New Jersey is paradoxically one of the most diverse and most segregated states in the nation. The state has grown more diverse over the last two decades, with its non-Hispanic white percentage shrinking from two-thirds of the state population in 2000 to a little more than half as of the 2020 Census, with notable proportional growth among Hispanic and Asian-American communities. But New Jersey’s macro-level diversity often does not translate into integration at the local level, and places that are integrated at the local level don’t always stay that way.
Cities and Towns
New NJF Report Explores How to Promote Racial Integration in NJ Municipalities
Thursday, September 22nd, 2022Young People are Leaving New Jersey: Exploring Potential Explanatory Variables
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022With the youngest members of the demographically large Millennial generation (roughly, those born between 1981 and 1996) aging into young adulthood, the number of people between the ages of 25 and 44 increased nationwide by 3.5% between 2015 and 2019. In New Jersey, however, the population in this age range declined by 1.2% over the same time period, with high housing costs appearing as a major motivating factor.
Census 2020: New Jersey’s Older and Increasingly Diverse Centers Are Now Leading The State’s Population Growth
Monday, September 13th, 2021The demographic story of the 2010s in New Jersey was the return of population growth to the state’s walkable, mixed-use centers—cities, towns, and older suburbs with traditional downtowns. Driven in particular by the Millennial generation’s desire for live-work-shop-play environments, many of the state’s older centers experienced their biggest population increases since before the 1950s.
New Jersey Needs More “Missing Middle” Housing
Monday, July 19th, 2021New Jersey’s housing costs are among the highest in the country. The state ranks seventh in median home value and fourth in median rent. The state is losing younger households to other states, and evidence points to high housing costs as one of the reasons. To create more of the kinds of homes that younger households are looking for—in the neighborhoods they want to live in—New Jersey should consider revising the zoning and parking requirements that determine what kind of housing gets built and where.
Filling the Missing Middle: Context-Sensitive Design and Development Innovations for Diverse, Sustainable, Walkable Neighborhoods
Friday, June 25th, 2021Increasing the housing stock in the most densely populated state in the country may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Panelists shared how they resolve the tension between municipalities’ need to grow and residents’ fear of change at the 2021 Planning and Redevelopment Conference’s Filling the Missing Middle: Context-Sensitive Design and Development Innovations for Diverse, Sustainable, Walkable Neighborhoods panel.
Municipal Approach to Racial and Economic Inclusion
Friday, June 25th, 2021In a session entitled Municipal Approach to Racial and Economic Inclusion held at the 2021 New Jersey Planning & Redevelopment Conference and co-hosted by New Jersey Future and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association, elected officials explored what can be done to foster more racial and economic inclusion in planning and redevelopment.
The Black-White Homeownership Gap in New Jersey
Wednesday, September 16th, 2020Where we build our housing, the type of housing we build, and for whom we build it affects our environment, our quality of life, and how segregated a state we will live in.
A Shift to Working From Home Raises Many Questions About Potential Effects on Other Aspects of Daily Life
Thursday, August 6th, 2020Read New Jersey Future’s perspective on some of the possible effects—both positive and negative—on the geographic patterns of residence, employment, shopping, and travel behavior if the stay-at-home advisories of the pandemic era translate into a permanent increase in the number of people working from home.
How to Strengthen a COVID-19 Small Business Program
Tuesday, May 26th, 2020New Jersey Future, along with our partners, has spent many years working with downtown leaders to understand how to create vibrant, walkable, equitable downtowns and have provided resources, guidance, and direct services to many of these places. With this experience, we have made several recommendations to improve the impact of the small business program.
Aging-friendly housing options: A case study
Tuesday, May 5th, 2020As part of its Creating Great Places to Age program, New Jersey Future has been researching strategies that dozens of municipalities in New Jersey have implemented to provide a more diverse housing stock. These examples of successful local strategies demonstrate possible paths other towns can take to meet the needs of their residents and develop great communities.
