Boulevard

Figure 66: Field Study of 825 Fuhrmann Blvd.

825 Fuhrmann â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 174,844 m2 (43.2 acres) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is the third parcel which makes up the Bell Slip Preserve discussed as a restoration field study. It is both highly suitable for ecological restoration and for solar energy output. It is a site where we considered creative designs which would allow for ecosystem services and solar power generation not simply to coexist, but enhance the each other.

Thus, we recommend an integrated design for a solar array installed among vegetation that provides stormwater management and habitat for pollinators.

Solar panels provide shaded areas that allow different species to grow, thus increasing biodiversity; the vegetation, in turn, regulates surface temperature and allows the solar panels to operate more efficiently (Macknick et al., 2013). We recommend that the parcelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shoreline be preserved for restoration.

Figure 67: 825 Fuhrmann Blvd.

Photo Credit: Casey Gordon

Figure 68: Solar array integrated with biodiverse vegetation Photo Credit: Audubon Society

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Solar Demonstration and Publicly-accessible Green space intervention (SETs) The final integration intervention applied criteria from all three central analyses of this study. We combined criteria from the social green space accessibility, solar engagement, ecological restoration and technical solar field analyses in such a way that the social, technical and ecological aspects received equal weight. The social green space accessibility analysis and the solar engagement analysis were combined into one equally weighted intervention before they were joined with the ecological restoration and technical solar field analysis. The combined social analysis was weighted equally with the ecological restoration and technical solar field analyses. This established equal weight among the three dimensions of our project.

This approach was designed to produce a ranking of vacant parcels that were suitable for installation of solar infrastructure, but also be designed to meet social accessibility and ecological restoration goals. These sites all require creative designs to satisfy social, ecological and technical needs.

This intervention is composed of multiple variables and represents the complexity of multi-dimensional decision making. The vacant parcels which received the highest suitability were dispersed throughout the city and no parcel received an exceptionally high suitability ranking in this combined intervention. Of the top 100 parcels with the greatest suitability scores, they generally were larger in size and adjacent to Lake Erie, the Buffalo River or Scajaquada Creek.

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Figure 69: Suitability for integrated social, ecological, and technical (SETs) intervention

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Field Study 1: 205 Tonawanda Street 205 Tonawanda Street is located along the Scajaquada Creek, halfway between Mirror Lake and the Niagara River. It is a former miniature golf course and driving range, which we verified during a site visit.

The parcel is now abandoned, with a chain link fence restricting access. Nature is starting to reclaim the site, with overgrown brush and trees found throughout the lot. It is also treated as an unofficial dumping ground, with garbage and shopping carts found on the site.

According to Erie County tax assessorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s data, 205 Tonawanda Street is owned by Golf and Recreational Industries Inc. It is unclear how long this company has owned the site, or what its intentions are, but current conditions make clear that the site has deteriorated and there have been no recent improvements made.

The parcel is 73,850 m2 (18.2 acres), a size that makes it a suitable candidate for a ground solar installation with potential to generate 2.6 megawatts. That said, changes to the landscape would likely be necessary to make it suitable for a publicly-accessible solar farm.

The concave shape of the site makes it difficult

to see from surrounding areas, which could make a solar array vulnerable to vandalism or present safety concerns if used as a public space.

Other land uses surrounding this site are a mixture of industrial and residential within the Black Rock neighborhood. The parcel is also directly southwest from a Tops supermarket. The Scajaquada Creek and State Route 198 border the site to the south, and Buffalo State Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campus lies on the other side of the highway. There is a bicycle and pedestrian path along the creek that abuts the site, providing easy walking and cycling access.

