Finding the words – and a way – to better her city through planning

University at Buffalo alumnus Nadine Marrero (MUP ’02), Buffalo’s newly appointed director of strategic planning, has been on the pathway into urban planning for as long as she can remember.

As a young girl growing up on the city’s lower West Side, she was struck by the stark differences in her neighborhood compared to wealthier parts of Buffalo.

“While playing tag on our block with cousins and friends, I wondered why my sidewalks were narrow while others were wide. I was confused by these differences – in housing types, access to parks – before I even had a language for it,” says Marrero of what is still one of the city’s most impoverished districts.

“I wanted to understand not only why these differences existed, but how to do something about it in a pragmatic way.”

She wasted no time in following that compulsion for change. As an urban studies major at Buffalo’s Canisius College in the late 1990s, she explored the relationship of place to sociopolitical dynamics. With her BA degree in hand – and a four-month-old son in tow – she headed up Main Street to UB’s historic South Campus to pursue her Master of Urban Planning at the School of Architecture and Planning. By 2002, balancing graduate study and parenthood, she had completed the accredited credential and was ready for professional practice.

Today, she brings more than 20 years of city-making contributions to her leadership role with Buffalo’s Office of Strategic Planning.

“I’ve never lived or worked anywhere other than the City of Buffalo. My family, including my chosen family, grounds me here,” says Marrero, adding that her mother is one of 15 children, and most of her extended family has never left Buffalo. “This is home to me. And it has always been important in my work to create a quality of place for as many Buffalonians as possible.”

Over the past two decades, she’s served the city through diverse roles. She earned her first position with the downtown advocacy group Buffalo Place, Inc., in 2001, during a heady era of citizen-based comprehensive planning. Marrero entered city government in 2012 under the administration of former Mayor Byron Brown, serving first as director of environmental affairs and then as planning and zoning director from 2014 to 2021. During that time, she oversaw development of the Buffalo Green Code—the city’s first zoning code rewrite in over 30 years and a radical transformation to form-based zoning. She has over a decade of experience in private consulting in planning.

Most recently, she served as president of Bridges Development, Inc., the nonprofit arm of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, overseeing more than 750 units of affordable housing in Buffalo and the improvement of some of the city’s largest public housing developments.

“I like challenges and learning new things. It’s important to have a holistic understanding of the field and how it works,” says the planning polymath, who’s dabbled in everything from parks and building permits to street trees and water conservation.

Looking ahead, Marrero sees only promise for the City of Buffalo. “We as a city remain focused on downtown and our neighborhoods. Buffalo has tremendous assets – strong neighborhoods and fresh water that protects us against a changing climate. We are also a binational city, which is incredibly special.”

In the immediate future, there will be change. Buffalo will hold its mayoral election later this year. Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon, who appointed Marrero to lead the city’s planning office late last year, is among several candidates to join the race.

She says the city will continue to partner with UB and the urban planning program to drive innovation through research and critical practice. “My advice to students is to take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. Take risks, talk to the professionals at social events; don’t be shy. Buffalo is an accessible place where you can meet leaders and network.”

As for her fellow citizens, Marrero says she hopes to draw upon her own education and training so that others can find the words – and ways – to change their communities through planning.

“I’m a true believer in public service. We need to help city residents understand what planning is. It means supporting people and making sure they have the opportunities to live fulfilling lives, and to make our cities and regions livable, sustainable places.”