Here is an excerpt from Danielle Huber's illuminating idea for the City of Buffalo: ...Buffalo needs to stop building new and start using old. New ideas can and should use old buildings. The architecture, intricate detail, and workmanship put into Buffalo’s old buildings are irreplaceable. “Newness, and its superficial gloss of well being, is a very perishable commodity,” Jane Jacobs. This is especially true if our economy does not ascent in the near future like we hope.  The buildings that we are blessed to boast would make great “homes” for new business and when the economy is on a rise again and companies run out of old buildings to occupy then that is when new buildings can be weaved into the old. In the meantime, we have so many vacant buildings that are falling victim to the demolition machine.  The incubation stage of a small business should take place in a reused building, one with affordable rent.  Once that business grows, it may then afford to rehab or even build new... ~Danielle Huber   

Here is an excerpt from Kristin Dudish's illuminating ideas: My personal vision is to someday convert a vacant building downtown into an artistic hub of creative thinking (and doing).  I would love to create a gallery/shop/studio space that showcases local artists talents.  It would also serve as a place for artists and volunteers to gather, discuss, and organize potential mural projects to aid in the beautification and revitalization of Buffalo.  (During the very gray days of winter, some added color could definitely give the city a boost.)

Here is an excerpt of Alan Bedenko's Illuminating Idea for
the upcoming book:...But our fundamental problem isn’t that complicated to diagnose. We have too much government, and too many governments. Too many elected officials, too many appointees. Too many entities with the power to spend, regulate, and tax. Our myria...d, byzantine bureaucracies throw up too many roadblocks and produce so much red tape that average citizens can barely navigate this system they own...We overthrew our feudal lords in the 18th century. So, why have they been allowed to set up shop here? More pointedly - why do we allow them to do it?...
~Alan J. Bedenko, Writer at Artvoice

_...This city already has a lot going for it and we simply need to utilize our
strengths.  We are in a prime location on the water with Canada only
minutes away and developing the waterfront and downtown areas will
encourage tourism not just from Americans but Canadians as well.
Another strength is Buffalo’s culturally diverse population.  This population has very strong ethnic roots, as shown by the many well-attended cultural festivals.  I believe this pride in their heritage should not only be celebrated and recognized  just once a year at an annual festival, but all year round.  This could be done by the creation of a cultural center.  This center would a meeting place for individuals to celebrate their heritage as well as providing them with the opportunity to learn about other cultures.  It would feature different ethnic restaurants, live music and dancing as well as a museum aspect to it where people could learn about the history of the city and where its people came from.   It could even grow to include classes teaching languages and perhaps even ethnic traditions such as dance, cooking and the arts.  I believe a center such as this would be a wonderful addition to the waterfront.  This would provide both a tourist attraction to those visiting Buffalo to learn about our rich culture and also a place for residents to visit.  It could also be a great attraction for students and class field trips.  What better place for teachers to take their students than to a center celebrating diversity?...

~Steve Balesteri
Director of Member Grant Items/Community Liaison
Senator Mark Grisanti -New York State, 60th District
_

    Praise the human condition and its highly evolved physiognomy for giving
almost everyone born with a Human cranium and filled with a human brain, from idiot to genius, an innate ability to conceive of an idea or two.  In fact,  everyday Human activity, however mundane, is filled with bright ideas and their resulting decisions. A restaurant menu is a list of ideas from which the reality of your selection results in a meal.  Some brains are filled with too many
ideas, so much so, that seldom does any of them develop substance and have
little chance of becoming a reality. The phenomenon of creating something from nothing does indeed separate the Person of Action/Inventor from the
philosopher/dreamer.
    Simply having an idea of a descriptive sentence or two might be
referred as brain gas or just something right off the top of one's head. A great
idea or even just a good idea needs to contemplated, researched, loved, fed with creative energy, caressed and developed with clarity during gestation 
There needs to be an evolution and a path of developed thinking that makes up
any worthy idea. An idea almost necessitates a problem and a resulting solution.  After all, giving birth to an idea may require time, dedication and
responsibility, staying with it to see that it grows and develops from the time
when the light bulb first flashed on. It needn't be switched off after just a
few cobbled words are thrown together. I think that an idea needs to be
convincing, vivifying, enlightening and even magical to its audience. No one
will take up an idea that apparently has little or no developed thought, no
genuine excitement or no creative energy. Ideas need to be finely crafted. When
presenting a great idea, the audience wants to see a great solution rather than
just a few babbled words. Everyone and his brother has those kinds of ideas. I
am also saying that a good idea necessarily does not have to be mentally  complicated or compelling, case in point - the paperclip or a roll of toilet  paper. Elegant solutions are born out of elegant ideas. After many years of  working in the arts, engineering and architecture I know well the mental process and the discipline of bringing forth something out of nothing. It takes some work!
   One Idea that just comes straight off the top of my head is this one  -  We should all build a very large Spaceship and get the heck out of here before the ? hits the fan. Are there any illuminating ideas about what the ? is, or, how it could be adaptively re-used to power the Spaceship? 

~Ran Webber