These conditions make 205 Tonawanda Street a prime opportunity for multifunctioning uses. Solar panels should be installed, but given the concave shape of the site, installers should consider elevating the mountings to avoid potential flooding. That shape, however, may also offer opportunities for stormwater absorption. In addition to the parcelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s generation capacity, its size also would help to control installation costs. The neighborhood context is ideal for development as a solar park that would allow public access from the bike and pedestrian trail, with interpretive signs and walkways installed on the site itself. Close proximity to residential areas, a supermarket, Buffalo State College and a

Figure 71: 205 Tonawanda Street Photo Credit: Zoe Hamstead

Figure 70: Case Study Site for 205 Tonawanda Street Page 53

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heavily-traveled bike path offer opportunities to engage the public. From an ecological perspective, the parcel is near the creek, but it is located on a bluff that limits its exposure to the waterway. Mature vegetation and proximity to the creek make this site a suitable candidate for habitat restoration; additional work could better tie the creek to the surrounding land and remove barriers to shoreline access.

Field Study 2: 61 Smith Street 61 Smith Street is located in South Buffalo along the Buffalo River. It is owned by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and bordered by the Erie County-owned Red Jacket Riverfront Natural Habitat Park and CSX-owned rail lines. This site did not rank among the top sites for any of the three initial analyses, but ranked moderately high for suitability in each dimension.

The neighboring Red Jacket Riverfront park is currently closed for restoration efforts undertaken by Erie County as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to address the Buffalo River Area of Concern (Erie County Department of Environment and Planning, n.d.). The shoreline of 61 Smith Street is not a part of the park, but has been incorporated into this project and is undergoing restoration as well. Beyond the shoreline, the large remainder of the parcel is vegetated and underutilized. The adjacent rail line is very active.

The parcel is 58,254 m2 (14.4 acres), a size that offers strong opportunities for mixed uses. This site would be a suitable location to experiment with integrating vegetation and solar arrays. With the proper plant selection, we can foster biodiversity of the landscape and enhance the efficiency of solar panels, which perform better at more regulated temperatures (Macknick et al., 2013). There is an additional opportunity to integrate the site into the existing Red Jacket Riverfront Natural Habitat Park and use it as a public space and tool for public education about alternative solar array designs.

Figure 72: 61 Smith Street Photo Credit: Zoe Hamstead

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Limitations

criteria developed out of a public engagement process. We were instead limited to a review of existing local planning frameworks to understand strategies and develop criteria.

This project was undertaken as a broad and exploratory analysis. We analyzed suitability based on the physical characteristic of parcels, but given limited time and a scope of more than 17,000 parcels, we were unable to include an exhaustive list of factors involved in selecting a site. Considerations beyond of the scope of this project include cost feasibility, legal frameworks and more detailed design concepts. Our recommendations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; described in the following section â&#x20AC;&#x201C; include suggestions for how these projects could move forward, using the information we have provided as a basis.

In addition to limitations of scope, this analysis was limited by availability of data sources and information to fully assess ecological and social processes. We were unable to acquire data which would meaningfully measure vegetation, as well as comprehensive data to understand infiltration rates on parcels in the City of Buffalo. Ideally, these would be stronger indicators of the need for stormwater management interventions and habitat than our percent impervious land cover criterion, as they provide greater detail about land cover. Similarly, time constraints did not allow for communication with residents or representatives from communities throughout Buffalo. Ideally, suitability analysis for siting either green space or solar installations in the context of neighborhoods would draw on

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Finally, we were limited by the Erie County parcel dataset and property classifications. This dataset enabled us to identify parcels classified as vacant for tax purposes, but included no further information about current conditions or uses of each site. This information was obtained only through field visits, which were only feasible to conduct for a small portion of top-ranking sites. Our experiences with these field studies raised awareness of a disconnect between the parcel data and the current reality of use. We found that, though classified vacant for tax purposes, parcels had been used for productive uses, both officially and unofficially.

Examples included 35 Fuhrmann Boulevard, which is the site of new the Buffalo Harbor State Park construction; 3149 Bailey Ave., which is the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Academy daycare center; and 304 East Amherst St, which is a baseball field and a large quarry (Figure 70 & Figure 71). These examples emphasize the need to physically explore sites to ensure that existing conditions match those represented in the data. It is likely that other vacant parcels out of the more than 17,000 pose similar problems. Given the scope of our project, undertaking a field investigation for each parcel was unrealistic. Future research should integrate qualitative analysis of this sort, particularly for high-ranking sites.

