This one-day class is meant for pond owners, pond managers, landscape architects, engineers and anyone involved with the design, management or maintenance of ponds. This course is structured to help you make the proper decisions regarding the appearance, function or up-keep of your pond. Starting with design, learn how to build a pond, including the construction of embankments and dams and the selection and installation of liners. You will also learn how to create and maintain a stable shoreline, create and aquascape littoral benches, and optimize habitat for fish and aquatic wildlife. 

Join ULI NNJ members and colleagues on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, as we engage in a profound dialogue and book signing with the author of “A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for Urban America,” Vishaan Chakrabarti. Mr. Chakrabarti is the director of Columbia University’s Center for Urban Real Estate (CURE) and a partner at SHoP Architects,

Come learn about the new trend of aging in place and how it may affect how we address affordable housing for seniors. Come join AHPNJ in the discussion with presenter Emily A. Greenfield, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Programs on Aging Coordinator at the School of Social Work at Rutgers University.

Each spring, RPA brings together more than 1,000 civic and business leaders from around the New York metropolitan area to discuss major issues affecting the prosperity and quality of life in the region. At this year’s RPA Assembly, speakers, workshops and interactive presentations will explore our initial research for the next regional plan and discuss how to create more livable, prosperous and equitable communities, protect ourselves from severe weather, and grapple with our fiscal and governance challenges.

This spring, all roads lead to Atlanta. Five thousand planners are heading to APA's 2014 National Planning Conference, April 26-30. It's the perfect place to see what's around the corner for the planning profession and communities around the world.

Technology is changing the way planning is conducted and open government is reshaping community engagement. Citizens now can access extensive information online and make use of government data, application processes, review procedures, and project commenting. Learn how this affects the planning commission's role as the interface between government and the public. The program also will look at the developing concept of participatory budgeting.

You are cordially invited to the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Alumni Gathering. The school has organized this alumni event in the midst of the APA (American Planning Association) National Conference in Atlanta and would love it if you are able to attend! Even if you are not attending the APA conference, the alumni gathering is open to all Bloustein alums!

On April 29, 2014 the NJ Department of Health and ShapingNJ are co-presenting a special event with Rutgers University. Dena Seidel, Rutgers Center for Digital Filmmaking at the Mason Gross School of the Arts has produced a documentary feature entitled, Generation at Risk: Joining Forces to Fight Childhood Obesity, which now includes an interview with Commissioner O'Dowd, as well as several other experts in the field from within and outside of NJ.

Welcoming Remarks: “Recovery after the Recovery” James W. Hughes, Dean, Bloustein School New Jersey Forecast Nancy H. Mantell, Director, R/ECON™ Michael Lahr, Research Professor, Bloustein School Hot Real Estate Sectors: Warehouse/Distribution: Anne Strauss-Wieder, A. Strauss-Wieder, Inc. Data Centers: Jeff Hipschman, Managing Director, CBRE Multifamily Rental: Ronald S. Ladell, Senior Vice President, AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

Over the last 40 years local and state governments and land trusts have preserved millions of acres of farm and ranch lands using agricultural conservation easements. How have these programs succeeded and how will they further evolve? Come to celebrate and to learn from the nation's most successful programs.

Act now to register for the 2014 Spring Planning Forum: Making It Great Now, just a short hop across the state line in Allentown PA on May 13. The day promises to be full of new ideas and required information – hear from Andrew Howard of Team Better Block about how to kickstart revitalization with tactical urbanism, get your ethics credits while hearing about inclusionary planning and how to engaged underserved communities, enjoy lunch while hearing the latest from elected officials, and choose from afternoon sessions that highlight revitalization projects.

Plants are the most obvious clues to wetland boundaries. This two-day combination classroom and field course will teach you how to quickly and confidently identify plant species that are important in determining if an area meets the hydrophytic vegetation criterion for wetland delineation, focusing on ID characteristics. Learn basic plant ID groups, basic plant morphology and some basic botanical terminology.

Is gentrification a dirty word? How does revitalization impact existing communities? What is the perception versus reality of gentrification? Are we afraid to talk about gentrification....let's talk about it. This workshop will be taught by a published author, Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD and an Economist/Planner, Peter Angelides, Ph.D., AICP. Both industry experts will provide practical and clinical evidence on the topic of gentrification. You don't want to miss this discussion. Seats are limited!

Community coaching helps stakeholders build sustainable plans – and the shared leadership to implement them.   This model helps build relationships between planner and client that makes it possible to address the big, difficult issues that keep a community from moving forward.  It is a different approach to current models of planning practice, and it may challenge you to think about how you work with communities.