Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All
Live Where You Love
Why: 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:
What: Drafting recommendations for four separate but related initiatives:
- Build a statewide movement of local campaigns that build support for inclusive, well-planned housing in great neighborhoods
- Empower local governments to plan and implement new housing with neighborhood amenities
- Reduce the accelerating displacement of residents through state and local programs
- Change state policy through new laws, spending, and programs
When: Seeking solutions that can be adopted quickly, by December 2026
Action from local governments, the Legislature, the Murphy Administration, and the new governor during their first year.
How: Engaging diverse groups of people with varied perspectives
- 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 share personal priorities, discuss solutions, and provide additional advice on scope and process (see photos below). Small working groups met throughout Summer 2024 to craft solutions.
- 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.
Sign up to receive updates or more information on the Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All initiative.
Other Ways to Get Involved
- Select how you would like to engage.
- Review the Principles for Great Homes & Neighborhoods.
- Select to endorse the principles or request for more info, here.
- Download a flyer to share at events and with your network.
General questions? Email Alesha Vega (avega
njfuture
org) .
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:
- Lively small groups and breakout discussions affirmed the direction and interest in crafting and advocating solutions over the next two years.
- Questionnaire responses showed strong interest in working together, enlisting others, and often, publicly endorsing shared principles.
- 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.
Pictured from left to right: Staci Berger, Elizabeth McManus, Chris Sturm, Baye Adofo-Wilson
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:
- 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