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Figure 74: 304 East Amherst Street Photo Credit: Google Maps

Figure 73: 304 East Amherst Street, baseball field and quarry listed as vacant lot

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Recommendations

interrelated ecological and social needs in Buffalo. Our rankings of vacant parcels (Appendix C) and our integrated field studies show how the Energy to Lead proposal can play an important part in both addressing the impacts of climate change and helping to make Buffalo a more resilient city.

This analysis was intended to provide an initial inventory of vacant land suitable for solar infrastructure in the City of Buffalo.

Our recommendations include our vision for the next steps to move this project forward, how our work can be used to inform these next steps, and a summary of site-specific recommendations based on our findings.

1) Integrate inventory findings and site-level recommendations into the request for proposal for the REV Campus Challenge power purchase agreement 2) Encourage vendors to creatively integrate multiple uses on some sites developed for solar production in a way that addresses interrelated ecological and social needs in Buffalo.

This project provides a strong framework to advance the Energy to Lead proposal to create 100 megawatts of locally generated solar power by 2020. We recommend that our findings and site-level recommendations be integrated into the request for proposals (RFP) for the project to require or at least encourage vendors to take a multifunctional approach to developing solar generation sites. Our methodology of exploring integrated uses on vacant land provides UB with a clear path to meet its solar generation goal while also addressing Page 57

Our approach also is supported by the local planning framework, which emphasizes wider deployment of solar energy locally (City of Buffalo Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Strategic Planning, 2016; New York Power Authority, 2015; UBRI, 2014; Western New York Regional Planning Consortium, 2013); ecological restoration and stormwater management (BSA, 2014; City of Buffalo, 2016); transformation of vacant parcels in high-vacancy neighborhoods (City of Buffalo Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Strategic Planning, 2016) and public engagement on solar power (UBRI, 2014; Western New York Planning Consortium, 2013). Our approach also is supported by other experimental strategies on renewable energy in Buffalo, including National Gridâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s REV demonstration project in the Fruit Belt (National Grid, 2016).

3) Conduct financial analyses of proposed interventions for highranking parcels.

4) Assess regulatory feasibility for highranking parcels.

5) Determine ownership of parcels and investigate plans for future use.

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Next steps in the process should build on our initial analysis and consider additional criteria. A financial analysis of highranking parcels is needed to understand the relationship between the cost of proposed interventions and energy output on sites to help UB determine the costs and benefits of the approaches we have recommended.

Similarly, an understanding of the zoning and legal framework for top-ranking parcels is needed to determine regulatory feasibility, or to identify additional actions which must be taken to install solar infrastructure on these sites.

6) Engage the high-level and community stakeholders in proposed projects through the city and neighborhoodlevel PPGIS and site-level design charrettes.

As many of these sites exist in neighborhood contexts, next steps should also include a public engagement process to assess residents’ level of interest in any project proposed in their communities. This process should be undertaken for any site which is surrounded by residential uses.

One recommended approach is a public participation GIS (PPGIS) process that allows users to use an interactive GIS tool to apply weights to criteria based on their own priorities and values. One such process in Concord, North Carolina used a “multi-vocal” planning approach to identify and represent differences of opinion among stakeholder groups about the siting of a new public park (Shearer & Wang, 2009). The authors developed suitability factors for potential sites and asked five stakeholder groups to rate each factor’s importance. Resulting maps of suitability varied widely among the groups.

This suggested a need to create plans of different scope for different purposes, rather than falsely bringing everyone together under a single plan (Shearer & Wang, 2009).

In another case in Wyoming, Pocewicz and Nielsen-Pincus (2013) used online and paper Page 58

mapping exercises to explore residents’ cultural, economic and biological values for land in their county. Another recommended public engagement process includes a series of design charrettes in which residents are able to discuss what purposes they want particular vacant parcels to serve and create designs they would like to see.

