Community Geography: Examining Open Space, Socioeconomic Status, Housing Market Strength, and Solar Energy Potential in Buffalo’s West Side, New York

Abstract

Community geography entails a university-community partnership where university researchers are guided by research questions and objectives provided by an organization or entity. Texas State University’s geography department (TXSTGD) partnered with People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH), a nonprofit organization in Buffalo, New York. PUSH identified four objectives for Texas State’s geography department concerning the Westside of Buffalo: (1) develop an open space plan through identification of current and potential open spaces; (2) examine the socioeconomic status of neighborhoods in order to determine areas of vulnerability; (3) analyze housing vacancies, property values, and sales trends to assist in locating new opportunities for affordable housing and other community development projects; and (4) explore suitability for residential solar power installations. Implications of the findings are discussed, and this paper concludes with the implications of community geography for university geography departments and community advocacy and planning.

Keywords:

• Community geography
• community planning
• solar power
• open space
• applied geography