Unity Summit Buffalo: How CPTED Is Guiding Community Crime Prevention

On Saturday, May 31, 2025, the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Police Athletic League will host a powerful community event—A Unity Summit Blueprint: A CPTED-Driven Health and Safety Educational Response to the Opioid Crisis. The event will take place from 11 AM to 1 PM at the Northland Workforce Training Center, located at 683 Northland Avenue. This summit is more than just a discussion—it’s a launchpad for real, local action.

Open to block clubs, neighborhood associations, churches, and grassroots organizations, the summit focuses on providing education, tools, and financial support to reduce the impacts of addiction-related crime through CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) strategies.

CPTED: A Community-Led Approach to Crime Prevention

At the center of the Unity Summit Buffalo is CPTED—a nationally recognized strategy that focuses on reducing crime by creating safer, more intentional public spaces through design. This event invites residents to go beyond traditional conversations about safety by engaging directly with local experts to explore the root causes of opioid-related crime in their neighborhoods. Participants will learn how CPTED principles—like improved visibility, access control, and territorial reinforcement—can help reduce risk factors and support healthier, more resilient communities. In addition to gaining practical knowledge, attendees will have the opportunity to develop and propose their own CPTED-informed safety projects, with selected submissions receiving up to $1,000 in funding to support local implementation. The summit will also offer services such as safe medication disposal, and participants who complete a short survey will receive a $25 gift card. With a free lunch and a space for connection, this gathering is more than a workshop—it’s a grassroots movement to reclaim and transform spaces impacted by drug-related activity, loitering, theft, and vandalism.

Why CPTED Matters Now More Than Ever

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is grounded in a powerful truth: the environment influences behavior. When neighborhoods are thoughtfully designed—incorporating visibility, access control, clear territorial boundaries, and ongoing maintenance—they become less susceptible to crime and more inviting to community engagement. The Unity Summit embraces CPTED not as a law enforcement tactic, but as a vehicle for neighborhood empowerment. Rather than focusing on reactionary enforcement, the event encourages residents to look at the spaces around them and ask: “What if we made it harder for crime to happen—not by increasing patrols, but by redesigning the very conditions that allow it to flourish?” This shift in perspective is what makes Buffalo’s Unity Summit so significant. By putting CPTED strategies directly in the hands of community leaders, the city is equipping neighborhoods with the tools—and the funding—to make real, lasting change from the ground up.

Buffalo’s Clean Sweep Program: A Foundation for Success

The Unity Summit builds on the momentum created by earlier CPTED-integrated initiatives like Buffalo’s Clean Sweep Program—a collaborative, city-led effort that addresses blight and safety concerns block by block.

Spearheaded in part by Ron Dixon, a NICP CPD holder and US CPTED Association member, Clean Sweep brought together city services and community groups to remove graffiti, improve lighting, clean up vacant lots, and repair neglected areas.

Its success showed that when you improve the environment, you naturally reduce crime—and you also boost pride, connection, and well-being.

Buffalo isn’t just responding to a local issue—it’s working to build a replicable model for other cities to follow. The Unity Summit is designed with best practices in mind and offers a practical, grant-supported approach to grassroots safety and health improvement.