Slide 1 of 5,

For decades, Buffalo was a city with many dead zones. But some of its most blighted stretches are now stirring with new culinary options and shop openings, luring locals into corridors they haven’t driven — let alone strolled — for years, particularly in Canalside and the Larkin district, just east of downtown. With new waterfront bars, outdoor markets and upscale restaurants, developers are honoring original designs dating back to Buffalo’s heyday, turning grain elevators into rock-climbing walls, outfitting the city center with lofts and remaking a former flophouse into the city’s most elegant hotel. — COLLEEN KINDER

Pictured: Larkin Square