The 2019 report The Promise of Urban Agriculture: a National Study of Commercial Farming in Urban Areas found that planners play a pivotal role in the success or struggle for thriving urban and peri-urban farms, but planners have a mixed understanding of the needs and potential for urban agriculture. As a follow-up to that study, the presenters have paired up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to educate planners on how urban agriculture can be integrated into their other concerns. This webinar will present an overview of the 2019 report and present the first of six modules in a forthcoming professional development course for planners about urban agriculture.

The Watershed Conference is an opportunity for learning, brainstorming, discussing, and planning solutions to the problems faced by New Jersey’s watersheds. We will focus on the updates to the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit, regional solutions to address polluted stormwater runoff and flooding, environmental justice, and the need for community-wide action. Learn alongside municipal representatives, engineers, environmental professionals, watershed advocates, business leaders, and community members through roundtable discussions, hands-on sessions, and networking.

From stolen land to rematriation, all land ownership and control is rooted in its value to it based on markets that serve the few, not the many. What does it take to decommodify land? Is it possible? Can land and power be redistributed for collective benefit? This talk will take us on a journey through history to examine land ownershipin the United States and the reverberating impacts experienced in the 21st century.

Assuming we are past the worst of the COVID-19, what happens to our downtowns? Before the pandemic, people were rediscovering the traditional New England town center. You can stop in a few different shops, maybe pick something up for dinner at a local fish market or bakery, and enjoy the building and people. Once COVID hit, people were reluctant to leave their houses, let along go downtown. Some experts, citing research that suggests people like working remotely and don’t want to return to work in an office, suggest that downtowns may be dead. Other suggest that the natural open air character of downtowns means they are well-positioned to adjust to a post-COVID world. This webinar will present the findings of a multi-year research project on this topic.

This webinar aims to link the importance of the planning process with the financing options needed for implementation. The webinar will provide an overview of planning processes by two Federal Agencies (HUD and DOT) with examples of creative financing tools offered by government to help communities develop large-scale, front-end investments in climate resilient infrastructure. Representatives from the federal agencies (HUD, DOT) will provide an overview of an example of financing resources that enable large-scale climate resilient infrastructure projects.

In this seminar Michael Herbert, an attorney at Parker McCay, and Christine Cofone, a consulting planner for municipalities throughout New Jersey, will expand on Michael's November 2022 article in NJ Municipalities Magazine, "As Fourth Round of Affordable Housing Obligations Nears, Municipalities Should Plan Accordingly." The panelists will offer a tips about how to get prepared now and share information on how this round will be different from past rounds.

Register for the northeast’s largest building industry tradeshow, the Atlantic Builders Convention (ABC), March 28-30, at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. ABC attracts a diverse audience of building industry professionals including developers, remodelers, consultants and more. Connect with thousands of your peers, take advantage of a dozen seminars offering continuing education credits and attend some of the year’s most exciting networking and awards programs.