7) As previously discussed, all of our integrated interventions require creative design in order to address multiple goals. Preparing more detailed site-specific design concepts could help to further explore suitability and opportunities for multifunctionality. We recommend the following integrated multi-use interventions:

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Solar demonstration and publiclyaccessible green space intervention (S+E+T) Goals: produce energy, green space accessibility, and ecological restoration 205 Tonawanda Street: 73,850 m2 (18.24 acres) Field study findings: A large lot near the Scajaquada Creek. Close to residential areas, a supermarket and a state college, as well as being alongside a high-traffic bike path.

Figure 75: Solar park design Photo Credit: Balmori Associates

Key recommendations: Create a groundmounted solar panel park with public access from the adjacent pedestrian and bike path.

Install wayfinding signs and interpretive displays. Restore shoreline habitat and remove barriers to waterfront access to the creek.

Solar demonstration and publiclyaccessible green space intervention (S+E+T)

Figure 76: Solar park design Photo Credit: Detroitmi.gov

Goals: produce energy, green space accessibility, and ecological restoration 61 Smith Street: 58,254 m2 (14.4 acres) Field study findings: A large lot along the Buffalo River. Located next to Red Jacket River Front park and CSX rail lines. Currently undergoing shoreline restoration.

Key recommendations: Reserve the shoreline for ecological restoration projects while the remainder of the parcel is developed for ground-mounted solar panels mixed with vegetation. Proximity to an existing park provides an opportunity to design for public access.

Figure 77: Stream restoration in Forest Lawn Cemetery Buffalo,NY Photo Credit: Buffalo Rising

Figure 78: 205 Tonawanda former driving range Photo Credit: Maryanne Schultz Page 59

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Ground solar and restoration intervention (T +E)

Publicly accessible green space (E+S)

Goals: produce energy, ecological restoration

Goals: green space accessibility, stormwater management 386 Vermont Street: 331 m2 (.08 acres)

825 Fuhrmann Boulevard: 174,844 m2 (43.2 acres)

Field study findings: Residential neighborhood, corner lot, across the street from a school.

Field study findings: Large, former industrial waterfront parcel.

Key recommendations: Reserve the shoreline for restoration projects. The remainder of the parcel should be developed as a large groundmounted solar array with active plantings to foster biodiverse vegetation and natural cooling of solar panels.

Key recommendations: Because of its proximity to the school, this site should be designed as a natural playground that incorporates rain gardens or other stormwater management interventions.

Figure 81: Playground garden Photo Credit: Hackney Community Gardens

Figure 79: 825 Fuhrmann Blvd.

Photo Credit: Casey Gordon

Figure 80: Solar array integrated with biodiverse vegetation Photo Credit: Buffalo Niagara River Keeper

Figure 82: Rain Garden Photo Credit: Chesapeakestormwater.net

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Solar demonstration (S+T) Goals: maximize public engagement, energy production 334 High Street: 284 m2 (.07 acres) Field study findings: Residential neighborhood, not immediately next to residences, in walking distance of 15 community institutions and 12 community gardens.

Key recommendations: Develop a solar kitchen as a community demonstration site. Create integrated programming with nearby urban gardens.

8) While we strongly recommend an integrated approach to redeveloping vacant parcels, we recognize that some sites may be most suitable for single uses. This can be accomplished in a way that contributes to a broad portfolio of interventions, which can foster resiliency city-wide. With this in mind, we recommend the following single-use interventions:

Figure 84: Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant Photo Credit: Fritz Haeg

Figure 85: Solar Kitchen Photo Credit: City of Auroville

Figure 83: 334 High Street Photo Credit: Google Earth

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Ground solar (T)

Rooftop (T)

Goals: Maximum energy output; minimize costs

Goals: Maximum energy output; minimize costs

308 and 310 Abby Street: 346,910 m2 (86 acres)

155 Lawn Avenue

Field study findings: Adjacent parcels in South Buffalo, close proximity to Solar City.

Field study findings: Community health center near Black Rock and Riverside neighborhoods, has a large flat roof suitable for solar panels.

Key recommendations: Develop this site as a solar array with a maximum potential output of 12 megawatts. Explore integrated programming and tours with Solar City.

Key recommendations: Install solar panels to reduce health centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reliance on the electrical grid or as a backup energy source in case of power failures.

