Èȵã´ó¹Ï

Two studios in UB’s School of Architecture and Planning this spring explored the idea of Buffalo as a climate refuge. It’s a hot, important topic for the region — so much so that both classes presented their work to city leaders in May at City Hall.

Both studios — an undergraduate environmental design capstone course and a graduate-level urban and regional planning course — participated in the initiative launched by the New York State Department of State in 2023. UB was one of seven universities with which the Department of State partnered.

“Planning for climate-induced strategic relocations requires climate preparedness and resilience in New York’s ‘climate destination’ cities and regions, and in particular in the Great Lakes region,” says Lucie Laurian, chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. “The UPICS partnership will bring students’ creative thinking to bear on this essential issue for the future of the state of New York and will help train a future generation of professionals ready to contribute to climate-preparedness policy and practice.”

The undergraduate senior capstone studio addressed the question of how Buffalo can best prepare for the impacts of climate change and for the future arrival of populations displaced by climate change impacts from other states in the continental U.S., as well as from U.S. territories and other nations impacted by climate disasters.

The Great Lakes region may be an important destination for domestic and international migrants due to the region’s access to freshwater and relatively less severe climate change impacts, such as extreme temperatures, rising sea levels and hurricanes.

Some cities, including Buffalo, are already starting to brand themselves as “climate refuges.” While the Great Lakes region may fare better under climate change forecasts than other parts of the U.S., the region will also experience the impact of climate change — and has with the 2022 blizzard.

“We were particularly interested in preparing for likely future climate relocations to Western New York, with an eye to climate-ready institutions, policies and practices, such as disaster warning communication systems, inclusive and welcoming resettlement processes, formal and informal mutual aid networks, and resilient food systems,” says Laurian, adding that access to resiliency-boosting spaces such as cooling and warming centers, affordable and weatherproofed housing, and third spaces that are culturally adapted and impactful are also vital.

The undergraduate course was taught by Kelley St. John, climate action manager for the city of Buffalo in coordination with the city’s Office of Climate Adaptation and the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning. The recently completed first phase of Buffalo’s Climate Vulnerability Assessment identified six asset systems most vulnerable to climate change impacts:  housing, roads and transportation, public health, energy and power, street trees and waterways, and local jobs and economic opportunities.

Students studied how each of these vulnerable systems impacts various social groups, including low-income, minoritized, new residents and new Americans. They proposed sustainable and resilient strategies to enhance the city’s and the region’s ability to welcome displaced populations.

“Our students learned about climate migration and how that will impact the receiving community, especially with it potentially being the city of Buffalo,” St. John says. “In the first third of the semester, we investigated the nuances, framing and inputs that contribute to climate vulnerability, and looked at the idea of strategic relocation and building community resilience.”

St. John says it was interesting to watch as students learned to reconcile the idea that even though Western New York experiences climate hazards, people from other parts of the U.S., or other countries, still find the area attractive because these hazards aren’t as severe or are more manageable.

Students conducted in-depth research and analysis of climate change impacts in Buffalo and Western New York, and analyzed how each of the six climate-vulnerable asset systems impacts current and future residents. As a group, the class integrated all recommendations for each asset system into comprehensive recommendations and strategies for the city, which were part of the presentation they gave at City Hall.

Alexandra Judelsohn, assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, led the graduate course on environmental methods, planning and policy.

The 13 master’s students developed strategies that support climate resilience and strategic relocation in Western New York and identified ways to protect current and future residents from the impacts of climate change. They considered how land use policies can be changed to support an influx of residents and provided guidance for environmentally friendly development for a growing population.

Students also identified and pursued in-depth topics that were most relevant to their graduate studies or intended careers, or that they were most interested in.

Judelsohn says the students particularly enjoyed the opportunity to get guidance from staff at the Department of State, a state agency that hires full-time planners.

“Students have been able to interface with DOS staff at a time when many of them are about to go on the job market,” she says. “We want them to see what opportunities are available, and the change they can make at the local and state level.”

That was one of the more exciting aspects of UPICS for Tabitha Wechter, a first-year student in the master’s in sustainability leadership program in the Department of Environment and Sustainability.

“Change is possible and input is desirable,” says Wechter. “The fact that this project exists is a testimony to that. Students have so much passion and knowledge to contribute.”

Wechter’s group was interested in the conservation of biodiversity and green spaces in the face of a changing climate and influx of climate refugees. They proposed brownfield remediation as a technique to achieve this.

The two other groups in the studio gave presentations titled “Enhancing Community Resilience & Reducing Social Vulnerability for Climate Preparedness” and “Responding to Impacts of Local Climate Change: Use of Mini Splits in Public Housing,” which focused on heating/cooling buildings efficiently while advancing decarbonization goals.