People United for Sustainable Housing

A Just Transition Story

Buffalo, New York

1

6

Exploitation

Consumerism &

Colonial Mindset

BUY

!

Militarism

Extraction

Dig, Burn,

Dump

Enclosure of

Wealth & Power

Extractive Economy

CH

AN

GE

TH

E R

ULE

S

DR

AW

D

O W

N M

ON

EY

A

ND

P

O W

ER

U P

+

A

JUST

TRANSITIO

N

MUST

:

1

7

Regeneration

Cooperation

Deep

Democracy

Ecological

&Social

Well-being

Regenerative

Economy

Local

National

International

Caring &

Sacrednes

s

U P

+

VALUES FILTER

Shift economic control to communities

Democratize wealth and the workplace

Advance ecological restoration

Drive racial justice and social equity

Relocalize most production and consumption

Retain and restore cultures and traditions

A STRATEGY FRAMEWORK FOR JUST

TRANSITIONEco-System approach to build a regenerative and just

world.

Developed by Movement Generation

with

PUSH Buffalo

All work starts with Community Organizing

and Leadership Development

PUSH pursues this work through a variety

of program areas:

•Green affordable housing development

•Green infrastructure

•Creation of pathways to green jobs and

training

•Assist families and businesses to

access weatherization resources

People First – “We Know what we want,

where we live”

Resident Leaders Paving the Way Forward

Green Development Zone

Creating Green Jobs- Connecting People to Energy & Power

Green Infrastructure to Address CSOs

To address Combined Sewer

Overflow and promote

ecologically sound practices,

PUSH Blue carries out design,

installation, and maintenance of:

• Rain Gardens

• Green Roofs

• Vegetated Swales

• Stormwater Planters

• Permeable Pavement

• Pollinator Gardens

• Community Gardens

• Riparian Buffers

• Vegetated Filter Strips

• Soil Amendment

• Native Plant Landscaping

• Water Storage Cisterns

GI Installations

Left:

Permeable

parking

pad

Right:

Raingarden

Left: Cistern

Right: 14th

Street

Community

Garden

School 77 – PUSH Buffalo Project

History

•1927: School 77 is built

•1927-2006: Various Public Schools

occupy the building

•2006-Present: School 77 closes used as

a swing school in 2011 but otherwise

remains vacant

•2014: PUSH begins the community

planning process to renovate School 77

School 77 Community Planning

Major Themes for School 77 that have been

identified were Affordable Housing, Community

Center, Culture, Education, and Recreation + Youth

Timeline

2014

Mar

.

July

Oct

Marc

h

July Oct

2015

Submit

financing

proposal

Begin

Construction

Building

Re-opens

Architectural

Team Selected:

Stieglitz

Snyder

2018

City grants

PUSH

designated

developer

staus

Community Planning is ongoing,

PUSH begins to establish partnerships

with potential anchor tenants

2017

Mar

.

July

Oct

2016

Mar

.

July

Oct

Community

Workshop 1

Submit

designs to

Zoning +

Planning

Board

CommunityWorkshop 2

We are

here

2014 InitialCommunity School 77

Congress!

Meeting

Design

Process

Program Design ProcessPUSH Community

Development Committee

Project Goals•To purchase School 77 from the

City of Buffalo

•To transform School 77 into a mixed-

use Community Hub for the West

Side

•To create affordable housing for

Seniors

•To ensure that community voices

lead the conversation around

neighborhood development

Criteria for Choosing

Commercial Tenants

•Do they serve local neighborhood residents OR

local young people?

•Are they an arts or cultural organization that

reflects the diversity of the community?

•Are they a non-profit or for-profit business?

• If it is for-profit is it affordable to local

neighborhood residents?

•Do they provide a service that is not already

being met in the West Side?

•Do they provide opportunities for local hiring?

Systems Impact

● $60 million invested in green affordable housing, green infrastructure and stormwater management in the Green Development Zone

● More than 500 homes transformed through weatherization or green retrofit

● Over 100 green jobs created and over 350 workers trained in training programs

● More than $90 million new investment in weatherization across the state

● Housing policy focused on rehabilitation of vacant structures and neighborhood revitalization

● Approximately 200 metric tons of CO2 reduced on annual basis

Educating Future Generations towards a Just

Transition – What the Hands Do, Teach the Heart