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Data for Equitable Economic Development and Sustainability, or Good DEEDS, is an initiative of the Cornell University School of Industrial Labor Relations (ILR) Buffalo Co-Lab. When fully operational, Good DEEDS will function as a public data repository coupled with High Road Policy, a quarterly issue memorandum and continuous blog. Good DEEDS seeks to:

  • democratize geographic, economic, environmental, and social data and provide training on how to use that data;
  • generate a set of shared metrics for monitoring change over time;
  • conduct original surveys to shed new light on regional workforce, civil society, economic and ecological health, and quality of life; and
  • produce original research and reports for elected officials, community institutions, and the public at large.

News Updates

The High Road Forward

High Road Policy is a dedicated resource bringing research to the public in a direct and practical way through a comprehensive quarterly journal memorandum as well as frequent, quick response blogging.

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The High Road Forward

Geographic Imbalance in Buffalo's Workforce Raises Inequality

The Buffalo News

Data shows Buffalo, NY experienced private-sector growth during the 2010s, but new jobs were disproportionately filled by suburban residents. City residents became more likely to work outside of Buffalo.

People waiting at a bus stop in Buffalo, NY
Geographic Imbalance in Buffalo's Workforce Raises Inequality

Buffalo Co-Lab Awarded Erie County Anti-Poverty Grant

ILR Buffalo Co-Lab to provide recommendations for policy changes that can be made by county government that result in more residents living in adequate housing.

Homefronts of Ellicott Affordable homes in Buffalo, NY
Buffalo Co-Lab Awarded Erie County Anti-Poverty Grant

Good Neighbors and Active Citizens

In honor of the 125th anniversary of Buffalo’s own, President Grover Cleveland, signing the law establishing the federal Labor Day holiday in the U.S., ILR Buffalo Co-Lab has released a new report.

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Good Neighbors and Active Citizens

Buffalo Gains Economic Geographer

Russell S. Weaver, PhD, has been named Economic Geographer, Senior Extension Associate, in the ILR Buffalo Co-Lab. Russell has a M.A. in Economics and a Ph.D. in Geography from SUNY at Buffalo.
Economic Geographer Russell Weaver
Buffalo Gains Economic Geographer

High Road Policy

An ILR Buffalo Co-Lab Initiative

High Road Policy contributes actionable insights to contemporary policy and political discourses in and beyond the regions and communities of Upstate New York.

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Read the Blog

Erasing Red Lines

A three-part series examining the roots and spatial patterns of economic distress in the City of Buffalo, NY, and engaging with strategies for reinvestment in the City’s chronically distressed neighborhoods.

Erasing Red Lines: Part 1 - Geographies of Discrimination

Part 1 of the series briefly and selectively introduces readers to the history and empirical evidence of urban decline in the postindustrial United States generally, and in the City of Buffalo specifically.
Erasing Red Lines Part 1
Erasing Red Lines: Part 1 - Geographies of Discrimination

Erasing Red Lines: Part 2 - Systems Thinking for Social and Community Change

This brief report describes and applies a tool for systems thinking in community economic development.
Erasing Red Lines Part 2
Erasing Red Lines: Part 2 - Systems Thinking for Social and Community Change

Erasing Red Lines: Part 3 - Building Community Wealth

This report further unpacks some of the beliefs, values, and goals that define the current economic system, summarizing and synthesizing selected ideas from the literature to describe mental models that might underwrite a “next system.”
Erasing Red Lines Part 3
Erasing Red Lines: Part 3 - Building Community Wealth

Erasing Red Lines: Epilogue - Where Do We Go From Here?

Recapping the essential themes, tools, and takeaways from Erasing Red Lines, this Epilogue tries to succinctly answer these two questions: how should the reports be used? Where do we go from here?
Erasing red lines Epilogue
Erasing Red Lines: Epilogue - Where Do We Go From Here?

Contact

Please direct all questions, feedback, and consultation requests to:

Rusty Weaver
617 Main Street, Suite 300
Buffalo, NY 14203 (716) 852 4191 ex. 112
rw597@cornell.edu