News
Listokin, Hughes, Edwards New Book: Rutgers Then and Now
The project was developed through conversations with James W. Hughes, then dean of Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and David Listokin, professor at Bloustein’s Center for Urban Policy Research, and an expert in historic preservation. Chats about their shared interests in history, community development and Rutgers, inspired the trio to channel their knowledge into a book that charts the architectural trajectory of College Avenue Campus from its Old Queens origins in 1808 to the present.
Shapiro quoted: EPA in Elon Musk’s crosshairs
Bloustein Dean Stuart Shapiro is quoted in a POLITICO article discussing the ramifications of Trump’s announcement that billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new government efficiency commission aimed at overhauling the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal offices.
What ballot design would make NJ elections fair?
“The [elected] position would be at the top; there would be the names of all the candidates beneath that,” said Rubin. “It would be clear visually for people to look at it and understand what the position is, how many people they should vote for.
University of Alabama grapples with traffic safety amid record enrollment
“We can all agree that too many pedestrians die on our streets, but a misplaced focus on distracted walking will hamper our efforts to save lives and improve safety for all users,” Rutgers public policy professor Kelcie Ralph said in the study.
The bigger N.J. hospitals get, the harder it is for people to escape medical debt
“If you’re the dominant health system, it puts you in the driver’s seat when you go to negotiate prices or rates — you have a lot of leverage in that situation,” said Joel Cantor, director of the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy. “If you’re the hospital, that’s good. But if you’re the insured or the person paying the premiums, it isn’t great.”
Charter school salary revelations spur lawmakers to scrutinize
“More transparency, more oversight is necessary before we really know how widespread these abuses are. It’s not to say that district schools don’t have things like this happen. It’s just a lot easier to find them because there’s greater required transparency and greater oversight,” Rubin said.
How jittery are NJ lawmakers about ballot design?
“Do you want a horrible ballot, or do you just want a terrible ballot, I guess is what you’re asking me,” Rubin replied to Barlas. “I would say, let’s go for a fair ballot.”
NJSPL Blog: SNAP Websites’ Chatbot Services
Only 11 out of 56 state sites featured chatbots, with just four offering Spanish support.
SRTS Report: Bicycle and Pedestrian Involved Crashes in NJ
Pedestrians and cyclists face a higher risk of severe injury or death in crashes compared to motorists. In New Jersey, there were nearly 6,000 crashes that involved pedestrians and cyclists under the age of 18 years old between 2016 and 2020.
Two MCRP Alumni Earn Planning Excellence Awards
The New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA New Jersey) has announced the recipients of the 2024 Planning Excellence Awards, and two Bloustein School alumni are recipients. Courtenay Mercer AICP, PP (BA ’01, MCRP ‘ 02) was selected as the Budd Chavooshian Award for Outstanding Professional Planner and Alexander Dougherty, AICP, PP (MCRP ’19) as the Distinguished Emerging Planner.
NJ’s ballot design: What’s fair for all?
“Anything that’s not a clean ballot in terms of just a list of candidates in an office block style — nothing differentiating them — is not ideal,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers associate professor who has done extensive research on the ballot design’s impact.
Members of the public chime in on lawmakers’ push to redesign ballots
“I think it’s still a very unfair ballot,” Rubin said. “I would say let’s go for a fair ballot.”