Why Join PlanSmart NJ?
New Jersey faces a host of problems that put our future at risk:
- The Garden State suffers the third worst commute in the nation.
- Housing is limited and unaffordable, even to well-paid workers.
- In recent years, more and more companies have chosen to relocate to other states—and frustration over skyrocketing housing costs combined with traffic are often cited as reasons why.
- NJ residents are also leaving, choosing to commute into the state from nearby Pennsylvania, for example, where real estate is considered more affordable.
- New Jersey is one of the most racially and economically segregated states in the nation; this has driven increased government spending, for school aid in areas of concentrated poverty, for example.
Bad planning is to blame for many of these seemingly intractable problems and PlanSmart NJ has fought hard to foster change. Over the years, PlanSmart NJ has:
- Shaped laws, such as Farmland Preservation; and the Fair Housing, State Planning, and Transfer of Development Rights Acts;
- Designed new approaches to reframe land use decision-making in New Jersey, including the Smart Growth Economy Project; VISION 2050 for Central NJ; and New Regionalism for any region;
- Invented new planning tools, such as Goal-Oriented Zoning, the computer-based GOZ® model, the Regional Action Plan process, PlanMapping, and TrendShift;
- Partnered to create new coalitions, such as the D&R Greenway, NJ Future, Coalition for Affordable Housing and the Environment and the NJ Regional Coalition;
- Initiated public/private partnerships, such as the Greater Mercer TMA, the Regional Forum and Forum 2020;
- Published books, such as the Growth Management Handbook, Suburban Design Handbook, Green Infrastructure Guide;
- Conducted federally-funded research, such as measuring the land use/transportation relationship; and integrating natural resource protection into land use plans.