Olmsted's Elmwood: The Rise, Decline and Renewal of Buffalo's Parkway Neighborhood

The fascinating story of the historic Elmwood District in Buffalo, New York is told for the first time. From its origin as Native American territory to the arrival on the Niagara Frontier of Joseph Ellicott, Olmsted's Elmwood describes the role played by Frederick Law Olmsted's Buffalo Parks and Parkways System and documents the decline during the Rust Belt years. Grassroots leadership has spearheaded its recent renewel by recognizing the importance of restoring Olmsted's vision for living well in a city.

Read the stories of the people who gave the Elmwood District its enduring character, while transforming it from dense forest to farms and nurseries, to a streetcar suburb. It has been named one of America's top ten neighborhoods.

Yet the future vitality and value of the Elmwood District and similar places across the nation depend upon the appreciation of how they came to be and adopting a curatorial management of their growth. A new way of understanding communities as everyday living heritage landscapes available to all is key to renewing them. Current planning and zoning regulations fail these heritage communities.

A compelling model for America's 19th century industrial cities across the nation that are transitioning into the 21st century is offered, one that recognizes that renewing the values upon which a place was built can be a paradigm for achieving civic resilience today.