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