BUFFALO, N.Y. — As local leaders continue to think of ways to create a sustainable economy in Western New York, the One Region Forward initiative held a community meeting Tuesday evening to share ideas with the public.

Hundreds of people, including County Executive Mark Poloncarz, took part in the meeting.

Leaders believe the way to develop a sustainable economy is to identify its strongest parts and to develop those assets.

"We have the right plans in place to take advantage of what we need to in the future. It's not going to be easy, growing our economy has never been easy, but we have to identify what the bases are that we are starting with and also what we can do to make it a better community," said Poloncarz, (D).

Leaders hope to draft a regional plan for sustainable development by the fall after a series of community meetings.