Deconstructing Buffalo
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 08.13.07
There are 10,000 abandoned houses in Buffalo, New York; instead of just wrecking them, non-profit Buffalo ReUse is taking them apart and selling the materials and components. From the Buffalo News: “We saved 4 million pounds from the landfill each year,” says consultant David Bennick. “It’s like an urban forest. Every building in Buffalo represents ‘X’ number of trees . . . If you just demolish that building it’s like those trees are done and they’re in the landfill.” They are filling a warehouse with materials: “The goal here is to sell local,” Manager Michael Gainer said. “It’s very affordable material and it’s high quality material.” It is happening across America as a new economic model: "Nonprofits take on the job of deconstruction and open Home-Depot-like warehouses of used materials. A growing number of deconstruction related organizations have nonprofit status, such as Buffalo ReUse." ::Buffalo News and ::Buffalo ReUse
volunteer doing dentil work
There is a national association that promotes the concept; The Building Materials Reuse Association aims to:
* Reduce the consumption of new resources
* Avoid landfill waste and pollution
* Create value-added markets and increase cost-effectiveness
* Expand job opportunities and workforce development skills
:: Building Materials Reuse Association's(BMRA)
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This is an excellent idea....
Are there any resources to find a "deconstruction/recycler" near me? (toronto-ish area)
10,000 abandoned houses? What the HELL?
While homebuilders are building like crazy and jacking up the prices of homes all over the US, this group is just tearing apart 10 THOUSAND homes???
Why on earth are these things abandoned to begin with? This is just nuts.
Why on earth are these things abandoned to begin with? This is just nuts.
from an article in 2003:
"Buffalo has lost 5,000 people since 2000, putting the city's population at 287,698 — not as bad as in the late '90s, when the city lost almost that many each year."
Toronto-ish? Habitat for Humanity ReStore is one. There are several locations throughout the GTA. Look them up and I'll bet there are a ton more.
Chs,
One thing to keep in mind, many inner city areas are old houses in such poor condition many people do not want to buy, or the neighborhoods are run down and hard to attract people to. So tearing down old houses to build new can revitalize areas and slow down the suburban sprawl and increasingly longer commutes, so it's not all bad.
I love old houses and architecture, so hate to see old houses go though! (I've even contemplated having an old style house built)
If houses were built with steel framing, recycling would be even easier. Steel framed houses are more energy efficient on heating and cooling, and no more termites and reduces fire risk.
Lack of jobs probably. It's the same here, with Pathfinder demolishing perfectly good houses in the North of England and at the same time building little boxes on flood-plains down south.
It would be much more rational to move the jobs but hey, when's HMG ever been rational?
These homes are abandoned largely because of the shifting economy in the area. Businesses are leaving downtown and moving to the suburbs, and people are either following or getting out of the area completely. Once wealthy neighborhoods are now rundown areas that I wouldn't venture into at night...
Same thing is happening here (Columbus OH). As business move out of the center of the city and into the suburbs people have to follow. The city planners keep zoning more and more business property outside the city limits. This whole area north of the city (polaris) wasn't here 10 years ago and there were 5 large shoping malls around the city. They created this huge shopping mall in the Polaris area and put houses and businesses around it and the rest of the malls died out leaving empty buildings and many empty houses around. I'm stuck in the poorly planned city now, I'd say a about 20% of the houses around me have sat empty for more than a year. Then the city will buy up a section of houses and build apartments and subsizide the rent so you get the people who don't want to work living in them and used to being given hand outs so they just come and take anything of mine they want. My bicycles stolen, my rain barrel walked away, yard full of trash, garden stomped in. The only advantage I have now is my commute takes me outward while others are coming into the city so I miss a lot of the traffic and only have a 30 minute drive to get to work.
Some very poor planning, even with this new north area they messed it up, businesses, shopping and houses all within walking distance of each other, yet little to no sidewalks or crosswalks so you have to drive everywhere.
Very interesting on 2 fronts. Population shift/movement and the reduction of waste. I find it intriguing why some places sprout up and others die out. Yes the inventory is still growing and other places just sit idle. It seems a shame.
Although, it would be great to see the old materials be put to good use... then maybe the old housing plots can be put to good use lie parkland or reforestation or something.
vsk
My family of 5 contributed to the exodus of 7000 that moved out of the area...(which included Erie County) during a 3 year period. For us, it was solely health related................
For more info, contact me
I did this in a small way myself. I moved into a house with a partially finished basement which was layed out pooly for my use. I pulled the walls apart and saved as much framing and other materials as I could and now am using those materials for projects and some of the new framing. I wish I had a place for used lumber near me cause my wood pile is running low now.
BTW Yes I did end up tossing the wood paneling but it's not the 70's any more.
As far as tearing down houses it sucks when neighborhoods are blighted and not "livable" but I hate it when people take a perfectly good house and tear it down and build a 3000+ sq. ft monster. My wife and I decided that the 1950sq. ft 1950's/60house we found for us and the 2 children we plan on, we have one now. Sorry kids you gotta share a bathroom. :-) It's well insulated and energy efficent. The bonus is the above mentioned full basement. After changing the layout I have a large workshop, storage and when finished a nice family/game/rumpus/play what ever room. A second bonus unlike the the giant houses that seem to spring up and cover a whole lot we have a yard with huge mature trees that we can enjoy.