Sprawl
The kind of suburban residential and commercial development that has been prevalent in New Jersey over the last 40 years is referred to as sprawl.
It is characterized by: development of formerly “green” land; separated uses (homes, shopping, employment and recreational facilities far away from each other); low density single-family homes on large lots; dependence on cars to get around; and little public open space.
Sprawl development has turned out to be harmful to the state and its residents. Automobile-related pollution, loss of farmland, increased rates of obesity and increasingly unsustainable property tax rates are just some of the effects of sprawl development.
Smart-growth development, by contrast, seeks to direct growth to areas where infrastructure already exists, where higher densities make the provision of public services less expensive, and where different kinds of uses can be located near each other for easy access by residents, where the same amount of land produces higher tax revenues, and where transportation options other than cars are readily available.
Hunterdon County is considering moving to a single, county-wide school district. This would not only save overhead and administrative costs, it would have significant land-use benefits, including the possibility of cheaper and more diverse housing.
New Jersey could gain another million residents in the next 30 years. Based on the population trend in New Jersey’s urban areas, more than half of them could be accommodated in our cities without having to disturb a single acre of new land.
If the Christie administration focuses earnestly on implementing the wastewater rules, the governor can keep his commitment to supporting growth while reducing environmental damage.
New Jersey Future’s reaction to Gov. Christie’s State of the State address.
New census county and municipal data for New Jersey show a slowdown in migration, the continued resilience of the state’s cities, and new frontiers of sprawl in the southern part of the state.
Some frequently-asked questions about how smart growth would affect New Jersey’s future development, including how it affects traffic, taxes, and land preservation.
Trransfer of development rights (TDR) and clustering are tools that municipalities in New Jersey can use to direct growth and preserve open space.
Geographic patterns in building permit activity offer insights into macroeconomic forces that influence people’s residential location decisions. They provide a preview into what types of places will be gaining population in the future. This report compares the 10 years’ worth of building permit data through 2009 with that of the previous decade. December 2010.
Oct. 11, 2011 — A new statewide poll commissioned in part by New Jersey Future shows that New Jersey residents think the way the state has developed over the last 20 years has made it less affordable and more difficult to travel. They support more compact communities with greater transportation choices, protection of critical resources like drinking water, and regional coordination of land-use planning efforts.
July, 7, 2011 — A new study finds that municipal zoning in New Jersey has resulted in a land-use pattern that is substantially more exclusionary and more sprawling now than it was in 1970.
See all Future Facts and Articles in this category »
Reports, Presentations and Testimony
- Route 1 Planning Through Partnerships
- Land Use Trends NJPHA 2011
- 11/30/2011: Coalition Statement on Grow NJ Bill
- Financial Benefits of Density in Two New Jersey Downtowns 7-11 (Intern report)
- Executive Order-78
- 10/18/2011: Comments: Proposed Amendments to BPU Main Extension Rules
- 10/14/2011: Comments: OCE Clean Energy Incentives Proposal
- Smart Growth NJ August 2011 Poll Report
- 12/14/2011: Joint Statement on A4422-S3165 Permit Extension Act
- Presentation: Affordable Land Preservation Tools 6-1-11
- Notes on Affordable Land Preservation Tools 6-1-11
- Presentation: The Status of Transfer of Development Rights in New Jersey 12-10
- Transfer of Development Rights Task Force Report 08-11-10
- Case Studies in Transfer of Development Rights 8-10 (Intern report)
- Planning Ahead 11-09
- 05/07/2009 Testimony on Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Act
- 04-03-2009 Letter to DEP re Global Warming Solutions Fund Rules
- Getting to Work 11-08
- Climate Change and Land Use 10-08
- APA-NJ Non-Contiguous Clustering 3-08
- Moving Out: New Jersey's Population Growth and Migration Patterns
- Historic Preservation 03-05
- Race to the Middle: The Homogenization of New Jersey's Population Density
- Transfer of Development Rights (Updated) 05-04
- A New Vision for the Highlands 02-04
- Impact Fees 01-04
- Tax Reform 09-03
- Smart Conservation: The "Green" Side of Smart Growth
- Rethinking Farmland Preservation in New Jersey 05-01
- Achieving Genuine Prosperity 04-01
- Case Study Hopewell Township 08-00
