Center for Community Planning
The 2023 City Planning Institute was our biggest and most successful yet! The program was run in Trenton, Paterson, Passaic, Newark and Bloomfield, graduating over 100 students. Students completed real planning projects in each city, and all students were paid a stipend for their contributions. Check out their amazing projects below!
Bloomfield, NJ
The Bloomfield City Planning Institute partnered with the Municipal Internship Program, the City Council and planning consultants Phillip and Grier to facilitate the development of one of the first ‘youth voice’ components in a town wide master plan. Bloomfield City Council was interested in capturing the voice of young people in its next efforts to create an updated Master Plan. 20 high school students from the City Planning Institute were trained and then sent out to elementary schools and summer camps throughout the town to hold visioning sessions for younger students. Their goal was to find out what young people wanted to see in Bloomfield in the future. Overall, the students were able ti capture the voices of over 350 young people. They collected and organized those responses and presented their final proposals for a better Bloomfield to their Mayor and Council members. Several students are continuing their efforts and leading the development of the first Municipal Youth Guidance Council. They will serve as a team of young liaisons between their elected officials and young community members to ensure that young people remain an integral part of their towns planning process. You can check out heir Master Plan Youth Engagement results below!
Trenton, NJ
The city of Trenton sits on the shores of the Delaware River, however, residents and visitors to Trenton do not any access to the waterfront, as it is cut off from the City by a highway. The city is in the process of planning to change that, by converting parts of the highway into an urban boulevard and rerouting parts of the highway to allow space for development on the waterfront. Students from the Trenton City Planning Institute were asked to envision what that waterfront should include and look like to make it appealing and conducive to young people. Students visited the waterfront and surrounding areas, surveyed youth around the city, and then came up with an innovative and exciting proposal for a waterfront that would serve all ages, cultures and abilities. Check out the students waterfront plan below!