Principal Investigator: Jon Carnegie
This project, which is being undertaken for the NJ Climate Change Alliance, Transportation Work Group is studying how a comprehensive, multi-goal transportation planning and policy framework can be used to achieve carbon-neutral transportation that also provides healthy, just, efficient, and resilient mobility for all New Jersey residents. This project is designed to take advantage of converging policies related to energy, health, climate, transportation, and environmental justice and a revolution in transportation technologies not seen in a century. During Phase 1 of the project, the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University (RU-VTC) completed desktop data analyses and mapping for eight New Jersey Counties (Atlantic, Camden, Cumberland, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, and Warren; convened a national thought leaders’ webinar on Healthy, Just, Resilient and Carbon-neutral Mobility, with 100+ participants; and convened eight county stakeholder workshops, attended by 150+ participants, to explore specific needs and concerns and the vision for a healthier, more just, and resilient mobility system in each county. As part of Phase 2 of the study, the RU-VTC will undertake local-scale concept planning designed to test whether the idea of creating 15-minute neighborhoods can accommodate next-generation transportation in a way that simultaneously reduces emissions, makes it easier to travel, improves health, increases transportation system efficiency, improves the resilience of communities and infrastructure, and ensures equitable mobility and access for all New Jersey residents.
Click on the links below to find more information about the project:
Thought leaders webinar:
Case study county existing conditions reports:
County visioning workshops (March 2022):
- Cumberland & Warren Workshop
Monday, March 7th, 3:00 to 5:00 pm - Middlesex & Mercer Workshop
Wednesday, March 16th, 3:00 to 5:00 pm - Atlantic & Camden Workshop
Wednesday, March 23rd, 3:00 to 5:00 pm - Hudson & Essex Workshop
Monday, March 28th, 3:00 to 5:00 pm
Final Report
15-Minute Neighborhoods: A Pathway to Creating Healthier, More Just, Resilient & Sustainable Communities in New Jersey
The report summarizes the results of a two-year planning and research study designed to investigate how a comprehensive, multi-goal planning and policy framework can be used to achieve carbon-neutral transportation choices that simultaneously support healthy, just, and resilient communities for all New Jersey residents.
The 15-minute neighborhood concept gained visibility as the global pandemic demonstrated that local access to basic life needs is critically important. In addition to being an important contribution to New Jersey’s efforts to achieve its goals of reducing pollution that causes climate change, 15-minute neighborhoods provide residents with easy access to parks, schools, gathering places, social services, places to buy healthy fresh food, and, in some cases, public transit, within a comfortable walk or bike ride.
Near-term, multi-billion-dollar investments in infrastructure, a revolution in transportation technologies not seen in a century, the recalibration of relationships between people and places brought about by the pandemic, and converging policies related to energy, health, climate, transportation, and environmental justice provide New Jersey with an unprecedented opportunity to rethink and adjust how we design and build communities.
The report was prepared by the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University for the New Jersey Climate Change Alliance and the NJ Climate Change Resource Center, the New Jersey State Policy Lab, and The Nature Conservancy.
