Make Communities partnered with the University at Buffalo Regional Institute to produce two of the five regional strategy documents for One Region Forward, the first regional plan for Buffalo Niagara since 1973.

Make Communities coordinated a group of regional experts and stakeholders from non-profit, government and the business sector and served as lead author of Complete Communities for a Changing Region and the Fair Housing Equity Assessment.

Below are links to download both full reports (large file format PDFs). The additional One Region Forward plan documents are available on the One Region Forward website.

Complete Communities for a Changing Region
Housing and Neighborhoods Strategy Document
Complete Communities is a planning and policy document that provides greater detail on housing-related recommendations and outlines best practices to consider in Buffalo Niagara. The document embodies the principles of One Region Forward by fostering neighborhoods that are great places to live while providing housing choices for a changing population – choices that are affordable, accessible, well-served, energy efficient and suited to the needs of a diversity of residents.

Fair Housing Equity Assessment
A team of equity stakeholders worked to craft the Fair Housing Equity Assessment (FHEA), a document intended to advise how issues of equity and opportunity should be considered comprehensively in regional decision-making. The Fair Housing Equity Assessment examines the roots of Buffalo Niagara’s racial, ethnic and geographic segregation and exclusion, obstacles to solving these issues and strategies for overcoming these barriers through One Region Forward’s regional planning process. The research, analysis and community engagement around the FHEA have helped shape the focus of equity and opportunity that are woven through many of One Region Forward’s implementation strategies.

Download the Executive Summary here.