Center Projects

The Center is currently involved in three New Jersey based projects, as well as its ongoing participation in CRESP’s work on the country’s former nuclear weapons sites managed by the U.S. Department of Energy. The New Jersey projects include:

Plainfield West End Revitalization
The Center was awarded a grant from Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation in November 2002 to bring residents, faith-based organizations, local CDCs and the City of Plainfield together to focus on the neighborhood revitalization needs of a 44-block area surrounding a proposed new Abbott funded Middle School. The Center organized and conducted community visioning sessions that defined and prioritized needs; combined data and vision priorities into a written West End Preservation and Revitalization Action Plan; and, sponsored meetings to educate the community and its evolving leadership on organizational and funding issues associated with implementing these plans. A new grant was awarded in December that will permit the Center to assist the new neighborhood non-profit’s Board in implementing the Plan.

Renaissance 2004
The Center was contracted by the First Baptist Community Development Corporation to assist it in preparing a needs/asset inventory and development of a 5-year comprehensive strategic plan for the Renaissance Community in Franklin and New Brunswick. Information was collected on housing, economic development, safety, health, education, transportation, recreation, employment, and family support services. In addition, community-wide meetings and smaller issue oriented focus groups were hosted to bring them up to date on the planning process, to solicit their opinions on existing services and unmet needs, and to help identify projects and goals that should be incorporated in the new five-year revitalization plan.

Somerset County Smart Growth
The Center is currently working in partnership with the Somerset County Planning Board and its consultant Schoor DePalma to develop a countywide master plan to be submitted to the New Jersey State Planning Commission for endorsement in late 2005. The project includes generation of updated 2002 GIS spatial data using orthophotography and NJDEPs’ 1995/97 GIS land use land cover data to create a current spatial delineation of lands already developed, and inclusion of other GIS data layers for constrained and protected lands to create a spatial delineation of land available in 2002 for future development. The final datasets will be used in conjunction with the CommunityViz Scenario Constructor 360 model to prepare a baseline buildout and impact assessment based on existing zoning.