Angela Keppel (MUP’09) Drives Planning Efforts that Shape Buffalo’s Tomorrow

Nevertheless, the Buffalonians stayed, and by April, they were starting to rebuild after surviving the depths of winter. “I always say that fire is within us,” she says.

Keppel’s journey began with dreams of writing legislation. She enrolled in Niagara University’s political science program, but when she took an internship with a state assemblyman, she realized that most of the work didn’t excite her at all. So, what part of it did? Attending community meetings. That realization sparked a shift.

She remembered a class visit from Tom DeSantis, then senior planner for the City of Niagara Falls—as the moment that first introduced her to the field of urban planning. In the margin of her notebook, she had written: “Look into this.”

During her final semester, Keppel interned with Niagara County where she worked on brownfield issues, and then joined TVGA Consultants as an intern after graduation. When she told them she planned to go away to graduate school for urban planning, they urged her to consider UB and even offered her a job while she was in school.

“It’s funny,” she reflects. “I grew up in Amherst, next to UB, but ended up there almost by accident. It was meant to be.”

At the UB School of Architecture and Planning, Keppel appreciated the opportunity to learn urban planning theory and concepts in the classroom while many of her professors were also out in the community doing real-world planning work.

“There was a balance of theory and how those concepts are actually playing out on the streets of Buffalo,” she recalls. “The program at UB is so connected to the community that there are lots of opportunities to either get involved in real-world projects or at least learn from people who are contributing to them.”

One piece of advice from SUNY Distinguished Professor Samina Raja still guides her—and she shares it with others often: Read your paper out loud, and pretend you’re reading it to your mom who knows nothing about the topic.

“As planners, we have to communicate complicated information, like engineering or transportation studies, to decision makers and community members. Reading it out loud helps you get rid of overly flowery or academic language. If you can say it more simply, you should.” 

After earning her degree, Keppel accepted a full-time role at TVGA. Eight years later, following its acquisition by a larger firm, she took on a series of planning roles at the Elmwood Village Association, Buffalo Place, and the Department of State. Preferring hands-on work, she found her state job too removed from the action, so when Buffalo Place’s Manager of Planning retired last June and called Keppel about the opening, she jumped at the chance.

Buffalo Place is the Downtown Buffalo business improvement district, overseeing the area bounded by Main, Pearl, and Washington Streets from Goodell Street to the Buffalo River. The planning department’s main purpose is to collect data to inform decision making.

“For instance, housing downtown has grown a lot in the last 20 years,” Keppel notes. “So, we’re looking at where there are vacant storefronts, the utilization of building spaces, the quantity and location of parked cars, parking costs, that kind of thing. We work very closely with the city, the county, and other downtown stakeholders.”

Keppel understands that research means little without results, so heeding Dr. Raja’s advice, she works hard to present findings in a way that’s simple and straightforward. When the data is easy to grasp, progress happens faster.

Currently, Keppel’s team is focused on two major initiatives. The first, Cars Sharing Main Street, is a project that’s bringing automobile traffic back to the pedestrian mall for the first time in 40 years—planned to kick into gear this spring. The second is the Queen City Hub Revisited, a collaboration between Buffalo Place, the City of Buffalo, and UB’s Rudy Bruner Center for Urban Excellence. This team is reimagining a 20-year-old city plan with the goal of re-building Buffalo’s pre-pandemic momentum.

“It’s not a unique problem to Buffalo,” Keppel explains. “I’m involved in a group that includes all of the downtown associations across New York State. Sometimes the meetings feel like group therapy, but it’s good to know we’re not alone.”

Outside of work, Keppel channels her love for history, planning, and the City of Buffalo through her blog, Discovering Buffalo, One Street at a Time. What began as a search for the origins of Buffalo’s Keppel Street became a valuable creative outlet. Citing the Downtown Library’s Grosvenor Room as her favorite resource, Keppel enjoys scouring old newspaper articles, city council minutes, and other historic sources to uncover the city’s forgotten stories.

“Who the street is named after tells you a lot about what was important and the timing of development,” she explains. “I think it really resonates with people because it’s very personal. They like to read about the street they grew up on or their grandma’s old street. That history is something people don’t often think about.”

Looking ahead, Keppel is poised to assume the role of board president at Shared Mobility Inc. (SMI), a nonprofit organization focused on expanding equitable transportation options. SMI was founded more than 15 years ago by fellow UB School of Architecture and Planning alumni and is currently led by co-founder Michael Galligano (MUP ’09).

Keppel strongly believes in SMI’s mission and has been involved since its early days, helping with everything from event tabling to grant writing. Today, following years of growth and success, the board has evolved to focus on financial oversight and strategic vision.

Her work with SMI is just one example of the strong connections that she has maintained with fellow UB planning alumni over the years—relationships she deeply values.

“It’s been really interesting to see because planning is such a multifaceted discipline,” she points out. “I think a lot of people in planning school think they’re going to be a planning director or work for a municipality. They don’t always realize that there are so many other possible paths. Seeing where my cohort has ended up—it makes me happy.”