News & Events
Rutgers’ Bloustein School to manage DDS IHC Grant Program
The New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of Disability Services (DDS) has engaged the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy to manage the first round of the Division's new Inclusive Healthy Communities (IHC) Grant Program. Visit the DDS grants website. Read the DHS IHC Grant Announcement Press Release. Learn more about the...
Influence of biogeochemistry on the availability of toxic metals in iron-replete New Jersey sediment
Dr. Philip Sontag and Professor Katherine Dawson collaborated on a mini-grant project to understand the biogeochemical cycles of trace metal availability in the Fe rich sediment of the Raritan River. The purpose and focus of the project was to outline sediment sequential extraction and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, describe...
Government officials not acting fiduciarily responsible
Prior to the pandemic in mid-March, NAIOP NJ had planned to convene several experts to examine New Jersey’s fiscal challenges, controlling costs at the local level and pension and benefits reform. In the subsequent four months, our national GDP has plunged 33 percent and New Jersey’s unemployment rate is a startling 16.6 percent, as budgeted state and...
New Jersey Supreme Court hears GOP bid to block proposed borrowing
Repubican opponents of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposal to borrow up to $9.9 billion for offsetting COVID-19-related revenue losses was argued before the state’s highest court Wednesday and they said the state’s constitution and past legal precedent should prevent the plan from proceeding. Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director of Rutgers University’s...
Op-Ed: What Should Happen If State Supreme Court OKs Emergency Debt Issuance
The constitutionality of the new law authorizing state debt without voter approval is about to be reviewed by the New Jersey Supreme Court. At issue is whether the state can issue these bonds because of the COVID-19 emergency, and if the proceeds can be used as revenue to balance the budget. This is not normally permitted. Assuming the court will rule in...
In tight times, towns must embrace shared services | Editorial
State and local revenues have cratered since New Jersey was slammed by the coronavirus, and the need to cut costs by sharing municipal services has taken on a greater meaning. Data from the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) shows that Gov. Murphy is serious about shared services. … Murphy is hardly alone: In 2018, Senate President Steve Sweeney’s task...
EAC Group’s Jeanne Herb featured in The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Coastal Habitat Learning Series
Jeanne Herb of the Bloustein School's EAC Group will be a speaker on the upcoming Pew Charitable Trusts' Coastal Habitat Learning Series. Ms. Herb will be joined by Lisa Auermueller of the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve to present their work on the state's "A Seat at the Table" initiative to develop guidance, training, tools, and...
Tax relief on home renovations in Belleville? It could be happening
Marc Pfeiffer, the assistant director of the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University, said the increase in taxes would go up about 20 percent a year. Township attorney Steven Martino, who helped draft the resolution, said a resident would not see a tax increase in the first year following the improvement. After that, residents will...
New Risk Analysis virtual issue on Environmental Justice
This virtual issue provides a compendium of papers from the 1980's through the present that examine some of the risks and disadvantages that people and communities experience as a result of environmental injustices. Environmental injustice is one form of social injustice that refers to the disproportionate exposure of some individuals and groups to...
Op-Ed: COVID-19, Racial Injustice and Climate Change Require a Bold Approach, Not Incrementalism
With a nation rattled by a public health emergency, a deep recession that has left thousands jobless, and growing signs of climate change, it may be time for bold new ideas to address those crises. Read this NJSpotlight opinion piece co-authored by EAC Executive Director Jeanne Herb that summarizes discussions at a recent virtual...
Recent Products
HIA Training for Professionals: How a university-based center can help to build awareness and capacity
When a group of faculty and research staff from various subfields of planning at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University in New Jersey got together in 2012 around their common interest in fostering healthy communities, they...
Communicating about Contaminated Site Cleanup using Coordinated and Consistent Metrics
Over $500 billion has gone toward cleanup of large contaminated sites owned and/or operated by the U.S. Federal Government over the past 30 years. Nevertheless, some stakeholders worry about the risks associated with what they perceive as a slow process of cleanup, as...
A Climate Change Risk and Resilience Assessment of New Jersey’s National Guard Facilities
The effects of a changing climate are currently and will continue to be a national security issue, impacting military installations, operational plans, and overall missions. Recognizing these threats, the New Jersey Department of Military Affairs and Veteran Affairs...
Evaluation of two low-cost PM monitors under different laboratory and indoor conditions
Innovation and technological development have led to a proliferation of various low-cost air quality monitors, most of which use light scattering techniques to detect airborne particles. As these monitors are used in various environments, their testing should also be...