The Best Plan, 2005

"Buffalo's downtown plan is a disciplined retort to the ragged cliche about plans gathering dust on a shelf. The plan connects a continuous process of participation and implementation to a realistic strategy for investment.This is a big change for Buffalo (pop. 293,000), where past plans have had weak legal status and little credibility with officials and the public. First released in December 2003, the Queen City Hub plan is currently before the Buffalo Common Council for adoption. But already, nearly half of the billion dollars worth of programs called for by the plan are under way, with the rest to come by 2010."