University Operating Status

WEATHER UPDATE: The university remains open. For changes to schedules on Thursday, February 6, including remote instruction and operations due to expected weather conditions, check rutgers.edu/status

Pendall discusses changing demographics of U.S. cities as millennial generation becomes homeowners

April 7, 2016

pendallThe annual Catlin lecture brought over 70 students, faculty, and Bloustein community members to the Special Events Forum the first week of March. Rolf Pendall, the Director of the Metropolitan Housing and Community Policy Center at the Urban Institute gave the lecture. His talk, “Building Inclusion into the Millennial City,” focused on the changing demographics of the nation, the state of New Jersey, and several New Jersey counties.

Pendall divided his lecture into three sections. He first discussed this history of American planning’s “Apartheid origins,” highlighting some of the extreme, but unfortunately common, racist and divisive planning laws throughout the United States until the mid-20th century.

The second section examined the “Fuel for Inclusion,” in housing and demographics within the United States; it looked at the demographic and housing trends of the past several decades.  Pendall used historical data as well as projections to look at the racial and income trends of home ownership location around the country, and how the housing choices of the Baby Boomers will affect the housing choices and options of the Millennial generation.

His final discussion took the broad planning and demographic strokes with which he had been analyzing the nation and applied them specifically to New Jersey. In addition to looking at New Jersey on a state level, Pendall examined several regions in New Jersey, and analyzed some projections specifically for Middlesex County.

Pendall outlined four scenarios that he thought could potentially occur in New Jersey. Two of these scenarios involve suburban locations. The first scenario focused on renewal and increasing the density of single family homes in New Jersey’s many old suburban subdivisions, while retrofitting them for the aging. The suburban scenario would be to redesign and reuse the state’s many abandoned retail and office.

The second two scenarios involve urban locations. The first revolves around new investment in distressed and diverse places such as Camden, while the second scenario involves anticipating neighborhood renovations and price increases in order to act now and preserve and avoid displacement for current communities. Pendall mentioned the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in Washington, DC as an example of this.

After finishing his lecture Pendall took a variety of questions from the audience. His in depth and informative lecture generated almost thirty minutes of additional conversation, ranging from the specific types of housing millennial might choose, to the future of mortgage finance policy, and how the sharing economy might affect these projections.

The Robert A. Catlin Memorial Lecture commemorates former Bloustein School professor Robert Catlin, who passed away in 2004. In addition to serving in numerous posts at different organizations and universities around the nation, he researched urban revitalization and the impact of race in policy-making decisions at the Bloustein School.

Recent Posts

Public Policy and Surveillance Tech

By Marc Pfeiffer ICMA.org, February 1, 2025 I asked Claude.ai to define surveillance technology. In response, it replied, “devices, systems, or software that are used to monitor, track, and collect information on people, places, or things.” Municipalities use a wide...

Lindenfeld & Mauri Find Uptick for MOUD at FQHCs

Introduction To reduce morbidity and mortality among individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD), the evidence is strongest for medications for OUD (MOUD), which include methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are essential...

NJSPL: Ensuring Accurate & Equitable Vaccination Info

By Yonaira Rivera and Vivek Singh  In today’s digital world, large language models like ChatGPT are important sources of healthcare information, particularly for those who face barriers like insurance issues or language constraints. As part of the IMPACT-NJ project,...

2025 IHC Grant Program Funding Opportunities

The New Jersey Inclusive Healthy Communities (IHC) grant program has announced its latest Request for Proposals (RFP) for grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to advance policy and systems change through the inclusion of people with disabilities to...

Ralph et al. Review e-Scooter Pilot Projects

Abstract Problem, research strategy, and findings Pilot projects are an increasingly popular tool for dealing with opposition to new ideas. The premise is simple—let experience change minds—but it belies considerable uncertainty. How do opinions evolve during a pilot...

Upcoming Events

Event Series CAREERS

Virtual Career Drop-ins

Virtual

Stop by virtually on Mondays (except for holidays) beginning February 3 through April 28 between 11 am and 1 pm to ask a quick (15 min) career-related question of Bloustein […]