New Jersey’s New State Plan: What It Means for the Future
On December 17, 2025, the New Jersey State Planning Commission adopted the first new State Development and Redevelopment Plan in nearly 25 years. Developed through collaboration across all levels of government, the plan provides a framework to guide growth, land use, and development across New Jersey.
The plan is supported by two companion documents: an Impact Assessment, produced by Rowan University and Rutgers University, and an Infrastructure Needs Assessment, by Rutgers’ Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center. Join us for a discussion of the plan and two companion studies examining the impact of state planning and the infrastructure needed to support New Jersey’s future growth.
Panelists:
- Walter C. Lane, PP, AICP, Executive Director, New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy
- Lisa R. Avichal, Senior Planner, New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy
- Steve J. Simone PP, AICP, Senior Planner, New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy
- Dr. Qian He, AICP, Assistant Professor, Rowan University
- Leigh Ann Von Hagen, AICP, PP , Executive Director, Rutgers Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center
- Moderator: Clint Andrews, Distinguished Professor; Associate Dean for Research; and Director, Rutgers Center for Urban Policy Research
This event is presented by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, with support from the New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy.
The Ruth Ellen Steinman Bloustein and Edward J. Bloustein Memorial Lecture was established to honor the memory of these two extraordinary individuals. For nearly nineteen years, the Blousteins dedicated their enormous energies to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The fund was established in 1988 after Ruth Ellen died following a long and heroic battle with illness. Sadly, there was cause to broaden the purpose of the fund a year later when Edward Bloustein, Rutgers’ beloved president, died suddenly in December of 1989.
The endowment supports an annual lecture series, that may include one to three lectures per academic year, that is intended to celebrate the values and interests Ruth Ellen and Ed cherished and cultivated throughout their lives.