The Numbers...

Frequent fixBuffalo readers may remember this story - 7/Day...1 Every Three Hours - from June 2006. Well yesterday's Buffalo News article about the hemmoraging of the City's population repeats the news that is becoming increasingly more familiar to Buffalo's residents and visitors. Here's the story. The growing commentary in the related B/N blog post is important to read, too - right here.

From Thursday's article...

The City of Good Neighbors lost 2,552 of those good neighbors between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007 — a 0.93 percent decline.

Let's see...that's the same rate of loss that we've been experiencing for the last few years. Still, 7/day. Do the math. If a bus load of people leave every week and a car load of people return - where's the trend? If you don't want to walk, drive or ride your bike through the neighborhoods and see the 'hollowing out' and the vacancy - what happens when people leave the area - just check out this recent story - Unstoppable? - and you'll start to get your hands around the problem.

When people move, houses are left behind. Houses stay vacant and eventually are trucked off to a landfill. See google's lastest - street view, Buffalo - and scroll over to the City's east side to take a look.

I've recently heard a number of people suggest by 2010, when the next census is completed, this part of the planet may lose yet another congressional seat. Some even speculate that Buffalo may slip behind Rochester and become the state's number three city.

Byron, what's the plan? Hope?

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