Queen City Hub Case Study

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Project Understanding and Approach
Having done some research on this project and experiences on similar projects, a series of downtown issues were identified as well as opportunities and approaches for strengthening downtown’s network of streets and public spaces.

1 Key Issue: Urban Structure
Challenges: A city’s urban structure is comprised of its places and their connections; the neighborhoods, focal points and districts which act as destinations within the city and the streets, corridors and open space networks that organize them. Understanding the parts can help to identify opportunities infrastructure can be used to help to reinforce the positive characteristics of important places, enhance access, strengthen connections, and create a setting for new investment. While many areas of downtown are now experiencing significant reinvestment and new vibrancy, barriers and holes in the fabric separate these pockets into isolated areas of activity surrounded by large areas of surface parking and vacant lots.

Opportunities: The Queen City Hub established an action plan for downtown by identifying for new growth and investment which will effect and strengthen downtown’s urban structure. Downtown Buffalo is defined by its traditional central business district consisting of historic
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Support strategic investment areas of the Queen City Hub by clustering infrastructure and public realm investments in these areas; strengthen and reinforce unique character areas with sensitive infrastructure and public realm improvements that serve and respond to adjacent land uses; Use infrastructure and public realm investment to encourage redevelopment of holes in the urban fabric and/or mitigate these holes through sensitive programming, animation, plantings and/or other strategic

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