Rutgers Project Receives $5 Million HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant

The grant was awarded to The North Jersey Sustainable Communities Consortium, a project administered by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers.  

The project team includes the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), NJ TRANSIT, the New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy (NJOPA), the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDN-NJ), the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey (MLUC), NJ Future, the New Jersey Regional Coalition (NJRC), PlanSmart NJ, and the Regional Plan Association (RPA).  

The consortium will develop a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development for 13 counties in Northern and Central New Jersey – Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren. Special emphasis will be placed on cities in the region including New Brunswick, Newark, Paterson, Elizabeth and Jersey City.

 The funding is part of the 2011 Sustainable Communities Grants, which aim to help communities and regions improve their economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools, and transportation. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced the award in New Brunswick November 21. The grant to Rutgers was the largest Sustainable Communities Grant HUD awarded this year.

“We are excited by the role Rutgers will play in helping the people of northern New Jersey – more than 6.5 million strong – to plan for a better future,” said Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick at the press conference announcing the grant.

 McCormick remarked that HUD’s substantial investment in this project demonstrates that Rutgers and the Bloustein School are leaders in developing innovative policies that can be a model for the country.

“When more than half of the average working family's income is devoted to housing and transportation costs alone, we know that we have a responsibility to fix that and to provide housing and transportation options that can improve their quality of life and economic stability," Donovan said.