Media Mentions

An article in The New York Times quotes Robert Silverman, professor of urban and regional planning, about Apple’s $2.5 billion plan to help address affordable housing issues in California. Initiatives like Apple’s “definitely relieve some of the pressure on the housing market,” said Silverman, an affordable housing expert. “But you need an extensive policy at the state or federal level to reach more people.”

The Conversation published an article by Nicholas Rajkovich, assistant professor of architecture, about how architects and engineers must design buildings differently as the climate changes. "We interviewed more than 40 architects, engineers, planners and government officials in the northeastern United States to understand how they were preparing," he writes. "The majority of building-related professionals assumed that future weather conditions would resemble the past. But trends in the data show that this is not the case." Numerous news outlets carried the story online, including Phys.org, the Times Union in Albany, San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle.

A Buffalo Newsstory on the 2.5-acre playground to be located in the center of what will become Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park is part of a $40 million remake of LaSalle Park quotes Robert Shibley, professor and dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, and senior fellow at UB’s Regional Institute, which is partnering with the Wilson Foundation and City of Buffalo on the project. Children’s feedback on proposals has been a priority, according to Shibley. “We start from a premise, ‘Who’s the park for?’” said Shibley. “How do you get children in a range of ages to express what they care about in a way you could actually take action around? What do you like best? What would you like to see that you don’t see? Can you show me?”

An article from the Architectural Record reports on the comeback of terra-cotta as a building material, focusing on the 4th annual Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop in Buffalo. The workshop is a joint venture of the research center on Sustainable Manufacturing and Advanced Robotic Technologies (SMART) at the University at Buffalo and Boston Valley Terra Cotta.

An article in The Buffalo News mentioned UB’s involvement in the planning phase of the proposed Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park in Buffalo. Students from UB’s School of Architecture and Planning assisted children in creative, hands-on activities aimed at refining ideas for the park’s playground.

A story in the Credit Union Journal about whether credit unions can make a dent in the affordable housing crisis quotes Robert Silverman, professor of urban and regional planning in the School of Architecture and Planning, who said, “As there has been a crunch in terms of affordability in a lot of markets, financial institutions have become more involved in that whole discussion.”

Major media throughout the nation published a piece by Daniel Hess professor of urban and regional planning in the School of Architecture and Planning, first published in The Conversation about how hospitals prepare for hurricanes, as Hurricane Dorian approaches. He notes that the question of whether or not to evaucate is especially critical in Florida, which he wrote, has “more than 300 hospitals and a higher share of older adults than any other state.” It was republished on numerous outlets nationally, including CNN, News4JAX, ClickOrlando KXLY.com in Spokane, KTVZ in Oregon, KRDO,  and numerous other outlets.

In up-and-coming neighborhoods, old churches are often converted to apartments or offices. But what about the vacant or underused churches in areas that aren't attractive to developers? In an article published in The Conversation, Ashima Krishna explores the conversion of vacant Christian churches in Buffalo into new places of worship as a strategy for preserving architecture and strengthening burgeoning immigrant and refugee populations in post-industrial cities across the U.S.  

A Bloomberg story on the proliferation of luxury apartments near college campuses and how they’re driving low-income students farther away quotes Robert Silverman, professor of urban and regional planning, who said, “Universities used to see developers as competition. Now they see them as a solution.”

An article by The Associated Press reporting on a new Oregon law meant to encourage local cities to construct denser, more affordable housing options quotes Robert Silverman, professor of urban and regional planning, who said, “If a community is filled with only large and expensive homes, that often restricts who can move there. Couple that with the other historical barriers that have prevented minorities from homeownership, and this all works to perpetuate segregation in communities.” The Kansas City Star, Charlotte Observer and Minneapolis Star Tribune were among the many outlets to carry to story.