Center for Community Planning
2021 City Planning Institute
2021 City Planning Institute
The 2021 Summer City Planning Institute took place in Newark, Trenton, and The NJ Highlands Region.
Read about each project and see the student's final work below!
NEWARK, NJ
In Newark, students from the City Planning Institute partnered with the City of Newark Planning Department to create the city's first extensive public art and cultural asset map for the 2022 10 year Master Plan update. Students spent three weeks traveling to every neighborhood in every ward of the city in search of public culture and art displays. The student team collaborated virtually and in person to develop a database of addresses marking Newark's unique expression of diverse culture. The City was awarded an American Planning Association Award for it's support of youth in planning. Check out their final presentation and cultural asset map below.
TRENTON, NJ
In Trenton, students between the ages of 9 and 12 worked in partnership with the Trenton Housing Authority to plan a park for their community. They canvassed their neighborhood for an ideal property and collaboratively visioned a park to serve all members of their community. The final design included a zip line, a splash park, play equipment for both younger and older kids, and a fountain. They named their proposed park after Athing Mu, the Trenton Olympian that brought home an Olympic track medal in the summer of 2021. In 2022, the city of Trenton memorialized the students efforts, and components of their proposal will be included in the final park design. Check out their final presentation and park design below.
NJ HIGHLANDS REGION
New Jersey’s Highlands Region is about 60 miles long, from Phillipsburg in the southwest to Mahwah in the northeast. The Highlands region crosses over 7 New Jersey counties — Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren — and include 88 municipalities within the legislated region. In Summer of 2022, students from across the region were tasked with creating a survey instrument designed to gather information on what young people would like to see in the Highlands region in the future. Students developed and distributed the survey to peers and shared with schools in the region. See the survey and the results below.