Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All

Live Where You Love

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Everyone in New Jersey deserves an affordable place to live – in a safe, vibrant community.

-Where schools, groceries, and jobs are conveniently within reach, with less driving
-With peace of mind from knowing rising costs or climate change won’t force a move
-With parks, plazas, and green spaces easily accessible and free of pollution and extreme heat
-Where schools, neighborhoods, and activities are high-quality, safe, and inclusive

Unfortunately, the reality is that New Jersey’s growing housing crisis threatens our state and its residents. Too many people cannot find an affordable, stable home in a neighborhood that meets their needs, and their numbers are growing.

The Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All initiative is a diverse group tackling the problem by:

Drafting recommendations to advance six shared principles (see below)
Seeking solutions that can be adopted quickly, by December 2026
Engaging diverse groups of people with varied perspectives

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Get engaged: Indicate your interests, and/or make an endorsement.

 

Download an informational flyer to share at events and with your network. 

General questions? Email Alesha Vega  (aveganjfutureorg)  .

The following principles are the basis for future action steps that will lead to comprehensive, systemic change supporting Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All:

Who We Are

• This initiative centers the needs of those who struggle to find a safe, affordable place to live.
• A 12-member Steering Committee guides the effort; it first met in November 2023 and identified guiding principles, solution areas, and messaging approaches.
• The Steering Committee and a large group of advisors met in February 2024 to provide advice on the scope and process (see photos below). Small working groups met throughout the Summer to share perspectives and craft solutions. A larger group convened on November 1 (see details below).
• New Jersey Future is the organizing partner. SPIA in NJ at Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs supports the initiative and is the hosting partner. Both organizations are represented on the Steering Committee.

     

Recent News Coverage

Op-Ed: Affordable housing in New Jersey — a call to action
Peter T. Rosario, Chris Sturm, Baye Adofo-Wilson | November 20, 2024
People will stay in New Jersey, but only if they can afford a home in a neighborhood where they can thrive

“We all know people who have left New Jersey — from recent graduates to young families to newly retired seniors. In fact, New Jersey had the fourth-largest net domestic outflow of residents from 2020 to 2023 and the nation’s highest share of 18- to 34-year-olds living with their parents.”

 

Recent Events 

Nov 1: Great Homes and Great Neighborhoods for All forum at Princeton University

 

Thank you to those who attended for bringing your energy, insight, and spirit of collaboration to a successful forum on Great Homes and Great Neighborhoods for All.

Participation showed that, together, we can achieve real change:

1. Lively small groups and breakout discussions affirmed the direction and interest in crafting and advocating solutions over the next two years.
2. Questionnaire responses showed strong interest in working together, enlisting others, and often, publicly endorsing shared principles.
3. Dan Reed and Asia Thomas demonstrated how we can organize to build community power and state-level support in New Jersey by describing their successful campaigns.

Oct. 9: 2024 Conference Housing as a Human Right: From Innovation to Impact

Sept 17: Governor’s Conference on Housing and Economic Development

GNA leaders spoke on the panel “A Statewide Action Agenda for Equitable Sustainable Housing,” covered by Next City.

Panelist Chris Sturm, policy director at New Jersey Future, explained that while New Jersey has grown more diverse in demographics, the state remains highly segregated at the municipal level due to the legacy of redlining, predatory lending and exclusion of Black veterans from the GI Bill.

Read More

• The Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook, from the American Planning Association (APA) and the National League of Cities (NLC)
• NJF Blogs:
  • New Jersey Needs More Housing, and Municipalities are on the Front Lines
  • New Jersey’s Housing Landscape: The Mount Laurel Doctrine and the Search for the Missing Middle
• Rent Control in New Jersey? Where is it? What Is It? How Does it Work?, Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, 2024
• Eliminating Zoning Barriers to Affordable Housing Guidebook, HUD Community Compass Program, 2024

Watch More