Figure 86: 308 and 310 Abby Street Photo Credit: Casey Gordon

Figure 88: 155 Lawn Avenue Photo Credit: Bing Maps

Figure 87: Ground mounted solar panels Photo Credit: reneweconomy.com.au

Figure 89: Rooftop mounted solar panels Photo Credit: Solar City

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Ecological restoration (E) Goals: Protect waterbodies and wetlands; manage stormwater; enhance connectivity; provide habitat 525 and 575 Fuhrmann Boulevard: 140,655 m2 (34.8 acres) Field study findings: On the Outer Harbor, part of Bell Slip Preserve, emerging shoreline dune habitat, zoned as open green space Key recommendations: Maintain the site as a nature preserve and encourage emergence of the Great Lakes shoreline habitat. Rezone the parcels as open natural space to restrict development.

Figure 90: 525 and 575 Fuhrmann Boulevard Photo Credit: Lauren Darcy

Ecological restoration (E) Goals: Protect waterbodies and wetlands, manage stormwater, enhance connectivity, provide habitat 126 Laborerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Way: 73,192 m2 (18 acres) Field study findings: A portion of the site is being offered for development; site is used as habitat by migrating birds.

Key recommendations: Allow natural reclamation of the site to continue and consider it for wetland reconstruction to manage and filter stormwater. Use the parcel to connect Tifft Nature Preserve to the Ship Canal Commons Park.

Figure 91: 126 Laborerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Way Photo Credit: David Riley

Figure 92: Time Beach Nature Preserve Photo Credit: http://www.friendsoftimesbeachnp.org

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Park access (S) Goal: Provide equitable public access to green space 196 Howell Street: 195 m2 (.05 acres) Field study findings: One of several contiguous vacant parcels in a residential neighborhood that lacks park access

recommendations is for a more representative data set including greater detail about vacant land, including land cover and up-to-date uses.

This additional information could potentially be collected by tax assessors, who already are visiting the sites, and would provide the city with an invaluable resource for identifying opportunities presented by vacant land.

Key recommendations: Develop this small parcel as a pocket park and explore opportunities for a larger green space project using the adjoining vacant parcels.

Solar engagement (S) Goal: Maximize public engagement and education 140 Grape Street: 276 m2 (.07 acres) Field study findings: In the Fruit Belt; site is in close proximity to two schools, 16 community hubs and several urban gardens

Figure 93: 196 Howell Street Photo Credit: David Riley

Key recommendations: Use this space for public engagement by designing a solar pavilion. This provides a community meeting space while generating solar power.

9) Encourage local government to improve collection of accurate spatial data.

Finally, our experience with Erie County parcel data, particularly the properties classified as vacant, has revealed limitations of property classifications and data accuracy.

Though useful for tax purposes, the vacant land classification does not accurately depict the actual range of land covers or uses, which are needed to understand the landâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential for serving social and ecological functions. In order to recognize opportunities for adaptive reuses of vacant land, it is imperative that we have data sources which accurately represent the sites. With this in mind, one of our key

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Figure 94: Example of a pocket park Photo Credit: visualizenashua.com

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Conclusion and Next Steps

CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS

This study was conducted as an exploratory analysis to understand what vacant land is available in Buffalo and how it can be repurposed to build resilience by generating 100 MW of solar energy, while also building social and ecological capacity. Our GIS-based analysis focused on identifying land suitable for combining solar infrastructure design with possibilities for community engagement and enhanced ecosystem services. Beginning with an analysis that isolated each dimension allowed us to understand which criteria drove the patterns in our initial results. For example, parcels ranked as highly suitable for the technical analysis were located in South Buffalo, where many large former industrial sites and brownfields currently exist. Results for the solar engagement intervention were clustered heavily in the Fruit Belt neighborhood due to a concentration of existing community gathering places, schools and urban gardens within walking distance of the sites. Results for the ecological restoration intervention were clustered at the waterfront, particularly along Lake Erie and the Buffalo River, due to the importance assigned to water through multiple criteria.

