Lots of Opportunity Project LOOP Summer 2005 West Side, Buffalo, NY

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Lots of Opportunity Project (LOOP)Summer 2005
West Side, Buffalo, NY
Young people congregate in and appropriate the
forgotten and redundant spaces of the adult
world - Hugh Matthews, The barbed spaces of
childhood, Children in the City, 2003
Research Question
How do children perceive neighborhood spaces,
especially vacant lots?
1. Facilitate childrens expressions 2. Focus on
process 3. Child-led as much as possible
Participatory Goals
NSF Career Award BCS 99-84876
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Stage 1 Neighborhood Mapping
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Stage 2 Visioning - what children want to have
in vacant lots in their neighborhood
A water fountain and a garden for poor people
that has apples, potatoes, bananas, vegetables,
many more fruits.
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Stage 3 Plotting the Lots
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Stage 4 Telling the Story of LOOP
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Stage 5 Communicating with Public Officials and
the Media

• LOOP report being reviewed by the participating
  children now
• Production in late March for distribution to
  community groups, local government agencies, and
  the new Mayor of Buffalo.
• Working with UBs Institute for Local Governance
  and Regional Development to coordinate
  presentation to local leaders, community
  organizations establishing LOOP as a
  demonstration for future neighborhood planning.
• LOOP report in pdf now available on the ChUG
  website http//www.geog.buffalo.edu/research/geok
  ids