As we move toward more transit oriented development and work to retrofit our existing suburbs, we search for opportunities to use existing infrastructure and land area efficiently. As we evaluate these opportunities, it is important to fully understand the residential developments in these suburban areas of the post-WWII era -- both lower density modest single-family house tracts and garden apartment complexes with acres of green space. 

Join Roger Brooks of Roger Brooks International (RBI) as he shared his high-energy, high-value expertise to take you through key strategies and tactics for building communities as destinations and then promoting them effectively.  Using uncommon common sense and his ability to cut through the B.S. in our media and marketing-saturated world Roger will leave you with great ideas that are both inspiring and actionable.  

This session will focus on the kinds of incentives and planning tools that can be used that promote both redevelopment in the traditional centers of a city—those outside downtown—and the unification of those areas through mass transit. The session will cover the use of a variety of economic development incentives, form based codes implementation, and use of the Institute for Transportation Engineers Walkable Urban Thoroughfares Manual as a package for revitalization in El Paso, Texas.

This session shows how to calculate the increase in value of private land due to public actions and develop a reasonable figure for developer contributions. This knowledge is particularly helpful to those working in urban design and preservation where much of what is achieved is through negotiating developer contributions. This session was first presented at the APA National Conference in Chicago in 2013.

The purpose of the 16th YP Multi-Group Mixer is to bring together young professionals from various organizations for a night of social networking and for group-to-group cross exposure. Young Professionals attend to make new contacts, make new friends, and to learn about other organizations.

The PP Exam Review Course for the Fall 2013 test period will be held Saturday, October 5 from 8:30AM to 4:00PM, at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, 2nd Floor, Room 261, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.

Panel discussion the safety and land use implications of rail and truck freight routes through local communities. Learn from national research and from the experiences of the railroads, the City of Baltimore.

Join Camden County and Cherry Hill Officials and the American Planning Association, New Jersey Chapter, to celebrate Cooper River Park’s award as a... GREAT PLACE IN NEW JERSEY!

This presentation describes the scope of the problem in terms of public health risks. federal and state drinking water, water quality, and stormwater laws require permittees to address leaky infrastructure, but local implementers often interpret these requirements in ways that ignore the potential infectious disease risk posed. 

The City of Hoboken’s South Hoboken Waterfront has been named a Great Place in New Jersey for 2013 by the American Planning Association-New Jersey Chapter (APA-NJ).   The City will be hosting a Walking Tour on Friday, October 18 from 2pm-4pm. The Walking Tour will highlight the South Hoboken Waterfront and present the processes which were involved in its industrial-to-recreational transformation.

On Thursday, Oct 24th, from 6-9pm continue our Community Planning Month celebrations with fellow APA-NJ members at this Northeast Area networking event. Enjoy light fare at 12 West in Upper Montclair - conveniently located in Upper Montclair Town Center, adjacent to the Upper Montclair Train Station.

Moderated by Bloustein Local Director and University Professor Raphael J. Caprio, and Senior Research Fellow Marc Pfeiffer, the program includes a macroeconomic overview of  the region, presentations by representatives from Jersey City, Weehawken and Edgewater, all waterfront municipalities that have experienced significant impact from Gold Coast development, and a prominent developer’s view of the region’s future. 

Status quo parking requirements often stand in the way of making communities livable, equitable, and sustainable. Responding to criticisms of excessive minimum parking requirements, many planners feel that improvements should be made but they lack a solid procedure for generating reform. Webinar participants are provided with a handout showing a step-by-step technical and policy process for reforming parking requirements. A brief introduction explains that parking requirements are a policy choice, not merely a technical calculation. 

The downtown area of Freehold is the heart of the Borough, which is located centrally in Monmouth County. Like many towns of its time, it is the historic village center for much of the surrounding population.

On this Day of Service, APA-NJ volunteers will be helping to paint the playground at Belmar Elementary School in Belmar, NJ – renewing students sense of play after their playground was damaged by the effects of Hurricane Sandy. Belmar Elementary School is a public school serving 555 students from Belmar and Lake Como in grades K-8.

The North American urban landscape is dominated by the products of late 20th century suburbanization, leaving the built environment littered with dead malls, failing strip centers, foreclosed houses, vacant big boxes, and acre upon acre of asphalt parking lots. What to do? June Williamson will discuss promising planning and design strategies and tactics, illustrated with competition-winning proposals from her book Designing Suburban Futures as well as case studies from her previous book Retrofitting Suburbia, co-authored with Ellen Dunham-Jones.