Understanding the criteria which drove the results of each separate analysis allowed us to clearly identify patterns in the integrated Page 65

interventions. The technical and ecological analysis overlapped the most along waterways, which has to do with the industrial heritage of the waterfront that has left large expanses of land currently vacant available, as well as the concentration of results for ecological restoration in the waterfront area. Similarly, results for the technical-social integrated intervention for solar demonstration sites were clustered in the Fruit Belt due to its previously observed suitability for engagement and small parcel sizes. In both of these cases, results were driven by the criteria in the ecological or social portion of the analysis.

If based purely on our technical analysis â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which identified sites to maximize energy output â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it will take a combination of the top 55 suitable sites to generate 100MW of energy. This estimate assumes energy production can be maximized and that 100 percent of space could be dedicated to generating solar energy. With integrated interventions taken into account, it will likely require upwards of 55 parcels to achieve the desired energy output.

This is not meant to suggest that only high ranking parcels in all three categories should be designed to serve multiple purposes. It is meant to emphasize that there are approaches which allow multiple needs to be addressed on one site. Any solar array can be designed to incorporate vegetation and green infrastructure as can any public space.

That is not to say that every site should be picked for the same reason. It is entirely appropriate to select a site which serves some goals better than others. Not every site should be a small scale solar demonstration,

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but instead, these types of small scale projects should be developed along with larger scale arrays. Much like a variety of uses on one site builds greater resilience, a variation in site design does as well. A varied portfolio of interventions can produce projects that enhance and complement one another while fostering greater city-wide resiliency.

Vacant land presents a significant challenge to the city of Buffalo; however, if approached in this new way, this abundance of underutilized properties can be viewed as an opportunity. This is an opportunity to experiment with new ideas and create spaces which meet energy, social and ecological needs to create a stronger city. By beginning with a framework of building resilience through multifunctionality and understanding the principles of regenerative design, we were able to think differently about solar infrastructure installations and explore the question in a way which produced more creative and forward-thinking results.

Studio at Solar Strand, University at Buffalo Photo Credit: Will Siegner

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Appendices Appendix A: Criteria, variables, data sources and transformations used to evaluate suitability for each intervention type

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Appendix B: Descriptive statistics for all variables

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Appendix C: One hundred top-ranked sites for ground solar intervention weighted scenario. Lot size, proximity to substations and brownfield status are weighted with greater importance than other variables

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Appendix D: Geographic shapefiles (3): variables, normalized variables and intervention scenarios at the lot-level, and spreadsheet of top-ranked parcels for the Solar Field intervention (available electronically)

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Contributions Andrew Abbey contributed to the map-making, data gathering, data compilation and editing processes. He also conducted field visits and field studies, assisted with putting the final book together and contributed to research and methodological development of the ecological analysis.

Lauren Darcy co-wrote and edited the final report. She also conducted field visits and field studies, and contributed to research and methodological development of the ecological and integrated analyses, as well as delivered final presentations.

Casey Gordon managed the presentation, contributed to research and methodological development of the technical analysis. He also conducted field visits and field studies, and delivered final presentations.

David Riley co-wrote and edited the final report, as well as compiled report references. He also conducted field visits and field studies, contributed to research and methodological development of the social analysis and delivered final presentations.

Darnell Rivera compiled images for the final book. He also contributed to the ecological research and analysis, and conducted field visits.

Dhwani Shah contributed map-making, data compilation for data transfer, methodological figures and presentation slides. She also contributed to social research, methodological development and analysis, field visits and field studies.

Will Siegner contributed integration maps, analysis and book captions as well as minor report editing. He also contributed to research and methodological development of the social and integrated analyses, created aerial maps for case studies, conducted site visits and field studies, and delivered final presentations.

Eric Tocco co-created the book design layout, created graphics and table appendices, and compiled and formatted the book. He also contributed to research and analysis for the technical and integrated analyses, and conducted field visits and field studies.

Corey Winters co-created the book design layout, designed the book cover pages and table of contents, and created the project brochure and diagrams. He also contributed to research and analysis for the technical analyses.

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