First Suburbs Projects
PlanSmart NJ continued its working relationship this year with the Fund for an OPEN Society. OPEN is a national nonprofit headquartered in New Jersey that works toward encouraging racially and economically integrated communities. An important part of their work involves building coalitions of communities with common concerns. PlanSmart NJ undertook data collection and analysis for two projects with OPEN this year.
Although cities and growing suburban communities receive significant attention among planners and in the press, older inner-ring suburbs, or First Suburbs, have until recently been forgotten. Scattered across New Jersey, many of these communities share significant experiences. Through the First Suburbs Indicators Project, PlanSmart NJ and OPEN are working at the cutting edge of statewide planning to analyze these communities. The results of the Project will be used to identify the issues these places have in common and help to organize them around an action agenda to stabilize and improve their communities.
In addition, PlanSmart NJ President Dianne Brake and VP Planning Noelle Reeve served as speakers on lunch time conference calls set up for First Suburbs mayors to provide their expertise on planning issues.