PLANNING INITIATIVES FOR LANCASTER

Students:

Christina Brooks, Jack Draksic, Dalton Fries, Bethany Greenaway, Andrea Harder, Nathaniel Miller, Tyson Morton, Deeksha Nagaraj, Annapurna Nayak, Silvi Patel, Michael Pesarchick, Cristian Toellner, Kyli Tripoli, Devyn Walker, Parker Webb

Faculty:

Term:

Course:

Program:

Ernest Sternberg

Spring 2022

URP582

Can a coordinated plan for housing, greenways, and downtown vitality help restore once lively town centers? Students from this urban and regional planning studio worked in close collaboration with city leaders in the Village of Lancaster to analyze and prioritize upcoming community initiatives. A list of researched projects included affordable housing, intensification of the downtown district, bike and greenway connections, food access, accessibility routes, and real estate development opportunities on village-owned properties.

“This studio was kind of like the intersection of students’ passion and care and bureaucratic policies… It was a real life experience”

- Bethany Greenaway

Students began their research by looking into the demographics of Lancaster, a population that has seen a slow decline since 1980. Despite this, the village remains a small suburban municipality with close-knit relationships. Compared to adjacent municipalities, the larger town of Lancaster boasts a median household income of just over $70,000, higher than the village center of Lancaster, Depew, and Erie County.

Students justified the need for change using the data and information gathered from past Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) reports. They recommended expanding the DRI boundary, which included seven additional sites around the village, all with opportunities for redevelopment. Repurposing these parking lots, existing buildings, and waterfront properties into affordable housing sectors or grocery stores help align with stakeholders’ visions for village expansion.

Pedestrian-friendly circulation, public green space, and bike/trail connectivity are a few examples of how students sought to develop underutilized land. Students also identified the need for infill housing, following the principle of “gentle density.” This principle prioritizes duplexes and courtyardstyle apartments over large housing projects or single-family homes. New development often comes at the cost of new circulation patterns; therefore, it was imperative to know how changes to existing conditions would impact multi-modal forms of access.

All of the recommended initiatives are efforts to help the Village of Lancaster solve current challenges by leveraging its current assets. Working directly with city officials allowed students to present comprehensive arguments on potential strategies for implementation.