Two years ago, the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey began a systematic research effort to identify and analyze the key issues facing our older cities. We did so out of the belief that New Jersey’s cities have the potential to be vibrant, successful places that offer economic opportunity and a good quality of life to all their residents. Our aim was to examine both opportunities and problems, so as to frame strategies that would enable state and local government to address them more effectively.

The first phase of this effort, a diagnostic assessment of the cities, resulted in the report, Cities in Transition: New Jersey’s Urban Paradox in 2006. Based on our findings in Cities in Transition, we then evaluated policy and programmatic options available to state and local government, explored good practices elsewhere, and met with public officials and others committed to the future of our cities to frame the comprehensive body of policy recommendations presented in this second report.

Click here for a copy of the Executive Summary. Click here for a copy of the full report.