Power Failure, Politics, Patronage, and the Economic Future of Buffalo, New York.

Power Failure [2006] is a terrific analysis of the process whereby a prosperous town deteriorated into a failed city due to its political toxicity. Ms. Dillaway, a professional city planner with twenty-five years of experience in California, has many publications and presentations to her credit. As a native of Buffalo, she returns home and tries to understand the demise of her once fine and prosperous home town. She finds significant decision points in the history of the city that were poorly made and badly executed leaving the town bereft of its economic power. One has to be impressed with the fact that if a once strong industrial town like Buffalo with its successful future seemingly assured can decline, so can any town. The lessons for small cities and towns are important whether the town is currently prosperous or poor. The decisions made in Buffalo seem obviously wrong and short-sighted in retrospect, but as city leaders are faced with real-time choices, the experiences of others are helpful; and the experiences of others are artfully described in Power Failure.

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